Memories are a recurrent theme in Gilead. And, often, they are general memories or impressions. Like the one on page 117, “Children seem to think every pleasant thing has to be a surprise,” which paints a picture I recognize from my own childhood and from my children. “Wait, wait! Don’t look yet! We have to get it ready!” Such fun memories! But many of John’s thoughts center on death, or on difficult relationships. That’s why I found two passages in this section to be very intriguing.At the top of page 124, we read the wisdom of John’s father and grandfather passed down to him. “When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is being put to you. So you must think, What is the Lord asking of me in this moment, in this situation?” And, on page 126, he offers another choice we get to make. “I have decided the two choices open to me are (1) to torment myself or (2) to trust the Lord.” Both of these questions ask us to look at our hearts—do we trust that God is in the moment? Do we trust that He is working in discomfort?
Right now, my life is full of opportunities to ask these two questions and seeing them in black letters on white paper has stopped me in my daily drift and reminded me to be more purposeful in how I receive the events/news of each day. John ends this section on page 141 with the words, “The fact is, I don’t want to be old (I identify with that though I’m not old like he is) and I certainly don’t want to be dead.” I don’t either! But I can often say I don’t want to be lonely, far from family, without my community, or waiting for answers/direction/guidance. In those words, in the moments when I want to speak those words, I get to choose—will I trust the Lord or will I torment myself. Will I ask what is God asking of me right now, or will that teachable moment be lost? I hope I will choose to trust and learn.
Yesterday in church, my husband, who happens to be my pastor, spoke from the passage in Luke 14:26-27. This is a very hard passage for me to read, to understand. During his sermon, my husband explained that this teaching is more about comparison—I love God so much it is as if I hate my family. God isn’t asking me to despise them—in fact, He commands me to love them, to honor them. But, He is asking me to have no greater priority than Him. So as I live far away from family, I have a choice—to love Him first above all else and to trust Him with my family, with the dramas I’m not there to help with, with the separation I find so hard. I get to ask Him, what are You asking of me in this situation—and then I get to wait for Him to teach me as I trust Him.
What are you asking God to show you? Where is it imperative that you learn to trust Him more? I’d love to read your thoughts on those questions this week. I look forward to reading your posts!
3 comments:
This book just gets better and better! I so much appreciate John’s humility and transparency as he writes to his young son. Goes to show how deeply he knows our Savior and how short we fall in our quest to be like Him.
Like you mentioned, Linda, I liked what he said about the opportunities we are given when we encounter people. I loved what he said a little further in that paragraph: “…first of all the occasion to demonstrate my faithfulness, the chance to show that I do in some small degree participate in the grace that saved me.” This struck a cord with me as it is something that I have struggled with, and am praying for the grace to grow in this area. At times, I feel so overwhelmed with all the people and needs on a day-to-day basis. Trying to juggle taking care of my kids, with the many other needs, people, and “distractions” that each day bring. Trying to listen to my kids in English, while also listening, thinking and speaking to others in Creole! AAAAHHHH! When I become overwhelmed, I fail to treat others as I ought, and consequently fail to “participate in the grace that saved me.” It has been my prayer that God would give me the grace and the strength to grow in this area, and that I would see “interruptions” more as opportunities. I am reminded that we are ambassadors of our Lord, which means we seek to treat and love others as HE would, even if, in our flesh, we at times don’t feel like doing so.
Linda- thank you again for the time that you are putting in to leading this book club. Know that your work is not in vain! ☺ I have benefitted greatly from our reading. I recently taped a quote from this book on the window above my kitchen sink: “A little too much anger, too often or at the wrong time, can destroy more than you would ever imagine. Above all, mind what you say.” When I begin to feel overwhelmed by all of life’s demands, I look at the quote… it has been a great reminder to me! This book overflows with great quotes!
Dear Pam--I am missing people's comments, too. It is so enriching when we get to read how the book impacts others. So--any of you in the shadows--please share your thoughts with us.
And thank you for your encouraging words, Pam. I love doing this blog. I'm learning a lot, too. God is so gracious in the many ways He teaches us!
Well, I am a little behind. Sorry. Travel has gotten in the way of reading in last few weeks.
This book is ponderful and I haven't had the time to do the pondering. Even so, I find that it makes me think about my own situation and the choices that I make in this life. Like Pam, I find that it can be frustrating to try to think and respond in a different language to various people around me. Sometimes it gets so frustrating when I can't come up with the words to express my feelings and I choose to torment myself with how I responded. I need to learn to trust the Lord more in this area. I find (sometimes days later) that what I was trying to say was understood - even if I didn't say it very well. If I had managed to hold back the frustration a bit longer I might have been able to say it even better. So, I need to work on trusting the Lord to give me the words to say and not get so frustrated. I need to allow God's grace to work in my mind, mouth and tongue and in the minds of those I am trying to communicate with :).
I am really enjoying this book even though I haven't had a lot of time to read lately. Thanks for guiding our thoughts and comments as we read!
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