Lake Mary Champions

Cheers erupted as the player slid into home plate for the extra inning run to win the game. During the series, the Little League boys from Lake Mary played hard and didn’t give up even when they were behind. 

            Yellow shirted fans cheered loudly from the stands. Back home in Florida, watch parties celebrated. The entire community and beyond rejoiced at Florida’s first ever World Championship. 

            After losing to Texas, the double elimination tournament gave them a second chance. They beat Texas in a later game but consoled the losing team. 

            During the games, their love for baseball, their families and each other showed. Even though they went to Pennsylvania to play baseball, they didn’t forget to be kind and compassionate.

            Immediately after scoring the winning run, they displayed how to be true champions. When the boys saw the tears of the losing Chinese Taipei team, the Florida players put their arms around the boys and offered comfort. Their coach squatted down to console a devastated boy. Their kindness brought tears to my eyes as I watched boy after boy support their rivals. 

            They were baseball champs but more importantly champions in the way they live.  Interviews with parents during the series also showed families who cared about loving others. 

            We need to celebrate the Lake Mary Little League Champions for what they did on and off the field. 

            As adults we can learn how to live well by emulating the actions of the Lake Mary Champions. 

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Loving Father, help us remember to be kind and loving to those around us even if they are different from us. Turn enemies into friends. We can often learn from children. 

Amen

Answer to Prayer

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

Whenever I travel, a couple of my books go with me. I pray to meet the right person to receive each one. 

            On my flight home from Indiana, a gray-haired lady sat by the window when I took the aisle. We spoke briefly. Then as the plane filled, another older lady moved into the middle seat. 

            I learned she had visited family for three weeks and was ready to return home to The Villages, a huge retirement community an hour from me. She lived in Indiana with her pastor husband before moving to Florida. 

            Once in the air both of us turned on our tablets and became immersed in our games. She touched her screen and looked at me. Free Cell came up on both tablets. While I continued trying to win,  she jumped from one type of game to another. 

            Later as we sipped our drinks and ate teeny airline snacks, we talked more. She relayed her husband died  three years ago and the previous day was their anniversary. I understood how difficult special days could be. Our conversation continued with stories about our deceased husbands. 

            I handed her my book on grief. She looked at it and tried to give it back.

            “No, it is for you. I wrote it,” I said. 

            “You wrote it?”

            Most people don’t believe they are talking to the author. I assured her that I did write it and told her why. 

            At baggage claim, she invited me to visit her home so she could show me around. I have no idea if we will meet again, but I am confident God placed her in my life that day.  

Over and over, I have met grieving people on planes, at church, in my neighborhood, in parking lots…

Loving Father, thank you for answering prayers. Help us notice people around us who need a listening ear, a kind word or even a book to ease their pain.

Amen

Self-sacrificing Friends

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Luke 5:18-20 (NIV)

My week at the Young Life camp in Georgia immersed me into the lives of teens. Even as a grandparent figure, they welcomed me. 

            Watching the young people learn about Jesus and help each other touched my heart. 

            During our week, a group of special needs teenagers joined the able-bodied ones as all participated in the activities. One young lady sang the national anthem acapella for over six hundred people before dinner one night. The crowd cheered when she finished. 

            Each day she stood with her buddy in front of me at club. She sang, danced and made adults smile at her enthusiasm. 

            When a young man in a wheelchair entered the clubroom with his friends, they helped him get down steps to be with the other students. At the end of the program, one would retrieve his wheelchair and push him away. Their kindness and service showed the love of Jesus. 

            Those friends made sure he enjoyed all aspects of camp. During western night, he was placed in line for the Virginia reel. Partners swirled around him so he could be part of the dance. 

            The following day his friends accomplished something I didn’t even try. A long, steep climb to the top of the mountain gave trekkers an opportunity to see the incredible view. Even though I would have loved to observe the panorama, my asthma kept me on the less strenuous trail. 

            The hike was known to be challenging but they endured the climb while carrying their friend in a sling over two poles on their shoulders.  They ignored their own obstacles to give him a view from the top. A second group carried a girl with a boot on her leg to the pinnacle. At least eight young men made their journey more difficult because of carrying a heavy load. 

            Their selfless actions reminded me of the men who lowered their friend through the roof to be healed by Jesus. But instead of lowering them, the teen boys carried two friends to experience Jesus. 

            When I see students violently protesting or complaining about insignificant matters, I will remember the young men who sacrificially assisted their friend all week to make his camp experience as meaningful as theirs. They truly showed the love of Jesus as they served with no thought of recognition for themselves. 

Loving Father, show us daily how we can serve sacrificially. Bless the young people who care for others and give us a beautiful example to follow.

Amen

       

Night of Laughter and Dancing

 

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

Close to six hundred teenagers, leaders, staff and their families, volunteer teens and adult guests formed a long procession down a dirt road to western themed night. Everyone dressed for the occasion at Sharptop Cove, a Young Life camp, in Georgia. 

            The teens had no idea what awaited them at the end of the road. But when they arrived, the fun began. Carnival games were set up for them to win tickets. They shot basketballs into hoops, footballs through hula hoops, set up bottles with a loop on a stick, knocked blocks over with a ball…When they won five tickets, they could throw a pie in their leader’s face. Five more tickets and they could spray the pie off their faces. 

            Popcorn and cotton candy were also available. No cost for anything and there was lots of laughing as music played.       After a while, students were instructed to form two lines-one of boys and one of girls. They circled behind a small barn and out the front. Couples were formed from the two lines and instructed to sit in groups of sixteen. The announcer told them to ask their partner where they were from and get to know each other while they waited for everyone to pair off. 

            Four couples then demonstrated how to do a simple square dance. The dancers stood and began the Virginia Reel. When someone didn’t know where to go, others told them. They laughed and moved down the line. Students came from Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and North Carolina. Some were from affluent neighborhoods and others from the inner city. Some were black and others were white. The differences didn’t matter. They grabbed hands and danced. 

            Probably most of them had never done that type of dancing. But they joined in and had a great time with people they had never met. 

            When I watched the group, my heart was full. Unlike the world we had escaped for a while, no one was left out. No one was putting anyone down for being different. Hundreds of young people became kids with no problems delighting in the evening.

            With no phones for a week, the teenagers focused on being present and enjoying activities at camp. I pray that they will remember the joy of camp and learning how to love each other and God.

Loving Father, continue to be with those who attended camp and help them see how much God loves them. Change lives and strengthen the faith of those who accepted Jesus. Work in each life.

Amen

The Man with the Wrinkled Cardboard Sign

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Hebrews 13:1-3 (NIV)

The light turned red. A man holding a folded-up cardboard sign stood between lanes of cars and looked into an open car window. When he shuffled to the median next to me, I remembered there was a bag for such a situation in my car. 

            My hand reached behind my seat to try to find it in the nest of cloth shopping bags. Miraculously, I grabbed it on the first attempt. 

            I kept watching the traffic light to be sure it remained red. My arm held the bag out to the man in weathered clothes as he neared me. 

            “Thank you,” he said. He looked at the bottle of water and granola bar and back to me. 

            “That man… He said… I have to go lie down.” He couldn’t finish.  

            My heart broke as tears glazed his eyes. 

            “I am not a bad person. I don’t steal.”

            We locked eyes. The light changed and we moved apart forever. 

            Why did the driver feel he should berate the guy who hadn’t yelled, been disrespectful or violent? But he voiced upsetting words to an already forlorn fellow. The consequences of his actions would never be known to him but devastated his target. 

            All the way home, the sadness and tears of the anguished soul burdened my heart. No matter what caused him to stand on streets hoping for handouts, he was still a man loved by God. He didn’t deserve the abuse. 

            The homeless aren’t always treated badly but more often ignored. Overlooked as though they are nothing. 

            No matter the circumstances people find themselves in, we can be kind and show the love of Jesus. 

            That man and I will probably never see each other again but I hope our brief interaction gave him a bit of encouragement and hope. 

            At home, I started filling plastic bags because I never know when they will be needed. Of course, a smile and kind word are readily available without a bag. 

Loving God, show us who needs a kind word, smile and encouragement. Guide us to help those who are in difficult circumstances and to not look down on the trampled.

Amen

Seeing Clearly

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature^[ God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature^[of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Philippians 2:1-7 (NIV)

White dotted mounds of green glitter in the sunshine. Gleaming insects flitter above the lake. White spots on slender stems wave in the breeze near the water. Masses of emerald on tall trees quiver with the wind. 

            Nothing in my view toward the lake is clear. Since cataract surgery, my distance eye’s clarity declined. Only glasses bring far away objects into focus. 

Since I remembered my crystal-clear sight after LASIK several years ago, I assumed the outcome would be the same. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Eye drops and glasses help but do not solve the problem. Of course, I long to see better but am learning to adapt.

            As I look out toward my lovely view, I know I am not seeing its actual beauty but only a blurry image. 

            What else have I missed? Do I observe the pain and hurt in eyes around me? Do I discern who could use a hug or word of encouragement? Do I neglect to share with people who are searching for Jesus? Do I pass by someone when I should stop to check on them? None of these would improve with eyeglasses. 

            Perhaps busyness, selfishness or lack of confidence cloud my field of vision and distract me from what God wants me to do. 

            When I pray for God’s direction, the eyes of my heart can see more clearly with love and compassion. 

Father, help me to truly see and care of those I come in contact with including those I know and those I meet briefly. Guide me to follow your will.

Amen

Caring for Plants and People

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NET)

Orchids, spider plants, succulents, peace lilies, basil… fill areas of my patio. Plant stands hold several varieties. Large pots contain foliage reaching towards the ceiling. Smaller ones have a variety of herbs. Christmas cactus wait for winter to sprout blooms from each pointed leaf. Aloe fan out from clay pots. 

            My attempts to provide the right water, sunlight and nutrients often fall short. A few hardy specimens need a small amount of water and aren’t picky about sunlight. 

            Once a week, orchids soak for several minutes in a tub. Then they drip before returning to their containers. 

            Aloe require an occasional drink. Herbs dry quickly so need small but frequent waterings. 

            Ceramic flowerpots with a mixture of foliage pose a problem. Some of the plants wilt while the rest seem fine. Do I water for the wilted ones or would that be too much for the more hardy ones?  

            I enjoy my assortment of greenery but caring for them takes time and discernment of what they need. Sometimes the results are not the best. 

            A wide assortment of friends and family members, require time and discernment for how to nurture and love too.  

            A few independent ones only need occasional encouragement to thrive. Most require a more regular schedule of care. However, a smaller number demand constant affirmation and guidance. 

            Because we interact with others, we need to realize every person is a unique creation.  God designed different temperaments, gifts, and abilities. 

            We can’t expect everyone to be just like us or the way we would like them to be. 

            But we can love, guide and care for them like Jesus. Help them live according to God’s will and not ours. 

Heavenly Father, how amazing that you have created distinctive individuals. Show us how to bring out the best in each person as we use our own gifts and talents.

Amen