Good morning…
Every year I gift words from my school-year blogs to Northside Church, where I am the Women’s Ministry Director, and the Creative Arts department creates for our community an online summertime devotional. For June, July, and August my messages are recycled in a new order, given a title, and adorned with beautiful cover art. This year’s devotional is entitled “Lingering on the Line.” At the end of May, you will have an opportunity to sign up to receive these messages which will come to subscribers from June 1st through August 31st.
Yesterday morning, I sent a difficult email to the Creative Arts Director and the Program Coordinator for our Women’s Ministry department. Here it is.
“Hello… This is a hard email to write. After days and days and days of working on the Summertime Devotional, selecting and transferring ninety-two morning messages into a document in an order that makes “higher” sense, I pressed one wrong button and it all zapped away. All of the inspired words, zapped away. All of the sleepless hours spent, zapped away. My kids and my husband tried to retrieve the manuscript for me, but it was gone, all gone. Unfortunately, I had not been saving the words correctly between the shifting of documents.
What did I do?
I did the dishes that had piled up after days of neglect. I was quiet. Really quiet. I went to my son’s end-of-the-year lacrosse banquet. I came home and talked with my daughter’s friend who is home from college and is spending the night, largely because she loves my chocolate chip pancakes in the morning. I climbed in bed with my husband and our new high school graduate, and we watched two taped episodes of “Survivor,” still her favorite show after all these years.
I figured we just would not have an online devotional through Northside this summer. I would wake early morning all summer long and send a message to my subscribers or I would just unplug for a few months and people would do without my morning words. I was tired. Disappointed. Angry at myself. Completely spent. I drifted to sleep thinking “There will be no Summertime Devotional in 2017.”
Then I was stirred awake around midnight and sensed God inspiring a new way to do the entire document over again. I battled with the LORD because, exhausted, I did not want to get out of bed and run the grueling marathon again. I soul searched: “Why do it? Why create a summertime devotional, anyway?” This is a question my kids and my husband ask all the time, since I “don’t get paid” to write or to share my words. “Why put in all the hard, free labor?”
As I lay in bed prayerfully arguing with God, I sensed an answer different than my thoughts: “Someone out there might get to know Me better this summer because of these words.” A new clarity came. God yearns to invite people into an intimate, conversational relationship with Him. This is why I write and why I got out of bed and why the new manuscript is about 50% done now at 7:00 am. Because I am completely flawed and God still wants to use me, I hope a grace period can be extended for the manuscript deadline and I can get words to you as soon as it is humanly possible.
By the way, I just opened up Beth Jordan’s Caring Bridge page (a long time friend who has battled brain cancer for about seven ground-breaking years). Words from her and from Greg are few and are devastating. On Mother’s Day, she got word that her cancer has returned, and they are not yet sure of the healing path forward. So, my minuscule mistake is put in perspective. I am humbled to have an opportunity to serve God in this way with a huge handful of my hours.
I will send in the new manuscript as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Sue”
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work]. Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3, AMP).
So Beth and Greg, you and I will focus our eyes on Jesus as we each run with endurance the race set before us this day,
…Sue…
