What do you deserve?

Warning - Make sure you have on steel-toed boots.  It's quite possible I will be stepping stomping on your nicely painted toes today.

I've been growing increasingly annoyed with the use of one particular word these days.  It's a word used by many and I don't know if we've really thought this word through or not. 

"You deserve a piece of chocolate after the day you had." 
"Get a pedicure this weekend.  You deserve it for putting up with work all week!"
"You two should totally go to New York City!  You deserve some time away from the kids."

Deserve - verb
- to be worthy of (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
- do something or have or show qualities worthy of (a reaction which rewards or punishes as appropriate) (Oxford Dictionary)
- to have earned or to be given something because of the way you have behaved or the qualities you have (Cambridge Dictionary)
-to merit, be qualified for, or have a claim to (reward, assistance, punishment, etc.) because of actions, qualities, or situation (Dictionary.com)

I tried to find a Bible verse that says we deserve a temporary reward for an act of valour.  This is what I found:
The labourer deserves to be paid for the work he does. (Matt 10:10, Luke 10:7, 1 Tim 5:18)
A house that accepts you is deserving of your peace (Matt 10:13)
Jesus healed the Centurion's servant, not because the Centurion deserved it, but because of his faith. (Luke 7:1-10)

And I found a boatload of other verses that talk about other things we deserve:

"The wages of sin is death" Rom 6:23a NIV
"Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves." Job 11:6 NKJV
"Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."  Romans 1:32 NIV
"We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve..."  Luke 23:41 (Spoken by one of the thieves hanging on a cross beside Jesus.)
There were many more that spoke of an enemy deserving death for sin.

So what do we deserve?
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."  Colossians 3:23-24
"... but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23b
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 
But you have to keep reading to see what the reward is...
"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ...they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one." [parts of] Hebrews 11:13-16

In the Bible, every reward for good work is an eternal reward.  There isn't an earthly temporary reward for doing the good that know we should do.

Why do I deserve chocolate or a pedicure or a vacation?  Because I chose to get married and have kids?  Because I went out and did something to provide for my family?  Because I had to talk to someone who doesn't typically think logically about things?  That's part of life.  It's what everyone has to deal with.  Yep, sometimes "going to work" is no fun.  Who ever says they're "going to easy"?  It's called "work" for a reason.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes about how work/toil is meaningless.  But hidden in his rant is a little ray of sunshine: "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"  (Ecc 2:24-25) If you're finding life to be stressful or difficult, realize that your work is for God, not for man. (See Col 3:23-24 above if you forgot about that already.)  Find enjoyment in serving His big purpose for this world.  Are you weary of trying to keep up with the demands of this life?  Bring it to Jesus.  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

Sure indulge in some chocolate.  Paint your nails.  Take a vacation.  The Bible encourages rest.  But don't tell people that you deserve it.  You deserve a lot more than that.  Thank God for Jesus!

Life, to the full

This verse, these words of Jesus, keeps coming up again, in different discussions:
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10.
 

Things that steal, kill, destroy.  Things that are not good.  Those things are not from God.  God gives us good gifts.  God gave us Jesus, the ultimate gift.   He gave so that we could have life to the full.

I am reminded, once again, of these words from Katie Davis in the book Kisses From Katie, "I hadn't realized what a transformation had taken place while I had been in Uganda, the spiritual richness I had experienced in material poverty and the spiritual poverty I felt now in a land of material wealth.” She actually felt spiritually impoverished when she had enough food to eat, because she wasn't relying on God to supply her needs any longer; she was relying on her own strength.

A recent question came up - "What motto do you live by?"

I didn't really have a ready-made answer. I started typing, letting my fingers transcribe the ramblings of my mind.:

"Q: What a motto?
"A: Nothing, what's the matter with you?

"Sorry, I have kids.

"No motto. Just Truth.

"Lately though it's been: "God *will* give you more than you can handle, so that when you find yourself struggling, you go to Him instead of living life in your own power."

"I'm realizing more and more these days that "life to the full" is less about physical pleasures and more about spiritual dependence."

I don't know where it will take me, or what it will look like, but I know I want "life to the full." I've spent so much time wanting a life that is full of physical pleasure that I have never stopped to consider that those pleasures I pursue can actually be detrimental my life "to the full."

If I were you, this is what I'd be thinking right now...

"Right, so now Wanda's going to sell everything and check into a convent?"
"No, I saw her shopping and eating out last night.  Hypocrite!"
"Well, she'll probably just want to talk about God all the time now."
"Maybe.  I don't know.  She was laughing about an episode of The Big Bang Theory just a couple days ago."
"Hmm...  I'll guess we'll have to wait and see how far off the deep end she goes now."

I don't want to live in a convent and spend the rest of my life depriving myself for the sake of deprivation.  There is no "life to the full" value in that. 

I want to care less about the temporal. 
I want to have a proper perspective. 
I want to realize the difference between need and want. 

I need to care less about the temporal. 
I need to have a proper perspective. 

I need to have "life to the full" as my goal in decision-making.

Being available for important things

It's always when I'm in the shower.  The kids' radar activates and tells them that now is the best time to ask Mom that really not-incredibly important question.

Let me set the stage:

Fan is blowing, shower is running, water is clogging my ears.

I hear indeterminate mumbling just outside the bathroom door.  Think Charlie Brown's teacher.

Me:  You know I can't hear you right?  If it's important come on in so I can hear you.

Door opens.

7 year-old boy: Mom, what's that thing you do for a hundred years?
Me, trying to make sense of what I think I just heard:  Wh-huh...What?
7 year-old boy:  That thing, that lasts a hundred years.  What's it called?
Me, wondering where this is going: A century?
7 year-old boy:  Oh yah. 

Click.

And he's gone.

Words

I have this in my kitchen, on one of my cupboards. 

I see it every day.  My kids see it every day.  My husband sees it every day. 

It's a good thing for us to see.  It's a good thing for me to know as I talk on the phone in my kitchen.  I talk on the phone in my kitchen often.

Our words witness for us.  And we have no idea how far our words can reach.  Our words witness to our children, to our visitors, to our friend on the other side of the phone, to beings in the spiritual realm... 

Let your words build others up, according to their needs.  Let your words be beneficial to all who hear them.

Silly Haiku

Inspired by a discussion on one particular form of Japanese Poetry:

When I write haiku

I use my fingers to count

All the syllables


 

Give it your best shot.  

A silly haiku from you
Would make me happy.

A Birth Story - Part Four (In Praise of Midwives)

When I tell the stories of how my children were born, I love to share how much we appreciated having midwives.  And whether my sister is around or not, I always imagine her interjecting at some point to tell her story.  Since she is not as bloggy as I, please let my rendition of things suffice.

Five years ago, my sister was in the middle of a difficult (first) pregnancy.  She had pain, she had difficulty eating, she had shortness of breath.  She did not enjoy being pregnant and she was ready to be done.  She went into the hospital to deliver her little girl.  Complications arose.  Heart-rates spiked and then dropped.  Blood pressure was rising.  A C-Section was done.  I do not know all the details.  But I do know that my niece had a stroke when she was born.  She lives with cerebral palsy today as a result of that stroke.

My sister has always said she was very glad to be in a hospital when she delivered because "who knows" what would have happened had she been at home with a midwife.  And I agree with her.  I'm very glad she was at a hospital for my niece's birth.  And I'm quite certain that the doctors at the hospital did everything possible to help make a bad situation as good as it could be.

This is when I like to jump back in though.  The thing that a lot of people don't understand about midwives is that they are very good about understanding what they do.  And when things happen outside of their training, they are wonderful about referring the mother to an obstetrician who knows how to deal with high-risk pregnancies. 

I appreciated the chart that the midwives gave me on that first visit.  It had a list of scenarios that would cause me to be referred to an OB.  Some were minor, some were major.  If one minor indicator arose, we would watch it.  If two minor indicators popped up, then they would discuss transferring care to an OB.  They were some indicators that were automatic transferal to an OB.  Midwives aren't snooty like that.  They just want the very best for each mother and baby.  I am convinced that sometime around the 7th month, my sister's symptoms would have triggered a transfer to an OB had she been under the care of midwives.

I want to turn your attention to what's happening in the Niagara Region right now.  The area of the Niagara region is 1,852 km².  We now have only two hospitals that have functioning maternity wards.  They are both on the north shore of the region (Grimsby and St Catharines.)  Local midwives and their clients could potentially have to drive over an hour to reach either of these hospitals, depending on where they live in the region.  For the unscheduled birth (as most are with midwives) that's far enough to be cause for concern.

The pink dot shows the St. Catharines Hospital location.  Grimsby is up to the left.

There has been talk of opening Birthing Centres in Ontario to accomodate the women who want to have midwives but don't want to give birth at home.  It's a safe alternative to hospitals and with our current geographical layout, a couple strategically placed Birthing Centres would be a wonderful and welcome addition to the area.  The much-maligned Niagara Health System would find itself getting many pats on the back and words of praise for such a cost-effective decision.  Frankly, it would be akin to a shot of adrenaline for a sytem that is failing those in the southern half of the region.

To read more on midwives and Birthing Centres in Ontario, check out this recent article from the Welland Tribune.  (The midwife in the article, Anne...  She was in our home when Riley was born.  Anne took her vitals and cared for her in her first few moments of life.)

My point in all this is to help you understand that midwives are a great place to start when you're at the beginning of this pregnancy journey.  They will hold your hand and lead you along as you get your feet under you.  And they are humble enough to know when it's best to hand your care over to an obstetrician.  They only want to see a healthy mama deliver a healthy baby, every time.  It doesn't matter if it's under their care or not.

Read the rest here:
Part One - Luke's Birth Story
Part Two - Riley's Birth Story
Part Three - Simon's Birth Story

While the Enemy Watches

"You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies."

Most of us have memorized Psalm 23.  We have recited it by heart many times.  And as often happens with rote recitation, sometimes the beauty of the words gets lost in the regurgitation of it.  I had the first half of Psalm 23:5 rolling around in my head just now...

David, who wrote this Psalm, was a warrior.  He had been in many battles and knew what it meant to have enemies.  And here he is, writing a song about sitting down to enjoy a feast while the enemy is there.  The enemy has closed in and is ready to attack.  The enemy is right there, in his presence.  But instead of calling the troops to defend this attack, he sits down to a feast, prepared for him by the One who has promised to give him all that he needs.  The One who has promised to comfort and protect him.

If you are being battered by the enemy, stop trying to defend yourself.  You can't.  You only have One Defense.  Sit down at God's table and rest in His comfort and protection.