Is Faithfulness Old?

 My husband and I recently returned from Yellowstone. We lined up with hundreds of spectators from all over the world to witness the wonder of Old Faithful. We watched our clocks, vied for position; the tension mounted as eruption time neared. Finally it came. We all did our best to capture the spectacular in pictures and videos.

We craned our necks, stood on benches to get a better view, and focused on the geyser of boiling water. The fountain turned to steam in the cold, and rose ever-higher into the blue Wyoming sky. I was captivated by the power of God on display in the natural world.

But as soon as it ended I heard murmuring.

“I don’t know. I guess I expected more,” one woman said as she and her husband walked slowly on.

A little farther over, a man told his friends who arrived too late, “Yeah, we watched the last one, then went and grabbed some lunch and came back for the one this hour. You can catch it next time around.” As if it was the late show on a cruise ship! I was amazed how blasé some people were about what we had just witnessed.

This natural phenomenon occurs so consistently—every 45-125 minutes—that they named it Old Faithful. Does that cheapen the miracle? When faithfulness becomes the norm, do we appreciate it less?

What does faithfulness mean to you? To me faithfulness is something or someone you can count on. Faithful people are steady, committed, and don’t let momentary feelings sway them from what they said they would do. Too often, we take this constancy for granted, even sneer at the predictability of their ways. Why?

Don’t we want faithful husbands and wives? Cars and appliances that operate consistently? Who doesn’t want to hire loyal employees who show up on time for work every day? And wouldn’t you like to have reliable government representatives in office who serve with integrity?

Yet, often faithfulness is treated like a thing of the past; a quaint custom of bygone years. Faithful church attendance is viewed as dull and excessive. Many think a lifetime commitment to one spouse and sex partner is boring and prudish. Our society is riddled with job hopping, wife swapping, couch flopping, church shopping individuals. Is it progress to glamorize infidelity  and justify being undependable in a quest for self-discovery and diversity?

Nobody lines up to witness me reading the Bible every morning, or whether I exercise, take care of our home, or write. They might even find my routine boring in its sameness. My same husband comes home every day and we go to the same church every Sunday to worship the same God, who never changes. But that’s what makes it all so beautiful.

The old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” says there’s “no shadow of turning with Thee.” We don’t have to chase shadows to find God on the landscape of our world; He is constant and dependable. God doesn’t check out or get distracted. God is ancient, that’s for sure, but not outdated.

Our faithfulness can build up over time and leave a legacy. The mound in this photo came from minerals deposited by repeated eruptions from a once active geyser. To me this stone is like a monument to faithfulness. And that’s the kind of legacy I want to leave.

Is faithfulness old? You bet it is. But it is rock solid and only grows more precious over time.

#greatisthyfaithfulness #faithfulnessoutdated #Godourrock #Yellowstone #geysers

Beware Bad Seeds!

I woke up last Thursday feeling rather strange; my face felt tight. When I looked in the mirror I hardly recognized what looked back at me. My face had puffed up; my eyes were little slits peeping out at me, begging for help. For two days I’d been sneezing and blowing my nose constantly. Now, my body was itching with an all-over rash. What was left of my vision was blurry and my eyes itched like crazy. I went to Urgent Care where they gave me a steroid shot in the hip and a selection of meds to clear up a severe allergic reaction to a plant in our yard.
 

How did this wicked plant get in our yard? 

Two years ago I bought a packet of sunflower seeds. Somehow, a random seed made its way into the packet. I watered and coaxed the sunflowers through the season, but they never did well. The mystery plant, however, grew quickly and thrived. Since it was growing…well, like a weed, and had interesting feathery leaves and spire-like heads (and was somewhat attractive), I let it grow. I had one giant healthy mystery plant in a row of sickly sunflowers.

This summer, none of the sunflowers reappeared, but the mystery plant came back. And I let it grow again. Why not, it was healthy? Little did I know its agenda—to take over our yard while Kelly and I were on vacation!

When we returned it was three feet high and four feet across, and spreading across the walkway behind our deck. So I trimmed it back. My nose rebelled. I sneezed and blew my drippy nose until the skin started to peel on both sides. One miserable day later I yanked that plant out completely and put it in the trash. But not before it thoroughly coated me with a massive dose of whatever it had to muster as I carried it to the garbage can. 

And I must have rubbed my face at some point—thus the tiny-eyed woman in the mirror pleading for release.

I couldn’t help but compare this evil seed to James’ words, “My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water” (James 3:12). We can’t expect to grow something good from a weed seed any more than we can expect to speak or do things that glorify God from seeds of the flesh. 

Living a godly life isn’t easy. Like the sunflowers I intended to grow, developing love, kindness, faith, courage, and other godly fruit, takes work and attention. It’s much easier to let grow what comes naturally—selfishness, boasting, impatience, gossip and much more. 

Why do we let them grow? Because it’s easier than fighting our sin nature; they look somewhat attractive; they make us feel good at the moment. But then, like the plant in our yard, what started as a single seed begins to take over and, in the end, causes pain and distress. 

That plant got hauled off by the garbage truck, but I’m sure it left behind seed. Next year, however, I won’t be so gullible. I will know what to look for, and rip it out quickly before it gains any ground. I need to do the same when I recognize worldly thinking growing where there should be Son-flowers. Whatever doesn’t line up with what Jesus taught I need to root it out. Weeds like: self-indulgence, faithlessness, a defeatist mindset. Unless I rip them out they will cause great harm, and leave me weak and useless for the kingdom of God. 

Have you let any weeds grow in your garden lately?

Good seed; good things!

kale, blueberries, and fresh tomatoes

peas and beans bursting on the vine

#whatyouplantwillgrow #weedseed #james3:12 #lifeintheflesh #dangerousweeds