The teen-agers laughed and jostled each other as they climbed into the van.  Brett and I stifled yawns while longing for an afternoon nap.  After all the seat belts clicked into place, Brett started up the van and we headed off on a grand adventure to the mountains for an afternoon hike to a waterfall.

Brett pulled into a parking space and the teenager’s tumbled out of the van. After rounding them up and calming them down Brett gave the kids instructions to get to the waterfall and what time they needed to get back to the van.  Teenage legs sprang into action and the sound of feet slapping down the dirt path disrupted the quiet of any woodland animals trying to take an afternoon nap.   Aspen’s legs and feet joined the fray as she did her best to keep pace with her favorite kids.  Brett and I tried to keep an eye on her and enjoy the company of another adult couple on the hike at the same time.  The wife of the other couple is a nature enthusiast and enjoyed stopping to ooooooh and ahhhhhh over the woodland spring flowers.  She seemed to know them all by name.  You could definately tell where her heart was.

I doubt the kids who raced ahead of us noticed any of the newly blooming flowers.  They were so focused on getting to the end of the path they noticed very little about the journey along the way.   I noticed some of the pretty flowers, but not with the same interest as the other woman because I was distracted by keeping an eye on Aspen.

It got me to thinking about how similiar this was to life itself, especially church life.  As we hike our way through church each Sabbath, from the car to the front door, the front door to the hallway, the hallway to Sabbath School, Sabbath School to the worship service, the worship service to the hallway, the hallway back to the car and then home, how often do we really see the things around us?  How open are we to seeing beautiful things (especially in people) that God has planted?

Just for fun, If Jesus walked into your church dressed in modern clothing with and an updated hair cut next weekend, would you recognize Him?  Is your relationship with Him so close that you would recognize Him just by His presence?  Sounds far fetched I know, but how about seeing Jesus IN people around you?  Just like my friend who could pick out the rare beauty that went unnoticed by the rest of us, do we know Jesus so well that we can recognize His work and presence in the people around us?

Next Sabbath, slow down and take your time on your “walk through” church.  Don’t let yourself be distracted by the end goal (potluck or the hope of a nap) or the worries of life take away your focus.  Look for the beauty of God’s presence in others, then they will be able to see it in you.

The sermon droned on.  Aspen colored the ponies in the coloring book pink.  The sermon droned on.  Aspen colored a blank piece of paper blue and carefully put fish stickers on it to give to daddy.  The sermon droned on.  Aspen played tic tac toe with daddy.  The sermon droned on.  Aspen laid down on the pew.  The sermon droned on.  Aspen moved and laid down on mommy and daddy’s lap and fell asleep.  Aspen is six and a half years old and this was the first nap ever she has taken in church.

Aspen has always had the opportunity to take a nap during church.  Her dad and I have always encouraged her to take a nap, but she always refuses.  When she woke up she said, “How come I always feel so much better after I take a nap?”  Despite knowing she feels better after taking a nap, she rarely indulges in such an extravagance and insists on staying awake so she won’t missing out on anything.

Brett and I waited six and a half years for Aspen to take her first nap during church.  She has always had the opportunity to take a nap and it has always been offered to her, but she always refuses.  God has a plan for my life and many wonderful and good things He would like for me to do.  But, how long has He had to wait for me to take Him up on His offers?

“But, I don’t want to be a stinkbug!”  Brett looked at me with big eyes.  I shot back, “You don’t want to be a sheep either.”  Brett and I exchanged these words during lunch.

As I hurried down the school hallway to the library, a small movement on the carpet caught my eye.  Glancing down I noticed a stinkbug plodding down the middle of the hall.  I looked down the long hall to the exit door a good 50 feet away.  The tiny bug with the tiny steps walking towards the doors as if headed for the great outdoors looked so incongruous in the big nearly empty hallway.  The stinkbug had wings, I wondered why it didn’t fly.  After all, I mused, surely I would fly if I had wings.  And so my inspirational thought for today was born and shared later with Brett at lunch.

I have often plodded through life like the stinkbug.  God created me with wings to fly, but either I don’t remember or I’m too scared to let go of the ground and soar.  When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses told God, “No, I can’t do it, I can’t go back to Egypt, I’m not a good speaker.”  But, God convinced him to say yes and off he went to Egypt.  Through him God created miracles.  He stretched forth his hand and parted the Red Sea.  He spoke to dry rocks that poured forth water at his command.  He met with God personally and spoke with Him on Mt. Sinai.  Moses was a stinkbug who used his wings to fly.  He could have spent the rest of his life herding sheep.

God created you and I with wings.  When He calls we can either say, “Yes,” and fly or spend the rest of our lives herding the proverbial sheep.

Many, LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, the things You planned for us. None can compare with You; were I to speak and tell of Your deeds, they would be too many to declare.  Psalm 40:5 

A couple of nights ago Brett asked if I had five minutes to brainstorm with him.  I paused for a moment and decided that kitchen clean up time could be put off for five more minutes.  I sat down on the couch and Brett brought up his new favorite subject:  What idea could we use to write a web TV series for the drama kids to produce.  We started out with  couple of older ideas we had previously kicked around and then the ideas started to fly and grow.  Five minutes stretched into at least thirty.  When the words stopped flowing I remembered once again how much fun we have when we brain storm together.

Brett and I appear on the surface to be opposites.  In the morning when he gets up, he opens the cupboard door, grabs a plastic circular disc filled with ground up coffee beans and places it into the Tassimo, pushes the button and watches the machine turn water into coffee.  When its time to make my morning energy drink I open the refrigerator door, pull out some carrots and greens and proceed to push them through the juicer.  I like to work outside while he prefers to stay indoors.  In the summer he likes to set the air conditioner to 68 while I prefer it hover around 80!  His clutter tolerance is about zero while I’m generally oblivious unless I make myself see it.  He can ski and snowboard while I feel lucky to get my feet to go straight in front of me.

But, when it comes to creating new ideas we are on the same wave-length.  It’s great to take ideas and build them on top of each other, changing them here and there just a little to create something entirely new.  It’s like taking a balloon and blowing it up into a long shape and then twisting it here and there and next thing you know it’s changed into a dog, a giraffe, a mouse or even a hat.

On the surface we are so much different from God  I could probably write pages about it.  He is infinite, we are finite.  He is sinless, we were born into sin.  He is selfless, we are selfish.  He creates, we destroy.  He is full of joy and worry free, our human natures tends to worry about the future which creates dread.  He absolutely loves everyone while we think we have a right to pick and choose who we love or hate.

But, despite such obvious differences we have the opportunity to think on the same wave-length as God.  Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.”  God said of David,  ‘I have found that David, son of Jesse, is a man after My own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22)  If we have faith that God knows best whatever the circumstances, we will allow Him to lead rather than follow our own inclinations.  God said David did what He wanted him to do and called him a ‘man after His own heart’ because of it.

As Christians we accept that we are ‘married’ to Christ.  The Bible tells us not to be unequally yoked to one another in marriage, but in our Christian marriage to Christ are we unequally yoked with Him?  Think of a time when you were in a decision making situation.  Take for example that split second before you lose it with the waitress who failed to get your order right.  God wants to take that split second to brainstorm with you.  You mentally toss a couple of ideas back and forth with God:

“Be polite.”

“No, can’t she get it right? How hard is it?”

“Be polite. Represent  Me.”

“But, I’m so angry, I wanted my eggs soft, not hard.”

“Be polite.  Represent Me.  I share My love with you, please share My love with her.”

When I am in a situation that requires the right decision and Christ asks me to sit down for five seconds of brainstorming ideas, I truly hope that I am so closely on the same wave-length that God can say of me: You are a woman after My own heart.