“People before projects.”

I first remember hearing Pastor Jim use this phrase after he returned from a trip to France.  The purpose of the trip was to assist and encourage the local church, and that involved performing several jobs, but Pastor Jim did not want the team to put getting work done ahead of building relationships. He frequently reminded his fellow travelers, “People before projects.” You should know that Pastor Jim is a highly motivated individual.  He has the nickname, “Train,” which originated during his own high school football days, stuck during his days coaching high school football, and persisted as he worked with teenagers through Youth for Christ.  That moniker followed him when he was pastoring. He was and is known for pushing through like a freight train!  I also remember him preaching about enthusiasm– “Enthusiasm is the engine that powers the train called ‘effort.’”  Pastor Jim is far from lazy; his “people before projects” philosophy surely isn’t an attempt to get out of carrying his part of any workload.

I am a very goal-focused, task-oriented individual.  I like to know what needs to be done, and I am quick to work on a plan for completing the jobs at hand.  Once the plan is made, I do not want to be distracted from reaching the finish line!  This drivenness has surely been a positive factor in completing medical school and working as a family physician, but like any good thing, it can be carried too far.   

Although I truly care about people, and although the things I get busy doing are intended to be helpful to others, sometimes they limit my ability to connect with the folks I am working with or working for.  People matter.  Relationships matter more than accomplishments.  

The priority of connecting and community is woven all through the Bible.  Take, for example, all the “one anothers” – advice, instructions about how to treat the people in your home and work and church and sphere of influence.  There are 59-ish such phrases.  Here is a sample:

^“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

“…serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13

“ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” Philippians 2:3

If repetition implies importance, then the “one another” above all the others is “Love one another.”  This phrase is used directly at least 11 times in the Bible, and loving others is spoken of in other terms many more times than that.  Jesus Himself told us to “love one another” 5 times.

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:17 “These things I command you, that you love one another.

Loving one another is active and involved.  “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” I John 3:18.

I do not want to be the person who misses the needs of others because I am so busy completing my “to do” list and too focused on my own agenda.  I want to be approachable and willing to listen; not distracted, but present, hearing with my mind and heart and not just with my ears.  I want to be hospitable; that is “friendly and welcoming to strangers or guests.”  As my mother used to say, I want to be “warm and accepting.”  

As important as this is with strangers and guests, it is vital with the people living right in my home.  I have a particular responsibility to love them, forgive them, serve them, pray for them, encourage them, and follow all the “one another” instructions with them as my object.  

As I shared earlier, this does not come naturally for me.  I need to remind myself, and I need others to remind me.  Let’s remind one another!  People before projects.

God, You give the ultimate example of loving people.  Thank You for loving me and for nudging me when I get so tied up in “doing” that I miss the chances to connect with the people You have placed in my life. Forgive me for the times I put projects ahead of people, and transform my heart so that I value others above myself and my agenda.  

-Leah

We are deep in football season in my family!  Middle son, Marco, is a senior in high school, which makes me a “senior football mom.”  Youngest son, Jack, is trying football for the first time as a 7^th grader, and oldest son, Ben, is playing saxophone in the Ohio Northern University marching band (which plays at football games 😊). 

Marco plays defensive line, so I have learned to watch for tackles.  This is what I wrote last fall and never published…

9/2022

Lots of tackles going on in my world lately!  It has been fun and exciting to watch Marco coming into his own in high school football this season. I was reflecting on tackling this afternoon, and found some analogies/inspiration for living life. Up front, let me say that I am not an expert, and all this is just my barely-football-literate perspective. (And please don’t tell Marco about this!)

A quick internet search gives the definition of tackle as “make determined efforts to deal with (a problem or difficult task).”

I definitely saw Marco making determined efforts to deal with the Ada football players last night, and I definitely see problems or difficult tasks that need tackling in my own life. Here are a few thoughts:

Tackling takes preparation

Those football players don’t just wake up on a Friday morning in September and decide to try their luck at pushing down some opposing linemen that evening. They have been preparing for months and really – years. They have been getting up at 6am during the summer to go lift weights and get their bodies in shape for the game. They have been focusing and practicing, learning plays and getting sweaty. They have endured some constructive criticism and allowed it to help them improve.

When there is an obstacle in front of me, I’d better have been preparing. I need to be consistent about growing in ways that will help me knock it down and keep it down and allow me to move forward. For me, that is all about my faith. Faith is what keeps me pushing and gives me the strength to overcome things like temptation, sluggishness, selfishness, apathy and many other opponents that want to stop my progress. I have to put in the time in prayer and in meditation and in reading God’s Word. It probably will cost me some sleep and require discipline. I will have to work with others and be willing to accept direction.

“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back til they were destroyed. I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me.” 2 Samuel 22:33-40

Those are words of David, describing how his connection to God (i.e.faith) helped him tackle the foes in his life.

That passage leads to another observation –

Tackling requires endurance

It takes more than physical conditioning and knowledge of the game to be a good football player. There is a kind of mental toughness that is necessary. You have to keep going, keep lining up, keep trying play after play after play. When you get knocked down, you get up and get back at it. When you mess up, you try again. When it hurts, you push through. You keep playing until the game is over, giving it all you have and not letting the score steal your energy. There is more to it than winning – you are growing and improving and building on each success as well as each failure.

How I need that kind of endurance in my life! Keep on keeping on! Get knocked down, but get up again. Don’t let failure stop me. Be willing to push into pain for the goal of overcoming the roadblocks that prevent forward movement. Realize that there is a bigger picture than this moment; what seems like disaster can actually lead to strength.

“…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

I love the idea of a “great cloud of witnesses!” Like the audience, cheering us on! Even more pumped than the fans at a football game, their applause encourages us. And that is a reminder that…

Tackling takes a team

I learned last night that in football stats there are solo tackles and shared tackles. Sometimes it takes more than one player to get the job done. Our athletic director/game announcer likes to say that a tackle was made by a “whole ship full of pirates.” No question that football is a team sport. And no question that life is a team sport too. It is such a comfort to know that I am not “playing” alone, that my teammates are nearby to jump in when I can’t tackle an issue all by myself. It is important to remember that what I do affects the people on my team – it’s not all about me.

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. …Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12

The preparation, the endurance, the teamwork, all of it – in life, the tackling is a result of a connection to God.

“By your power we will drive back our enemies; by your strength we will trample down our foes!” Psalm 44:5 NET

“With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.” Psalm 60:12

God, You are strong and You are strength. I need You energize me to keep on engaging – to keep on sitting at Your feet in preparation and to keep on tackling the things that try to keep me from living life the way You intend for me to live. Thank You that I am not alone.

-Leah

February 5.  Today she would have turned 76 years old – my beautiful-inside-and-out mother-in-law, Mary Eiden.  I miss her.  She loved me and many, many others well.  She modeled a positive attitude and lived her faith, even when fighting cancer. 

The last several weeks of her life, in December, 2016, were some of the most difficult weeks of my life.  I remember that during those weeks, and especially the last one, all I could pray was that God would give us what we needed, when we needed it.  Over and over again as we walked through the valley of her death, He did just that.  As I reflected on it later, it was truly amazing.

Since then, I have prayed the same prayer for others going through devastating or troubling times.  “God, please give them what they need, when they need it.”

It’s a prayer rooted in the promises of Scripture.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”  Phillippians 4:19

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”  2 Corinthians 9:8

When God gives us what we need (which we do not deserve, by the way), that is grace.  His grace is available, enough for each moment.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  Hebrews 4:16

About 20 years ago, I was preparing to go back to work after maternity leave for my son, Benjamin.  I had never been a working mom before.  I was lying in bed, rehearsing in my mind all the responsibilities I would have and trying to figure out how I would take care of them all.  How was I going to get meals ready?  When would I go to the grocery?  And, did I have any clothes for work that would fit my 6 weeks post-partum body?  All at once, some Bible verses popped into my mind. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”  Matthew 6:25

Talk about what I needed to remember at that very moment!  Read the rest of the passage:

Don’t worry about food or clothes.  “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the flowers of the field gorw.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is sthrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:25-34

Don’t worry about tomorrow.  Trust God to provide what you need when you need it.  Grace for this moment.

I had occasion to remember all of this recently.  I made a difficult decision – a good one, but one that would affect lots of other people.  I knew there would be people who would be disappointed and worried.  I decided to change jobs, to leave my practice in Bluffton to work training family medicine residents.  As a result, I would have to see my own patients 25 miles away from my current location for 18 months before I could return to the community.   I prayed about that a lot, and I felt clear direction that this was where God was leading.

As I drove to work two weeks ago, the day I would be sharing this news with my co-workers and others, I was praying that I would know what to say.  I drove my usual route and saw the church sign that I had seen lots of times.  I read it with new eyes, and it was what I needed, when I needed it.

“We look back and thank God.  We look forward and trust Him.” 

That was what I needed to say – to myself and to my co-workers and to my patients.  When we look back, we can see that God has provided.  He has been faithful and good.  Because of that, we know we can trust Him with this moment and with all the moments yet to come. 

Good Father, thank You for Your endless supply of grace.  I pray for every person reading this, that You will provide what they need right now.  Grace for this moment.  And I pray, that You will fill them with the ability to trust that You will not fail them in the future.  Give us grateful hearts that remember Your goodness and trusting hearts that anticipate Your continued care.

-Leah

I used to play the piano.  (Maybe I will again some day 🙂 )  When I was 12 or 13, I found this song in one of my books.  It was a simple arrangement, so I could play it successfully, and more importantly, I loved the lyrics.  I remember playing it over and over.

So many nights I’d sit by my window

Waiting for someone to sing me his song

So many dreams I kept deep inside me

Alone in the dark but now you’ve come along

And you light up my life

You give me hope to carry on

You light up my days and fill my nights with song

Rollin’ at sea, adrift on the water

Could it be finally I’m turning for home? 

Finally a chance to say, “Hey, I love you”

Never again to be all alone

Cause you light up my life

You give me hope to carry on

You light up my days and fill my nights with song…

I remember playing the song and meaning the lyrics, sometimes addressing them to God and sometimes to a boy I had a romantic interest in.  I remembered all this the other day, and I could hear the song like it was yesterday.  From the perspective of an adult, I realize that the song was written with romantic intent, but adult Leah is convinced that the desires in the song can truly only be met by God.  No human can keep me from ever being alone or provide all the light I need to carry on.

Light.  Such a great thing, literally but also in a figurative sense.  Energy and life and hope are all tied up in the concept of light in our lives.  And I’m not alone in thinking that only God can really light up a life.  The Bible is full of references to God as light.  There are so many that it is difficult to choose which ones or how many to highlight 🙂 .  Take a little journey with me back through my readings over the last month and let the Light shine on you!

12/6  Micah 7:7-8  “But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.  Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” 

Ever sit in darkness?  I have.  Not the place I want to sit.  I am thankful that God will be my light – I don’t have to sit in darkness.  Sometimes it seems I have to make the choice to turn toward His light and allow Him to dispel the darkness.

12/23  II Peter 1:19  “So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed.  You will do well to be attentive to this [the message of Jesus] as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 

Light to hold on to now, until a day when all is light around us and inside us.

12/26 Advent – coming of Jesus to earth was described as a light dawning.

Prophesied hundreds of years earlier:  Malachi 4:2 “But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.”

And prophesied by Zechariah just before Jesus was born: Luke 1:78-79 “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

And proclaimed by Simeon when he held baby Jesus:  Luke 2:30-32 “for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Psalm 139:11-12 “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light unto you.”

12/28  I Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”   Because of Jesus we have been rescued from darkness.

Colossians 1:11-14 “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Psalm 89:15-16 “Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance; they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness.”

12/30 Psalm 43:3 “O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.”

One more…

1/13 Psalm 18:28 “It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God lights up my darkness.” 

This barely scratches the surface.  The word “light” appears in the Bible 200+ times.  The gospel of John uses the word 30 times.  Read the gospel of John and look for all the light.  Don’t sit in darkness – allow the Light of the world to move you out of the kingdom of darkness and into His marvelous light!  He will light up your life and give you hope to carry on.  He will light up your days and fill your nights with song! 

Jesus, thank You for not leaving us in darkness.  Thank You for bringing light to the world and allowing us to be filled with Your light.  Open our hearts to receive all that You have for us.  Teach us to let the light You give us shine on the people around us. 

-Leah

WWJD.  Everyone knows what that means, right?  That’s what I thought when I asked my sons what WWJD stood for.  Marco was around 9 years old.  He thought for a moment and then said, “World Wide Jelly Doughnuts?”  You have to know Marco to truly appreciate how funny this was.  Suffice it to say that worldwide jelly doughnuts sounded like heaven on earth to that little boy 🙂

WWJD.  What Would Jesus Do.  I was thinking about some other children yesterday morning.  Ellie, Alexandria, Amerie, Xavier, Jailah, Jayce, Layla… and 12 more who were killed at school this week.  To be truthful, I have been trying not to think about them and their classmates and their teachers and their families and the whole tragic and terrible thing.  This is unthinkable.  And along with the grief that takes over when I open my heart and my mind to what happened, like most of you, there is anger.  Why?  How?  Again?  Somebody do something! 

I realize that this massacre takes on a political life as the government responds, and that it turns into an argument about gun control.  That is one reason I don’t want to think about it – I have a sense that all that discussion is out of my hands, and I shrink back from the dissension around it.  But yesterday, when the thoughts slipped in, I asked myself a new question.  What would Jesus do? 

Don’t get the idea that I have some special insight into what Jesus would do.  I don’t.  But, I am convinced that this is the lens through which I should see all of life, this event and this political mess included.  I have what you have, the Bible and prayer, to ponder what He would do and what He wants me to do.  I’m still reading and asking, but here are some observations:

Jesus loved and valued children.

In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, we read,

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’  He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.  …

If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame that to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. …

Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.’ “

And in the nineteenth chapter,

“Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray.  The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’  And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.”

Jesus lived in a country occupied and controlled and brutally oppressed by a foreign government.  He did not speak about defending oneself against the government or against outside attack of any kind.  Here is what He said:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer.  But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.”  (Matthew 5:38-42)

“So have no fear of them [those who want to persecute you for your faith]; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.  Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”  (Matthew 10:26-29)

Jesus did not turn away from the grief of others. 

“Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.  As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out.  He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.  When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’  Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still.  And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’  The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.”  (Luke 7:11-15)

What would Jesus do?  He never spoke specifically about school shootings.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could ask Him?  Wait!  We can.  We must.

Go to Jesus.  Bring your grief and your fear and your assumptions and all of it.  Let’s do it individually.  Let’s do it together. 

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  II Chronicles 20:12

Jesus, our hearts are broken for the children and the families of Uvalde.  Help us not to become indifferent or calloused to suffering.  We bring each person affected by this tragedy to You.  Would You provide comfort and help and healing?  Would You be present with those who are overwhelmed with grief and don’t know how to go on?  Please help.  Let us know how we can express our care to them and what You would have us do.  Give us opportunities to show Your love to people who are struggling with anger and thoughts of violence.  Help us to befriend vulnerable people before they reach a point of violent acts.  Please teach me and teach Your church what Jesus would do.  Give us the courage and wisdom we need to do whatever You ask of us.  Our eyes are on You.  Help us to turn them back to You when we lose that focus.  Have mercy on us. 

-Leah