Clothing Saga II: A Wardrobe

Matthew 6:30 (NIV)

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?  You of little faith!


I've written before about how God gave me back a sweater I'd asked for.  I will now tell you of how God answered a larger prayer: I asked him for a wardrobe.

Yes, I told God one day, as an adult, "God, I just wish you'd give me a new wardrobe."

Yes, I know that I am an American, I live like a king compared to others.  I've been to the Philippines and South Korea.  I've seen people here in the states who pray for food every day.

But I asked God for that.  And he delivered.

Within a week, a coworker came over to me and asked me, "What size are you?"

I was a little offended.  But then I told her.

"I've got something for you," she said.

She brought a white garbage bag full of clothing over to my desk.  There were at least six pairs of pants and at least that many shirts.

God said: Is this sufficient?

I told God, "Yes, I know... Your grace is sufficient for me.  I wish I could wear that.  It's a lot more trendy than these clothes."

God said: You already are.

Defeat May Be Your Greatest Victory

Samson's story is told in Judges 13 - 16.  His story is perhaps one of the most well-known of the Judges, at least in my knowledge.  Sadly, a lot of the generation coming behind me don't know the Bible stories like many my age or the generations before me.  I encourage you to read the entire story; there is much to be gleaned from it.
I felt drawn to read Samson's story and refresh my own self as to the particulars.  As I re-read this, there were a lot of parallels to my life, particularly the part about the incredible physical strength.  Wait... I guess the parallels were more figurative than literal.
One of Samson's most memorable triumphs is told in Chapters 14 and 15.

Judges 14:1-2New International Version (NIV)Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman.  When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”

It is only fair to start off here stating that Samson made a mistake to choose a wife from among the people who did not believe in God.  I guess it is best said that defeat and ruin come to those who step out from under the covering of God that is for those who are obedient.  Samson loved God, and God loved Samson, but the Bible tells us that those that truly love God obey his commands.  God told his people, the Israelites, to not marry those who did not worship Him.  It was not because He is a terrible and mean God, but because by marrying "pagans", their hearts would be led astray.  If you read Samson's whole story, you will find that is actually what was Samson's undoing with the infamous Delilah.  If Samson had kept away from the Philistines, he would never had fallen in.  But, as Romans 8:28 states, God worked even Samson's blunders for the good of Samson (by restoring his name) and for the good of his people.

At any rate, Samson wishes to marry a Philistine woman.  There is a lot of drama, and when you get to Chapter 15, you can read of Samson's own heart-wrenching, utter defeat.  He goes to see his wife and finds that her father has given her in marriage to another-- a man that was in his bridal party at that!

I find the romance in Samson's reaction.  In verse 4, you get a pretty detailed picture on how Samson handled his heartbreak.

Judges 15:4-6New International Version (NIV)Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails.  When he had set fire to the torches, he released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, thus burning up both the shocks and the standing grain, along the vineyards and groves.  Then the Philistines said, "Who did this?" And they said, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion." ...

All I have to say is 300 foxes? I live in a rural area where I might, if I'm lucky, see a fox run across the road.  But 300?  How do you even trap that many?  Or did he catch them with his bare hands?  And then to set fire to them?  The man was mad, or driven by some pretty strong emotion.
Before you think that I am justifying catching foxes and setting fire to them because of heartbreak, I need to point out the fact that Samson undoubtedly had a pretty bad temper.  Compounded with the supernatural strength given to him, if he acted on his anger, the results were disastrous.  His actions were definitely ungodly.  Not only was Samson defeated in his relationship, but he was also defeated by sinning in his response to his pain.
We learn in the second part of verse 6 that Samson's wife (or his companion's wife, rather) and father were burned by the Philistines because they were the cause of so much destruction, an action which further disgusted Samson and brought out his anger.  Not only was the woman he loved taken away from him, but she was also murdered!  Talk about defeat in in the lowliest sense of the word to a man in love.  Samson's temper flares again, and in verse 8 you see that he again takes revenge on the Philistines, killing many.
Where is the victory in all this pain, anger, and slaughter?  The victory lies in the fact that God is God, and he knew exactly how much of a temper Samson had, and how much destruction would come from hurtful actions.  I am not saying God inspired Samson to murder or that God inspired the Philistines to murder to make him angry, however God has a way of using free will (especially our blunders!) for the good of those he loves.  God used Samson, a man of incredible strength, in his weakness to set into motion the deliverance of his people.
The Philistines were the Israelite's enemies.  They were oppressive.  They were cruel (seen in burning Samson's love and her father!).  Israel needed to be delivered, and God used Samson's utter defeat and heartache to lead to his greatest victory.
Samson's story did not stop at foxes.  That was only the beginning.  The rest of his story can be read in Judges 15 - 16.  It is an incredible tale of how one man's defeat and even death were the greatest triumph of his life.
If you are feeling defeated, remember Samson.  Your pain, your weaknesses, and your troubles seem so large to you now, but they are all a part of a greater picture.  While you may not know if you can keep going, I encourage you to be strong and courageous!  What seems like your utter defeat may just be the greatest victory of your life.  

I Asked God For a Car

Matthew 7: 7-10 (NASB)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!"


When I was a teenager, my walk with God was something else.  I think that I didn't have some of the hindrances that I have as an adult.  I had pure motives, not the convoluted motives I find I sometimes have.
My brother and I didn't grow up with great wealth.  I remember eating hotdogs and ramen as a kid.  My family didn't have all the things other families had.  When we were teenagers, my parents were able to buy a house and I think our lifestyle was better than it was before.  However, my parents' better income did not provide for my brother and I to have a car to get around in.
We lived 11 miles from our high school.  My brother and I frequently biked to the school during the summer for cross country running practice.  Need I point out that part of the ride was downhill and then uphill in both directions, so I biked 22 miles uphill both ways to get to running practice?  Now, we didn't do sprints.  We both ran cross country.  So that was 22 miles with at least a mile of running in-between.  If you are impressed, just think about the (INSANE!) days I decided to bike back to the school in the evenings to weight train for an hour or so...
I wish I was as in shape now as I was then.  Ahem.
At any rate, the church we attended was at least double this distance.  My brother and I both were involved in youth group.  Plus we were growing up, and it would be nice to have wheels.  So, having simple faith, I went to God.
Me: God, will you give my brother and I a car to drive?
Not long after, my neighbors came over and were chatting with my parents.  They brought my brother and I in and they said that they weren't going to a church at the time but they were Christians and wanted to give God their "tithe".  So, they decided to give my brother and I their old car.
That car ran for nearly ten years, and only recently my brother got rid of it.
God doesn't just provide, he plans ahead with his provisions.  How much  more will your heavenly Father give indeed!

Clothing Saga I: The Sweater

Matthew 6:28 (NIV)
And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.
God knew somehow that women in our day and age would like clothes.  Jesus addressed it during his time on earth.  Fitting.
God knew that when I would walk the earth, I would like clothes too.
When I was a teenager, I had an incredibly close walk with God.  I played the guitar or bass on a worship team and sang.  At one point I lead worship while playing the bass.  At another point I was at the church a minimum of 40 hours a week, nights and weekends, practicing, playing worshipping.  It was so easy to enter in then.  
At any rate, my time with God extended past worshipping at church.  I talked to him on passing periods at school, I talked to God while I was driving.  Before going to bed at night, I talked to him.  The list goes on.
There's something about being close to God that makes even insignificant matters a priority to him.  I think it's like being in a love relationship.  A lover might do something crazy to get something small just to please their love.  God showed his love through me by re-acquiring a sweater for me.
I say re-acquiring because it was a sweater I once had.  I have this (bad) habit of purchasing clothes, getting tired of them, putting them into a garbage sack at the bottom of my closet, getting rid of the sack, and then buying new clothes to start the whole vicious cycle over again.  One item of clothing that made it into the garbage bag was a white, creme-colored cardigan sweater that had once been a staple in my wardrobe.
I've pretty much found that in Alaska, every girl needs a nice basic white cardigan sweater, and a nice basic black cardigan sweater to keep warm and look trendy.  I don't know why I got rid of this sweater, but away it went.
There's one thing I forgot to mention about my vicious clothing cycle.  I sometimes wish for clothing that I've gotten rid of.  But it's gone, so that's that.
I was talking to God one day, and I told him, "You know what, God?  I wish I had that creme-colored cardigan sweater back."
God told me: Get into your dad's truck and drive to Value Village (a thrift store).
I thought God had ignored my request, but I promptly did as I was told.  Ah, the good ol' days when one didn't have to worry about things as one does as an adult.  There were so many less hindrances as a youth.
Needless to say, I went to Value Village and I found my cardigan sweater.  It was a little used, but it was mine.
Why worry about clothes?  God's got you covered.  :)

Strive To Be Like The Lotus Flower

Matthew 5:8 (New International Version)

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Background

During a prayer session, youth were asked to wait upon the Lord to see if he had anything to say.  He showed me a picture of a small pink lotus flower, but I dismissed the image, thinking it trivial.  One of the youth, a quieter boy, piped up and said he saw a small, pink lotus flower.  When the youth leader asked if anyone had the interpretation of this image, one student offered to look it up on the internet.  The following information was found.

What makes the lotus flower so special?

The lotus flower starts as a small flower at the bottom of a pond, in the muck and grime. It slowly grows up towards the water’s surface, continually moving towards the light. Once it comes to the surface of the water, the lotus flower blossoms into a beautiful flower.  At night the flower closes and sinks underwater.  At dawn it rises and opens again. Untouched by the impurity, the lotus symbolizes the purity of heart and mind.

Significance

Like the lotus flower, we are all called to keep our hearts pure so that we may see God in these dark and murky times.  While we may take time to be in God’s presence, our ascension into the light of day, we will, until we die, eventually submerge into the grime of the world again.  I believe that these images, given at a youth group prayer session, were a picture of God’s heart for us in these times.  God desires purity in us; it’s what He finds attractive.  When we are attractive to anyone, they will want to spend time with us.  I think in some respects it is like us with God. 

If you do your research, you will find that the lotus flower has some deep spiritual meanings for many different religions, especially Buddhism and Hinduism.  No wonder so many people over the ages were attracted to the powerful symbolism in this beautiful little flower!  It is a very basic depiction of the desires of God’s heart for us, to rise again as a beautiful flower, the very essence of who we are in Him.  That part of us that humans call their conscience, the part that cries out for God, sees this beautiful depiction, and across the board, we have desired to be like this small flower, yearned for the completion in Christ.

I believe the message that God wanted to give to us during that session, and wants to portray now, is to look at this image and take heart.  To be encouraged and to strive for purity.  I believe the message that God wanted to portray to us is simply this: strive to be like the lotus flower.  

How I Met God

I met God first, I think, at the young age of four.  It was in my backyard on post at Eilson Airforce Base, Alaska.  
I heard about him in Sunday school and wondered if God was actually real.  My parents took my brother and I to the chapel every Sunday.  One of our neighbors, a girl slightly older than I, told me that she believed in science, not God.  Also in Mother Nature.  I asked a lady who was teaching Sunday school how I could know if God is real.  She told me to ask God to show himself to me, and he would.
I went home and did as directed.  God did just as she said he would.
My father had given me a children's Bible and through videos and my parents reading the children's Bible to me, I was familiar with a story of Gideon (Judges 6-7) and how he set out a physical test to see if God was real.  I decided to do ask God to reveal himself to me in a simple test:  If he was real, he would accept an offering that I left for him.
I then set about making the offering.  It was a bouquet of hand-picked dandelions and clover flowers.  I took a piece of Trident chewing gum and wrapped it around them to hold them together, so God wouldn’t lose any.  I then thought he might find the gum disgusting, as grown ups did when they found used gum under tables.  So I disguised it with clover leaves.  The bouquet I left by the solitary birch tree in the back yard.  And then I waited.
The next day, I went to the tree, and the bouquet was gone.  I thought to myself surely someone must have taken it, so I told God if he was there, he would accept my next offering too.  And I went through the routine a few more times.  Each time, the bouquet disappeared.
I never told my parents about my experiment, for fear they might interfere.
Suffice to say, I told God shortly thereafter I believed in Him and would do so the rest of my life.  I also said I didn't really understand the part about Jesus because I didn't really find the crucifixion comfortable, but because I believed in God and Jesus was sent by Him, I would believe in all of that as well.  I told God I didn't understand everything in the Bible, but since He was real, then the Bible had to be real, too.
I still believe in God today, and he has revealed himself in ways to me more powerful than accepting a simple offering of flowers.
I am excited to one day see him face to face.