I feel like I am in a time warp. It was just several weeks ago when things were somewhat “normal” and now it feels like ages ago! So much has happened, so much has changed, so many questions. My “ordinary” and “comfortable” have been disrupted and my inner self is being a little rebellious. I want to do things “the old way.” I want to go back to my comfort zone. I don’t feel ready to handle some of the tasks/situations that lie ahead. I can’t wrap my brain around so many things at once, and then when I do, they all change again! These have been some of the thoughts that have rolled through my mind over these past weeks. I am sure that all of us have felt this way at some point in time. Sometimes I wish I had a magic mirror that I could peer into that would tell me everything that was going to happen…or do I? 

 

While circumstances that surround us may short-circuit our brain and cause us to doubt, fear, or worry, there is one thing that remains constant…God’s love for us. It sounds cliche, but it is oh, so true! Let me give you some perspective. 

 

Do you think Abraham understood how he could be the father of many nations when he gazed upon all of those stars up in the sky? Do you think David understood why he was running for his life through the wilderness instead of sitting on a throne? Do you think the Israelites thoroughly understood that the walls of Jericho would fall as they praised God with a victorious shout? These people in these situations had no magic mirror, but they trusted in a God who loved them infinitely more than they could imagine. That same God exists for us today. 

 

Even in the midst of dire situations, God worked (works) it for good, someway, somehow. We might not always have the privilege of seeing the “answer” this side of heaven, but that does not mean that God is not working behind the scenes. He most certainly is! The reason that we are able to praise God in the middle of the storm is that what we know about God is far more important than what we don’t. This is what I do know: I know that God will never leave me because He loves me (John 3:16). I know that God is for me, not against me (Romans 8:31). I know that God’s promises are true and that He wants what is best for me (Psalm 33:4). The obstacles in front of us are what drives us to our Savior. And these obstacles, dear friend, develop in us a discipline of faith that will bring us into a knowledge of God that would probably otherwise not have been impossible. Those words of promise are our lifeline. 

 

So getting back to the title of this article, “Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall…”

My 8th-grade class (with help) created a framed mirror several weeks ago for our school auction. The mirror was set amongst an array of tiles that bore their confirmation verses written in their own handwriting. As I pictured this mirror in my mind, my thought was this…This is the exact mirror that each of us needs on our walls so that we can start our day being reminded of God’s promises as we see a reflection of His creation (Me! You!). We don’t need a mirror to tell us the future. We already know what the future holds for us because we believe the promises of God over the lies of the world. We are His. He is our Shepherd. “Have no fear, little flock; Have no fear, little flock, for the Father has chosen to give you the kingdom; Have no fear little flock.” (LSB 735)

I have loved being outside ever since I was little. We didn’t grow up with air conditioning, so my brother and I spent most of our days outside entertaining ourselves with the simple pleasures that encircled growing up on a farm. If it was hot outside, more than likely it was hotter inside! Maybe that is where I acquired my love for nature and the outdoors. Or maybe it was from my mom. You see, she would never let us bring toys for “show and tell.” She thought that was too boring, so we would go looking outside for something interesting and unique to share on our special day…something with a science lesson behind it because my mom was a teacher, and once a teacher always a teacher. We brought in a whole range of things: snake skins, petrified wood, chrysalises, a hornets’ nest (minus the hornets), praying mantis, milkweed pods, a pet squirrel, and the list goes on. (I wonder if our teachers were ever worried about our “show and tell” day). Or maybe I inherited my love of the outdoors from my dad. I loved to rake hay in the summer (most days). I enjoyed driving the tractors for various things and bottle feeding the calves. Those are all memories from my childhood…seemingly insignificant to anyone else, but treasures in the eye of the beholder.

I still enjoy being outside. I love the beauty that God surrounds me with even in the seemingly insignificant, so as I was out on my walk a couple of weeks ago, I took notice of a few fence rows that still used hedge posts as their anchors. There are a few of these left, but most have been replaced with metal T-posts and electric wires. It’s amazing what I notice when I walk. Even when I run, I don’t notice all of the details like I do when I walk, and that is because I go at a slower pace. I took a good look at those fence posts, seemingly insignificant as they were, and began to see the beauty in that aged wood. Some hedge posts had whitish gray lichen growing up the sides and some orangish yellow, some had morning glory vines tangled around them, many posts had patterned grooves of weathering worn into the wood, and some of those gnarled knots provided a home for birds as they supported the rusted fencing from years ago.  To me, those sights were things of beauty.

I started to think about the “seemingly insignificant” that I pass by every day and fail to pay attention to. Jesus didn’t pass by the “seemingly insignificant.” He operated at a much slower pace than the world around Him and took the time to take note of those surrounding Him, the needs that they had, and the ways in which He could help them and use them as instruments for His glory. He ate with the tax collectors, sought out poor widows, dared to speak to the prostitutes, touched the untouchables, conversed with those who were shunned by the “popular crowd”, and gathered the little children into His arms.

If you think about it, we are pretty insignificant when it comes to our sinful lives. We don’t have much to offer of our own sinful flesh, but Jesus sees us differently because He has redeemed us a lost and condemned creature.  He purchased and won us from death and from the power of the devil. We are significant in His eyes. It is because of Him that we have worth and beauty. We are His beloved children that He gave His life for. Our faith lies in our Creator. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care” Matthew 10:29.  “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:4.

So here are the points that I would like for you to take from my ramblings above: rejoice boldly over the small things, be wary when you start taking blessings for granted, use each day as an opportunity to find joy in the blessings that the Lord has given you (and there are many), be alert to the needs of those around you, stand strong in the faith, and praise Jesus for the price He paid on the cross and His victory over death because it is through that very sacrifice, and only through that sacrifice, that we have significance in our Father’s eyes and will therefore be able to enjoy life with Him in eternity one day. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1b