Through the Eyes of Faith

"Unless you become as little children..."

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Unless you change and become like little children
you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

- Matthew 18:3

With the recent death of my aunt, Tia Une, many thoughts have been going around my mind. One of them is the realization that my parents' generation is about to come to an end.

The implications are obvious. My generation is next in line. This has been much food for thought, something that I want to meditate on for the next few days.

For now, I certainly do not feel old age creeping upon me yet.

In fact, on any given day, I still prefer to wear my favorite cotton blouse, blue jeans, and running shoes, more than anything else.

A backpack suits me perfectly.

And these past few years, I 've come to enjoy life on the go, compared to the predictable and the comfortable.

There are still too many things out there, waiting to be learned, or discovered.

I love my present life as it is, give or take a few changes...with all its imperfections and uncertainties. Because deep within my heart I know that God is still in the process of re-arranging it, and I'm waiting for Him to reveal answers to my prayers.

Some will find this hard to believe, but at 56, it feels like I'm still in my quarter life...yes, that's right, 25 or 30 years of age.

I just love Worshiper's kind of music, and genuinely enjoy First Born's jokes.

Obedient One and I can go window shopping for hours, giggle over girly stuff, and watch "Parent Trap" or "You've Got Mail" for the nth time together.

And I truly am looking forward to being my daughters-in-law's best friend, to opportunities for us to know one another better, making them feel I'm on their team -- their ally, not someone that they need to please, or one with whom they have to compete for their husbands' love.

The truth is that the older I get, the younger I feel.

I don't want to read my life as if it were an outdated textbook.

There is an eagerness to look at the events of my life from a different perspective,

to discover more new things about God, and to relate to Him at a deeper and more intimate level...

to unlearn, to let go, to give up...

to be humble enough to admit my weaknesses, my faults, and shortcomings...

and yes, to be willing to do things differently the second time around.



It is no coincidence that God gave me a new daughter in law just as another year was about to begin, or that He sent me on a trip to Thailand within the first week of 2010, or that my beloved aunt passed away just two weeks into this new year.

There are important messages from my Father's heart found within these recent happenings:

I am entering into a crucial season of my life, and a new perspective is needed for me to understand what the Father is doing...

It's not about me, or my plans, or what seems good to me... it's all about Him.

He wants me to be ready for the unexpected.

Many messages, but this one thought stands out: Change is coming.

I hear the Father's voice saying, "Empty your container. Enlarge your heart. Prepare for the outpouring."

Let me confess that I had been taking it easy these past months. That's probably needed, too.

But the tide is turning.

The season is changing, and I am entering into new roles, new relationships, new territories.

And in this new season, there is an upward call...to go up higher, to widen my outlook. G0d's inviting me to look at things differently, not in the way I have been used to.

To look at what is happening with the eyes of a child, through the eyes of faith.

To recognize my blind spots, and allow God to give me a clearer vision.

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I wanted to post the lovely pictures of my recent trip to Chiang Mai the day after I got back. Wi-fi signal at our house was low and so I went to the corner internet cafe with the intention of doing a blog post. Something went wrong; the picture files on my USB ended up being corrupted, and I lost most of them.

Surprisingly, instead of being upset, as I walked back home, there was peace in my heart about it. Anyway there are still some pictures left, and it is still possible to post a few of them on this blog one of these days. It is what I have learned from that trip, the friends, the beautiful memories...these are the things that really matter.

Actually it was an unpleasant email I received that same evening that weighed me down and dampened my spirits.

To some, it may not seem such a major thing, compared to the earthquake in Haiti.

But in God's scheme of things, the words we speak is big deal. Our tongues have the power to create life, or to destroy.

Somehow, I saw a spiritual connection between those two events - the virus that destroyed my Chiang Mai pictures, and the unkind words that the enemy plants in hopes of destroying a beautiful relationship.

My spirit was downcast; I was tired of having to battle in this area over and over again.

"Can you trust Me, even in this?" my Father seemed to say.

"I need You more than ever, my Father."

A soft breeze blew as I heard the familiar lines of a favorite passage...whatsoever things are lovely...and worthy of praise...think on these things...

How I needed that tangible comfort and healing touch of God's word!

At bedtime I requested Obedient One to read the rest of the lines:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue
and if there is anything praiseworthy--
meditate on these things.

- Philippians 4:8

I went to sleep that night hugging my Bible and whispering this earnest prayer on my lips:

Wrap Your arms around me, O my God
Revive me again...
Be my hedge against enemy attacks,
Shield me, my Father from the deadly virus
That seeks to destroy one's spiritual well-being,
Protect me from a shallow, lifeless, faith...
Faith that bears no fruit;
Preserve me from unwholesome speech that defiles
And only brings death...
Allow me instead to see life
From the pure perspective of heaven...

Yes, my Father, I put my trust in You alone.

---0---

The song Hard Core Poetry was sung by a group called Tavares in the 1970's. Five brothers (Ralph, Tiny, Chubby, Butch and Pooch) who hailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts, made up the group which was said to have created "the most consistently high quality soul music of that period."

I must have been 21 or 22 years old when I first heard this song, and it has remained one of my favorites all through these years.

It is the song that I hear in my heart tonight.

Hard Core Poetry

by Tavares

(Lyrics taken from here)

It depends on who is looking at the tenement walls
Whether he's coming home or passing through
You can walk the streets and find so much to criticize
But that would be the easy thing to do

'Cause there's beauty in the concrete
If you see it with your heart
The sidewalks only hurt you
If you hate them from the start

This is a song not necessarily sweet
I'll pass it on to folks I never will meet
And if my words don't make history
Just call it "hard core poetry"

You can blame the world if troubles come
And knock at your door
Let your weakness cut you down to size
If you find some fault with everything surrounding you
Maybe it's your narrow-minded eyes

Cause there's music in the city
If your ear is to the ground
Only non-believers
Never hear a single sound

A lovely and high quality video version of the song here.