THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

April 12, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

This past Sunday, for Easter, we had a 1970's theme at our church. A lot of people dressed in 1970's style of clothing and the stage was set up like a living room, using decorations from that time period. A couple of ladies signed Easter songs that were popular during the 70's. It was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Sunday night I had a dream. In the dream I had gone back to work at the bank in Missouri where I had work for 13-14 years. Several other employees, with whom I had worked, were also in the dream. In real life, that bank had been sold a few years after I had left and in the past several years has been sold different times and changed names. In my dream, it was as if we were going back to set it up to be the bank that it had originally been. Office furniture had been piled up on shelves in the centers of rooms. The lady who had been my supervisor, was trying to get everything set up so that people could work and we could reopen. Again, in real life, she was a take-charge type of person who oversaw many things and made sure that everything got done; she was the go-to person for pretty much everything, and was good at her job.

During my years at the bank, I started out in bookkeeping and after a few years was promoted to bookkeeping supervisor. We cross-trained as tellers, and when the teller supervisor retired, I was also made teller supervisor. I did accounts payables for the bank, as well as several other duties. I eventually had a large office set up in a big room at the back of the bookkeeping department. I had a nice desk with a return on the side and I also had a nice credenza.

In my dream, I told my supervisor that I wanted my old desk and credenza back. We went back to my old office and there was a long white table in there, too. She told me that there was too much to move, and I told her I didn't want the white table (which hadn't been there when I worked there), only what had originally been my furniture. The thing is, I was letting my boss move and carry and arrange everyone's heavy furniture, without offering to help. Again, in real life, she tended to be the one who carried the heavy loads and had a lot of various responsibilities that no one knew how to do, except her. While working with her, we became good friends, and I helped with what I could, but there was a lot that I didn't know how to do that she had to do herself. Symbolically in the dream, I think it represented her carrying the heavy load of responsibility without any help.

When I finally got my desk, I opened the drawers, and whoever had been using it during the years that I was gone had left their junk in it. Nothing of value, just unimportant junk. In my dream, I thought, "Why would they leave all this in the drawers, without cleaning it out when they left?!" I was upset, because it no longer felt like my desk. It didn't have any of my things in it, was junky from previous users, and felt "used". It wasn't the same as what I had remembered. That's how the dream ended.

There are times in life when we remember things from the past. Many times it seems as if it was perfect, and we wish we could go back and recreate those days. And perhaps it was wonderful and idyllic, as we remember. At least there were moments that were like that.

Other times, we "wish" we could go back to how things used to be, because our memories of it are wonderful; but the truth is, were we able to go back, we'd probably find things that we had forgotten.

Just as a simple example: Younger generations think, "Oh let's recreate the 1970's! That will be fun!" But the truth is, were they to be stuck, for a while, during that time period, they would realize how spoiled they are and how technology has evolved. There were no cell phones -- you had a home phone, with a party line! At least we did in the country where I grew up. No laptops or iPad/tablets; and you only had network TV and had to use an antenna. None of the homes where I grew up had central heat and air; they had wood heat in the winter and opened windows and box fans in the summer. No GPS or online shopping. Where I grew up, homes only had one bathroom (we had an outhouse until the early 70's!), so the entire family had to share.

Honestly, I have happy memories of growing up in the 70's, and was well-adapted because we lived like everyone else we knew and didn't know any different. Now that I have what I have, I enjoy the comforts of today!

In the church, we often wish we could go back to a specific time that we remember. Truthfully, I struggle with some of those things! I miss singing hymns and hearing the songs that I grew up singing and listening to in church. I miss hearing "specials" where people who sang were given the chance to sing; and where anyone who played an instrument was welcome to bring it and play along with the music. I grew up where we always had time of prayer around the altar at the end of every service; which a lot of churches have dispensed with nowadays. Sometimes I get hung up on how things used to be and I miss it! I struggle with some of the new worship music and the lighting (or lack thereof) that a lot of churches use. I sometimes feel misplaced.

We can look back at revivals we experienced in the past and long for those days. But we can't recreate those things. We have to pray for God to move today, and it may not look like we remember. God may choose to move differently than how we think He will. The Jesus revolution in the 60's and 70's looked much different from the Brownsville revival that began in 1995. But God was in the middle of both and ordained both!

There are some people who were hurt by a church, so they have this idea that all churches are like that. More likely, they were hurt by certain people within the church, so believe that all christians are the same. I had someone tell me one time that all christians were hypocrites. She and her brother had been sent to church by their parents when she was a kid, and she saw people who she knew act one way in church and the complete opposite during the week.

Hurt from within the church can skew a person's perspective of christians, where they choose to not return, expecting that the same thing would happen again. The truth is, the church is more often a place of finding healing, finding brothers and sisters of the faith who will support and pray for and encourage you, and receiving spiritual teachings and help.

Scripture says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever! In a changing world, we can be assured that He will never change and will faithfully remain the same. That doesn't mean that He will always do things the same. Jesus isn't limited as we are and has many ways of working and accomplishing what needs to be done.

For instance, we may have God answer a prayer or provide or do a miracle in a particular way. If we, or someone we know, needs God in that same way again, our expectations tend to be that He will do it exactly as He did last time. That's what we are looking for and thinking will happen; then it doesn't. We can sometimes be disappointed when we wait and hope and God doesn't work as we experienced in the past. That doesn't mean that He's not going to answer! It just means that perhaps we need to expand our faith, trust Him, and be open for Him to answer in His timing and in His way.

The Jewish people have traditions where they yearly will celebrate the passover and look back and remember when God brought them from the slavery of Egypt. The purpose is so that they will be reminded of where God brought them from and His promises.

It's okay to look back and remember what God has done in your life or in the life of your family. That can often be an encouragement and can build your faith; especially when you are needing God to answer a prayer or intervene on your behalf in a situation. You look back and remember what He has done! But you allow that to direct your focus on the present and believe God for your needs today. We can't reinvent the past and go back there and live; that's not God's plan. But we can allow the past to influence our life today and give us hope and encouragement. We can see how God brought us from sin to salvation and rejoice! We can trust Him with today, while holding onto hope for our eternal future in heaven!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I was once accused of thinking I was better than my accuser because I believed in God. I suspect that someone in his past acted like they thought they were better than him, so he assumed all Christians are the same. Or maybe he just assumed that we would feel that way. Maybe he thinks we should feel that way.

All I could think to say at the time was, "no... I don't." I'm sure he could see how confused I was.

I wish I had thought more quickly. I would like to say, "I think I'm a better person now than I was before I accepted Jesus. But I don't want to compare myself against anyone else because I don't think I'd like how that turned out." I hope everyone else will have the same chance to accept Jesus and feel better about themselves.

Honestly, I think most Christians feel similar. I know God "does not wish for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." "Any" means every single person, regardless of who they are, what they've done, or where they are. "Any" doesn't mean just the people who are "better".

ON THE MENEWE:

Frito Salad

Combine all ingredients, except Fritos and Catalina dressing. Fold those in right before serving.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Have you noticed how green the grass is getting? How the trees are leafing out and becoming green and pretty? Many varieties of flowers are beginning to bloom. The air is starting to warm up where it's comfortable to enjoy being outdoors.

Jon and I recently took a day trip to our property in Missouri. It was so relaxing to drive and view God's beautiful creation! We loved seeing all the fresh greenness of nature, driving by fields and seeing new calves being protected by their mothers, the beauty of the sky, and seeing God's hand everywhere we looked.

Take time this spring to enjoy God's handiwork that He made for our enjoyment!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Satan's target is your mind and his weapons are his lies.

So fill your mind with God's Word. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org