A Wonderful Simile

Last Wednesday night Jesus showed me a wonderful simile. We were all standing around the grass circle in front of the chapel. Each of us held an unlit candle. My eyes were drawn irresistibly to the big spotlight machine in the center of our circle. I kept watching the beams of light as they circled and crossed. They continued to fascinate me as we began singing.

Then a married couple approached me. Stephanie, the person standing on my left, and I, scooted apart to let them into the circle. Both the husband and wife held a lit candle, flaring against the darkness. It dawned on me that I had been chosen as next in line to start spreading the flame from lit candle to unlit one. I felt honored.

I carefully held my wick to his flame, waiting for it to begin burning. Then, just as carefully, I offered my newly lit candle to Eric, standing to my right. My part in the process done, I turned my eyes back to the large light beams in the center of the circle.

But not for long! Eric had carelessly let his candle go out. I gladly held my bright flame to his wick again. But in bringing my candle back in front of me, a stray gust of wind almost blew mine out! I quickly cupped my hand around the flame, warding off any more wandering breezes.

This, however, proved more difficult than it sounded. The night suddenly seemed filled with eddies of wind, fluttering this way and that. Every time I attempted to watch the light beams, I would have to quickly look back down at my own flame. In fact, I realized that I had to give up almost all other outside activities to guard the flame.

At this moment I was given a wonderful word-picture for our life with Christ. I had to focus solely on my flame just to keep it burning. In the same way, we each have been given one task, one responsibility to keep our flame burning. And that is to focus on Jesus as the only thing in our lives. Not that we don’t do other things! But that everything we do is for the purpose of knowing Christ more intimately.

Whether I am attending class, writing a paper, or enjoying recreation, the ultimate goal is spending that time learning from and about different aspects of God. Only in knowing God more intimately each day will I truly allow my flame to burn in the way it was created to.

The Fiddler On The Roof

I love The Fiddler On The Roof.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the music, the humor, and the emotions present in this fantastic story. Last night, I remembered.

The Batesville High School auditorium hosted a community theater event by the RAA, the Rural Alliance for the Arts.

This is the same RAA that sponsors PrairieFire Children's Theater each summer. My sisters, and some of my cousins, have participated in these productions for the past few summers, performing Aladdin, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, and others.

But last night was The Fiddler On The Roof. And, while we couldn't expect them to be Broadway-perfect, the actors still did a tremendous job.


My new quote from the play last night is, "There is no other hand." This line is uttered by Tevya as he is debating with himself. Tevya is famous for comparing the pros and cons with each other, beginning each sentence with, "On the other hand . . ."

The particular incident occurs as his third daughter asks for his blessing on her engagement to a Gentile. Previously, his first and second daughters had, in effect, chosen their own husbands-to-be. These fortunate men, however, had both been Jewish.

When comparing everything else with how much he wanted happiness for his two elder daughters, he always ended up "on the other hand" in their favor.

But when it came down to what his third daughter wanted, he had to choose between his daughter, and his faith. This faith, so very real to him, the very foundation of his being. His daughter, his own flesh and blood, the very sweetest of his children.

He recognized that to bend so far would be to break. While comparing "other hands," he quickly came to the conclusion, "There is no other hand."

Such may our life in the pursuit of God be.








Today, Saturday, we had another mandatory eight hours at work. Which, actually, was fine by me. I, like last Saturday, was planning to work anyway. Making it mandatory just meant that I got to work on my 'home line,' 253, with the people that I knew. It was a pretty good day.


Tomorrow, Sunday afternoon, some of my sisters, my Dad, and I are going up to Indy. One of our Bible Bowl friends is hosting a party, and we are invited. It's been a while since I've been to a party. I'm trying to decide what to wear . . . just kidding! I really don't care.


Just a week and a half of work left, I plan to work through the 17th. Aug. 20th, I'm moving in to my dorm!!!!!! I'm quite excited.


And, you'll all be excited to know, my sixty days on my newest Driving Permit are up today. Next Friday, at 3:30, I will take my driving test for a real license! It still makes me laugh, slightly bitterly, that the BMV wouldn't let me take the test just 'cause I got another permit. Oh well, it will be behind me soon enough.


In His Time,

Prayer Meeting

Last night I attended a prayer meeting with my Mom. As it turned out, the meeting was only supposed to be for us two, since nobody else showed up.

Our church building was smelling like LP gas for some reason, so Mom and I sat outside on the church steps. It was a nice evening, warm, fairly quiet. Birds were chirping, I could smell the sweet freshness of the country. My eyes wandered across the green of the tree leaves and the grass blades, across the parking lot.

We began the meeting with silence, just being quiet. At first I focused on just being, not thinking in words. After a few minutes of this, I started thinking about our church property. I began looking for where God was, and where He was working.

My mind was drawn to our sanctuary, empty at the moment. I mentioned once before that I've been reading in Leviticus and now Deuteronomy, two books of Law. And I pictured our sanctuary continually filled with the sweet incense of praise and worship. Just as the tabernacle and temple would have been filled night and day with the burnt offerings going up before God.

"Yes," I thought, "that is the center. Our praise and worship of God, our seeking Him, is the center and beginning of all that we should try to do." This meeting was to pray for our leaders, elders and the like, as they lead our church through some decisions. And worship and praise, they should be the center.

Mom and I sang "I See The Lord" together, praying that our leaders can be committed to seeing the Lord above all things. And that the focus can be on Him.

As we finished singing, a father and son rode their bikes by on the road. They are neighbors from down the road, and we waved at each other. Just then the boy called ahead to his father, in a young, vulnerable voice, "Where are we going now?"

The father, a muscular man in a yellow shirt, paused in his pedaling. Looking back over his shoulder, he called out, "Just ride. Come on!"


Mom and I waited as they passed by, and then with tears in our eyes shared an incredulous laugh. Us, the young children had been sitting there calling out, "Where are we going now?" Our strong father had seen fit to answer us.

I tried to get past that, to keep praying. But I couldn't. It just kept leaping back into my mind. "Just ride. Come on!"

I've been given my orders!