Am I Real Yet?

By Charlotte Riegel –

I bristled while reading a blog post by an acquaintance. Her writing is gutsy, a bit raw at times, Velveteen Rabbit-real, and captivating. Because she has accomplished some things I aspire to achieve I thought reading her blogs might encourage me and guide me in the direction I choose to go. So I read, every post. I’m learning some things, about her and about me.

She’s beating herself up for not being ‘like this person’, not looking ‘as good as that person’, not being ‘a good enough mother’, not ‘doing more’. There is definitely an undercurrent of remorse about where she finds herself in life. I want to comment and give her some ‘life advice’, but I hesitate, choosing to play it safe. I want to be liked. Will she brush me off as a ‘know it all’? How can I possibly comment about her life when I haven’t walked a mile in her shoes? She is divorced and pines about being a single mom having to financially support herself. I sense she is focusing on the greener grass on the other side of the fence, and forgetting it grows over a septic tank.

Yes, I’ve been there. Not the divorce or single parent road, but seeing the greener grass and being blissfully unaware of the ‘crap of life’ that created the elements for the beauty I saw. It always exists. I often pined, and complained, and moped, eventually learning to take my eyes off all the others who seemed to have it better than me. I learned to focus on the goodness God had given me, right in my own backyard and under my roof. I learned to thank Him for what I had instead of complaining about what I wanted but did not have.

This shift in focus completely changed my attitude about life and about others. A few years after I embraced this concept God began surprising me with things I had previously longed for but no longer focused on. It was not about having or not having this, that, or the other, but rather about understanding where my focus needed to be.

Perhaps I’ll step outside my comfort zone and comment on her blog, and attempt to encourage her after some time in prayer over the matter. I need to explore the world outside my safe zone; become bolder without being a blinding, glaring light. I need to become more real.

Prayer: Lord, help me to know when it’s okay to be gutsy; real. Grant me courage to be a shining light without blinding the person I’m lighting the way for. I pray for wisdom and discernment to play it safe or to be bold for Your Kingdom’s sake.

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NIV).

Storm Warnings

By Charlotte Riegel –

The media warned, over and over again, “A big storm is heading our way. High winds, drifting snow, and plummeting temperatures will arrive sometime overnight. The commute to work tomorrow is expected to be very challenging. If you can work from home, please do.”

Twenty-four hours later major highways were closed after several multi-vehicle accidents and huge drifts made travel impossible. No one was going anywhere while the winds continued to blow and the snow continued to pile up everywhere.

People were told to stay home. “If you choose to be out there and get into trouble, slide off the road or get stuck in a snow drift, you will be on your own because no one will be able to come to your aide,” cautioned the authorities. “The plows and emergency vehicles are unable to maneuver the roads because of deep snow drifts and zero visibility. For the sake of everyone, please stay off the roads and wait till the storm passes by and road crews can clear the snow enough for driving on.”

And yet, people considered themselves invincible, disregarded all the warnings, and proceeded to drive, usually meeting a snow drift too big to plow through or a ditch too deep to exit.
This reminds me of the ‘storm warnings’ in Revelations. Lots of cautions are listed. Signs of the coming ‘storm’ at the end of this age are abundant. Yet, people choose to ignore these warnings believing themselves invincible and continue on their merry way, perhaps looking for adventure.

Adventure is sure to be found, both for the prepared and the unprepared. The final storm blows ever nearer. When exactly it will hit, no one knows, yet we are indeed foolish not to prepare because it WILL come. Perhaps it’s time to read the Book of Revelation and be reminded of the intensity of the coming storm.

Prayer: “Lord God of Heaven and Earth, help me not to take lightly Your storm warnings but to prepare well for its arrival.”

“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Revelation 1:1-3 NIV).

Dead or Alive

By Charlotte Riegel –

You’ve met them, people who are more alive than most. Almost too much energy sometimes. Cheerful, chatty, eyes sparkling, and seemingly dancing even when standing or sitting still.

My friend’s father, George, was like that, even at 80. He had been in a nursing home but very restless and unhappy; finding the facility stifling and confining. After communicating with the various staff at the home about ways to make George’s life more pleasant for him, yet not seeing him relax and settle in, Esther decided to take her father to her home for a while.

This was not an ideal setting. She and her teenaged daughter lived in a very small basement suite with two little bedrooms and another room that served as kitchen, dining, and living room. There was hardly room for the two residents to occupy the same space and now there were three.

George was a tall man but not heavily built. He loved his new digs even though he slept on the sofa in the living room. Esther delighted to see him dancing with his granddaughter around their living quarters, both laughing hysterically. They went everywhere together and he loved the freedom of this new living arrangements.

Esther was a devout Christian and although her father acknowledged there was a God, paid Him little heed. Now he chose to attend church with her. When he died somewhat suddenly just weeks after committing his life to following the ways of his daughter’s God, Esther grieved, and yet rejoiced at these last few months they had together, knowing they would meet again in Heaven.

At the funeral, I couldn’t help but think of George’s life as having been lived like river water caught in a cup. When running free it gurgles and sings, tumbling happily between the banks, but in a cup it looks lifeless, even while giving life to others. And now, George was free from the confines of his earthly body, free to dance and sing, and fly.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).

Quote: “Thou art not dead! Thou art the whole of life that quickens in the sod.” Charles Hanson

Jack Frost

By Charlotte Riegel –

What a glorious summer we had this year. Playing with plants in my yard and in our community was delightful. But alas, the seasons change and the flowers die as Jack Frost visits our little corner of the world. The warmth of summer always seems too short.

As I cleaned out dead plant material from flower beds and planters it was a struggle to feel positive. I was reminded autumn is part of the natural rhythm of nature.

Jack Frost, like John the Baptist, is a forerunner of what is soon to come. Autumn is the herald of winter, warning us to prepare. It’s time to make sure our furnace is working properly, to empty the water barrels, to turn off the outside taps, to collect any remaining garden produce, etc. I was also reminded to look for the beauty of this season.

I was still working on this attitude adjustment when, BAM, winter arrived. Earlier than I wished, but nonetheless, we had heeded the warning and were ready.

It all reminded me of the ten virgins and their waiting for the bridegroom, some were ready and others were not. These changing seasons are also a natural reminder to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Will you be like the five wise virgins or will you be like the foolish ones? We don’t know exactly when He will come but we are reminded in His word that He IS coming again and we are to be ready.

Father God, thank you for the many warning signs you give us, both for the changing seasons and for the return of Jesus.

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut” (Matthew 25:1-10 NIV).

A Tealight Candle

By Charlotte Riegel –

The prayer walk event started in a dark room. The room is used for theatrical performances so the walls and floor are painted black. The light of one small tea light on the floor in the middle of the room was swallowed by the black surroundings.

We were invited to enter the room in silence and gather in a circle around the ‘light’. The group numbered about 30. As I entered the room from a bright summer evening I could see nothing so felt my way along the back wall hoping all the chairs had been removed. I preferred to stand while most of the group sat in a circle on the floor around the wee candle.

Ten minutes later I was amazed at how much I could see once my eyes adjusted to this darkness and that one little light. I could make out the shapes of many others in the room and even recognized some of them. The longer we were there the more we could distinguish.

The leader encouraged us to consider that what we do as artists, (visual artists, literary artists, dramatic artists) is like this light shining into the darkness of the many lives we encounter every day. Some will see a wee light coming from us yet continue to stumble on in the darkness encompassing them. If we can hold their attention even for a few minutes, perhaps they will begin to see more than that wee speck of light emanating from us. Then we may have opportunity to shed even more light into their darkness, helping them to see the obstacles, encouraging them to come closer to the light, to even embrace the light that will banish the darkness from their lives.

As we consider the coming of Jesus to earth during the Christmas season, and speak of Him as the light of the world, let us remember we are chosen to reflect His light to all around us. If we can keep their attention for a few minutes, they may begin to see more than the blackness engulfing them.

Prayer: Lord, may we be faithful in reflecting Your light in such a way as to encourage others to linger in that light till they are drawn to it so they too can walk in Your light of life.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NIV ).

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