The Abundant Life

“I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10b

Yes, I look forward to the Lord’s return, and to an Eternity with Him—face to face.  I’m excited about seeing my many loved ones who are waiting for me—my parents, two brothers and one sister who died as babies before I was born, my sister who died at age 72, my grandparents, a beloved nephew, friends, and my ancestors who prayed for succeeding generations as I pray for those who will follow.  Meanwhile, I’m rejoicing and savoring LIFE NOW—that physical, material, concrete life on earth illumined and transformed by God’s Holy Spirit who Indwells me, and every other individual who has trusted in the salvation and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus never promised material prosperity or excellent health while we are alive on earth.  Countless non-believers enjoy prosperity and good health, just as many Christian believers experience exactly the opposite.  We are all here together on a planet which fell prey to disease and destruction due to man’s rebellion.  But because the Lord Jesus Christ is with us NOW, through His Indwelling Holy Spirit, we can have His Abundant Life NOW regardless of circumstances, good health—or the lack of it.

Tragically, there are Christians who endure lackluster lives simply because they believe the Abundant Life is relegated to some kind of spiritual state apart from our concrete lives: an emotional high, an experience, or a vague condition detached from our everyday routine and tangible reality.  Yes, the Abundant Life is spiritual, but it is also our God-given reality on earth as we bring God’s Spirit to our relationships and activities.

I once heard a Christian say, “There is nothing on this earth that interests me—only the ‘spiritual’.  I simply want to be with the Lord.”

This shocking declaration would be understandable had it come from someone in a situation of extreme suffering, poverty, or deprivation.  Obviously there are places and circumstances in the world where the tragic conditions of human life defy description.  But barring extremes, we are to appreciate the potential beauty of each moment which God has given us—while responding with gratitude for His many blessings.  While we wait with eager anticipation for Heaven, we are still here on earth.  We Christian believers ARE with the Lord now—because His Spirit lives in us!

God created Earth and He proclaimed it “GOOD”.  He placed mankind on EARTH.  Man sinned, and the EARTH suffered along with the human race. Yet our sinless God cared enough about us to take on fallen human flesh, and pay the penalty for our sin.  He came to live among us on EARTH—while ultimately yielding His perfectly righteous life in atonement for our sin.  Christ will return to reign with justice and perfect righteousness on EARTH.  He will heal us and His EARTH from the disasters which have resulted from man’s sin.  Thus the prophet Malachi has written:  “But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings . . . .”

Again, prosperity and/or good health may not be a part of the Abundant Life on earth.  Yet the absence of those blessings can provide a setting for the believer’s witness of God’s Indwelling Holy Spirit.  In the last seven years of my life I have had nine surgeries—three of them major.  These surgeries have been God’s Holy Ground for me.  Never in life have I had more “spiritual” blessing along with “down-to-earth” palpable peace.  Never have I had more joy in people and my routine activities, more excitement over the present and anticipation of the future than I’ve had over the last seven years filled with one health issue after another.  God’s Grace abounds in proportion to our need, and His Spirit has done it all.

My colon surgery took place on December 23rd, 2010, less than three months after I’d had a spinal fusion.  During that December hospital stay members of the staff—both nurses and aides—wandered into my room just to chat.  I was considered a curiosity, because there I was with a very unpleasant health issue during the Christmas week—yet after the first post-op day I was smiling and delighted with life:  with the bit of tea and jello I was allowed for starters, and with the many visits from family members.  Several of the hospital crew asked the same question:  “You are in the hospital over CHRISTMAS!  How can you be so happy?”

Of course I had an authentic answer. “No matter where you and I may be at CHRISTMAS, Jesus Christ was born.  He is my Lord and Savior!  He makes it all good, no matter what!”

Because of His Abundant Life, every moment and every day on earth is Holy Ground!  All of life is meant to be our “full time Christian service”.  Every relationship, responsibility, and God-ordained activity is Holy Ground for the believer—a witness to the presence of Christ in a believer’s life.  We Christians are recipients and beneficiaries of Abundant Life—NOW AND FOREVER!

Margaret L. Been, April 2014

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“The things of earth . . . .”

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”  from the hymn “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus”, by Helen Howarth Lemmel

I love this hymn—both the melody and the challenging message therein.  But I need to confess that I sometimes stumble over the words in the refrain:  “. . . and the things of earth will grow strangely dim . . . .”

Yes I agree that any problems, fears, or obstacles in life—either medical, relational, or circumstantial—do grow “strangely dim” when we focus on our Lord and His Word.  Again and again, He has lifted me in times of sorrow and refreshed me when I was so weary and ill that I did not think I could take another step.  Again and again, our Lord Jesus has raised me and my family above circumstances which threatened to destroy our quality of life.

Yes, the things of earth do grow strangely dim when we realize that He is in control of all those intimidating things—as frightening and even cataclysmic as they might seem to be!

But what about those ordinary, everyday “things of earth”:

1) sharing a pot of tea with a friend, over delicate English teacups;

2) walking one’s “best friend” (in my case, a Pembroke Welsh corgi);

3) sipping strong coffee and watching the birds at the feeder with Joe—the LOVE OF MY LIFE;

4) dusting and polishing one’s home (I LOVE these chores—along with June Cleeverish things like ironing and fixing dinner while wearing a dress and apron);

5) anticipating the first snowfall and eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring;

6) digging in a garden and embellishing the home with a plethora of flower arrangements—both fresh and dried;

7) listening to Chopin Nocturnes;

8) playing a Scott Joplin rag on my piano;

9) reading a Jane Austen novel—and viewing the cinema version of my very favorite Jane Austen novel, namely EMMA (I always cry at the end when Emma says “My Mr. Knightly);

10) viewing my second most favorite film, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (I always cry at the end when the young Mexican would-be gunman settles down beside his sweetheart in the liberated Mexican village;

11) plugging into three hours on my I-PAD, of George Winston at bedtime;

12) creating a painting—especially an abstract rendering;

13) knitting funky garments;

14) making gorgeous complexion soap;

15) wandering through the aisles at an antique mall;

16) savoring ice tea on the patio;

17) sitting beside our electric fireplace on a cold winter morning;

18) reading and answering my “sister” Vikki’s meaty and witty letters;

19) praying and knowing that God will answer in His time and His will;

20) celebrating hundreds, no thousands of additional slow lane pleasures including eating cake with maple flavored frosting.

I confess that the above “things” do not grow “strangely dim” to me in the light of our Lord.  Rather, they are illumined because He is in the midst of them.  The things of everyday life are ever fresh, ever wonderful because He lives.  Every sunrise, every sunset, every bird, every herb and flower, every single one of the Philippians 4:8 “whatsoever things” that we are commanded to think about is precious and miraculous in “the light of His glory and grace”.

God created earth and all that lives and breathes.  God saw that it was good.  Those of us who know that Scripture teaches the return of our Lord and His millennial reign ON EARTH, should certainly realize the beauty and value of those things of earth.  Barring extreme and tortuous circumstances, any Christian who fails to get intensely joyous about whatever God has provided for us on earth is just plain oxymoronic and ungrateful!

Although God’s original creation has been massively compromised due to man’s sin, the things of earth will be restored.  God loves us, and He loves His creation.  We are to live abundantly, joyously, gratefully NOW—with all the grace available to us through His Indwelling Holy Spirit.

Yes, I look forward to our Lord’s return.  Yes, I sorrow over the condition of the world and the many people on earth who reject our Savior.  But yes, I love (with an abject passion!) the life God has given me NOW!  It would be heresy/apostasy/and rank disobedience to squander God’s provision by failing to rejoice in, and savor every life-affirming drop of, each moment to the hilt! 

I shudder and sorrow when I meet believers who walk around with “downer” faces—claiming to know the Lord, yet defying the very spirit of beauty, joy, and excitement in each moment He has given us to live.  What a lousy kind of Christian witness is that?!!!!!

I am not ashamed to say (loudly and clearly) that I love the earth beneath my feet—the very earth where God has commanded me to live abundantly, bringing His beauty and His spirit of joy to everything I do and everywhere I go.  I love the people in my life, and I’m committed to share my God-given passion for living with every person I meet. 

Yes, my 80 years on earth have been comparatively “easy” in contrast to the suffering of millions down through the centuries.  But I have also experienced strife, sorrow, and some heartbreaking family circumstances.  Through all of that God’s beauty has sustained me, transforming the dark moments with His light.  I’ve had multiple surgeries and a life-threatening health issue requiring trips to the ER.  I live with chronic pain.  But God’s comfort and joy have lifted me to a “larger place”, while transforming illness and pain to the status of HOLY GROUND:  something to rejoice over rather than complain about!

Thus I will always contend with one facet of a beautiful hymn—“Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus”.  Mentally, I revise the line by singing:  “the things of earth grow incredibly bright, in the light of His glory and grace!”  🙂

Margaret L. Been, 2013

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Oceans of time . . . .

 “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall hold me, and your right hand shall lead me.”  Psalm 139:9-10

Psalm 139:9-10 are my flight verses, well used and ever comforting when boarding a plane.  These verses have carried me west to Colorado and Washington State many times, and on one occasion they soared me across the Atlantic to Britain—the extent of my travels.

But nearly as often, this beloved passage of Scripture has accompanied me on a local voyage—deep into the uttermost parts of general anesthesia required for surgeries.  Tomorrow, July 2nd, I will take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea while an amazing new technology is applied to replace my severely compromised right shoulder.

The surgery is called Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement.  I have outlined the procedure on http://northernreflections.wordpress.com/ .  You can GOOGLE and consult U-tube for visuals, but I only recommend that for those of you who are extremely stout of heart and strong of stomach.  🙂

I have had many surgeries in my life, beginning with a tonsillectomy at age 4—in the days when hospitals reeked of ether gas.  I recall that 1937 event as if it were yesterday due to the extreme sore throat that followed, and the orange sherbet which was given to me.  (So many memories seem to involve food!)

Although I have no fear of medical procedures, none of my operations have been exactly what I would classify as fun and I’d be a little weird if I thought they were!  Some of them (such as a spinal fusion) have affected my ability to walk, sit, or stand comfortably for the duration of recovery—sometimes for months.  But tomorrow’s surgery will be unique for me; it will completely curtail the use of my right arm for at least six weeks, and severely limit arm movement for several months thereafter.

My right arm!!!  How many times have we heard someone say, “I’d give my right arm to do this or that, or have this or that . . . .”?  Voluntarily give my right arm?  I didn’t think so.  But now I’m going to do exactly that, since I can no longer manage the pain of the shoulder and arm.

Realizing that all of this was known in Eternity Past, and that God’s compassionate sovereignty is ever faithful, I rest in Him.  I will take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea—not only the sea of surgery and post-op pain, but the ongoing sea of inactivity to follow.

Upon hearing about my post-op restrictions, a friend (who knows how I love to make things with my hands) offered a wry comment:  “This I have got to see!”

Well I have got to see it as well, and I shall—not because I am a super hero, or exceptionally “tough” but because God’s right hand will hold me and lead me.  His hands, arms, and shoulders never falter, never need replacing, and they have no limits.

God’s love abounds.  Because of Him, my limited mobility will heighten my sight and hearing.  The clouds will be more awe-inspiring than ever, because cloud-watching from our patio will fill my days.  Bird songs and the rhythm of rain will resonate because I’ll have time for absorbing the music of creation rather than making my own music.  Oceans of time.

Unlike most joint replacements which require a disciplined physical therapy, this one forbids movement.  I will be able to use my fingers, for knitting or keyboarding, when pain permits.  After a few weeks I’ll be able to lift a teacup, but nothing heavier than a teacup.  Time for tea with friends!  Oceans of time!

Art making will be curtailed, unless I can come through with my left arm.  That could be humorous!  But I’ll have time to re-read my favorite books by fine artists, and some new-to-me books on watercolor and collage art which I’ve ordered.  Oceans of time.

There will be time for prayer and reflection on God’s Word, time to savor every insight—every drop of wisdom and encouragement our Lord desires to share with me.  Oceans of time.

Only time will tell what treasures God may reveal to me, in the uttermost parts of the sea.  Oceans of time!

Margaret L. Been — July 1, 2013

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Avoiding those things that sap our strength . . . .

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please Him who has chosen him to be a soldier.”  II Timothy 2:3-4

Like every season of the year, winter has wisdom to offer.  I’m frequently reminded of winter’s wisdom, when I “layer up” for the weather—with boots, an extra sweater, warm tights, a lined jacket, gloves, and a woollie hat.  Extra layers mean extra weight on the human body, which can only sustain so much—and no more.  My strength is compromised by winter wraps, and consequently I need to avoid any unnecessary additional weight which would exceed that cut-off point of “no more”.

Every season of the year parallels a season of life.  Thus, we’ll have our metaphorical winters when circumstances require layering up in hypothetical “wraps” for the purpose of survival—times of life when we must be especially diligent in avoiding those things that would sap our strength and add unnecessary weight, thereby rendering us to be less than effective and efficient. 

A case in point looms large:  pettiness in human relationships.  Actually, strength-depleting pettiness is a “must to avoid” in all seasons.  Nothing is ever gained by a spirit of one-up-man-ship or self-centered brooding over real or imagined personal offenses.  We are to save our strength for those issues that really matter in the larger scheme—those battles which God has called us to fight in His strength, not in our weakness!

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Great is Thy Faithfulness

“Summer and winter,

Springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold worship

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”

Great Is Thy Faithfulness, T. O. Chisholm and William M. Runyan

Today after church, a friend and I shared our mutual excitement over the fact that in just a couple of weeks the days will start getting longer again.  Vikki and I track those additional minutes.  Tracking daylight has been an annual ritual for me for many years.  Before computers, I did the figuring from THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC—an arduous process, and I probably made many errors.  Now I let the U. S. Naval Observatory do the math for me, via a website.

There may be people who never give the length of daylight a second thought, and perhaps couldn’t care less.  But for some of us, just knowing that the sun is on its way back to our hemisphere is a huge comfort.  Night is soothing, and welcome after a full day.  But I love daylight with a passion!  When Daylight Saving ends, darkness descends with a thud—and winter is the next thing.  But the chill of winter is always eased for me, by the fact that our days are stretching at both ends.

As the beloved hymn based on Lamentations 3:23 affirms, the seasons bear witness to God’s faithfulness.  Life changes.  Our circumstances change.  The blessing of good health can vanish in the flash of a moment.  But God’s faithfulness is constant—summer and winter, springtime and harvest!

Note:  According to the Navy chart, our village of Nashotah, Wisconsin will have 9:00 hours of daylight from December 16th through Christmas Day.  On December 26th, we will have 9 hours and 1 minute—and by January 1st, 9 hours and 4 minutes.  From there on the daylight will increase right up to the summer solstice.  How great is that! 🙂

I love those late afternoon long shadows on the snow, beginning in February.  This year I hope to capture them in watercolors.  Emily Dickinson wrote about the shadows:  “There’s a certain slant of light, On winter afternoons, That oppresses like the weight, Of cathedral tunes.”

Unlike Emily, I find the “slant of light” inspiring rather than oppressing.  However there is poignant loneliness implicit in a winter twilight, and maybe that’s what Dickinson experienced—a longing for more light, and springtime. 

If I listen carefully I can almost hear the long blue shadows whispering across the snow, “Not yet.  Not yet.  Wait, just wait!”

Margaret L. Been, ©2011

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“Does anyone know where the love of God goes . . . ?”

 “The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.”  Psalm 95:5  

November 10th marks the 36th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in a horrific Lake Superior storm.  “The Pride of the American Side” was carrying a maximum cargo of taconite pellets from Superior, Wisconsin to a mill near Detroit, when the storm destroyed the ship and its 29 crew members.

We in the Midwest clearly recall the 1975 tragedy because we live in the vicinity and culture of the Great Lakes.  But the event is also remembered nationwide, and perhaps even worldwide, due the power of narrative—especially narrative set to music:  in this case, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald composed and performed by Gordon Lightfoot.  The narrative and repetitious musical score is haunting, and it has become a modern pop classic.

Each year the Mariner’s Church in Detroit, Michigan holds a memorial service for the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Until 2006 a bell was tolled for each of the 29 men who died.  Since 2006, the Mariner’s Church has enlarged the service to include an additional, inclusive bell toll for all who have died in the Great Lakes.  Also, the bell now rings once for each of the five Great Lakes, once for the St. Lawrence Seaway, once for the St. Clair and Detroit rivers and once for members of the military who have perished. 

The Mariner’s Church is served by Rev. Richard W. Ingalls Jr.—the son of the rector who first rang the bell in 1975 for the Edmund Fitzgerald crew.  In a memorial service, Rev. Ingalls Jr. addressed the line of Gordon Lightfoot’s narrative:  “Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”

“The love of God doesn’t go anywhere,” said Rev. Ingalls.  He went on to proclaim that the love of God always was, always is, and always shall be—no matter what! 

In my mind, going down in a shipwreck must be one of the most terrifying disasters imaginable.  In fact, I cannot imagine it!  It’s beyond comprehension!  How essentially comforting to belong to the Lord, to know that the love of God never changes— never goes anywhere, and always IS! 

Through fires, tornadoes, and yes even shipwrecks, the Lord holds His own in His loving arms.  We can trust that He’ll provide all the grace we’ll ever need, in any disaster!

“The sea is His, for He made it . . . .”

Margaret L. Been, ©2011

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Earthen Vessels

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.”  II Corinthians 4:7

An earthen vessel can be any container made from the sand, bones, and clay of the earth.  My wedding china is comprised of “earthen vessels”, as it was manufactured from the fine bone china soils of England. 

But when I hear the term “earthen vessel”, I think of a plain and humble clay pot.  Ordinary as it is, the clay pot is the best container for house and patio plants.  Terra cotta clay pots are unglazed, affording drainage.  Plant roots are not apt to stagnate and rot in an unglazed clay vessel!

Because I love plants, I love clay pots.  I discard those gross plastic containers that many plants come in these days–and replant my treasures in terra cotta clay pots.  They are available at places like Home Depot.  I buy new pots on occasion as I frequently divide my plants, and re-pot those which are rootbound into larger vessels.  But I always save the old clay pots. 

There is something heartwarming about a cracked, stained pot which has been used for years.  Until the pot breaks into pieces, it is still useful as a vessel for life and growth.  When a clay pot finally falls apart and disintegrates, all that is left to admire is the thriving green plant!

The metaphor of treasure in earthen vessels is obvious.  The excellence is never in the cracked, stained garden pot itself, but in that thriving green Life which the pot contains!

Margaret L. Been, ©2011

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Sweet Solitude

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Emerson’s words come back to me nearly every day, especially now that Joe and I are no longer living in the solitude of the northwoods.  According to Scripture, we Christians are to be in the world, yet not of it.  Since most of us cannot dwell physically apart from society forever, and cannot always escape to the wilderness to renew our inner fortitude, we must learn to carry that solitude deep within our souls—in the midst of society.  The balancing act delineated by Emerson in the above quote is essential to the survival of one’s soul.

Only one lifestyle enables me to maintain the independence of solitude with perfect sweetness:  that of realizing the presence of the Lord Jesus in every waking moment.  Inner solitude and sweetness can only be achieved by resting in Him, knowing He is in me, soaking up His Word, confessing my sins, and yielding my frustrations to Him in prayer. 

My soul’s health requires that I live in a spirit of worship—praising God for whom He is, acknowledging His attributes, and rejoicing in the fact that He is in control.  True “independence” is God-dependence.  The Lord enables us to keep the independence of solitude with perfect sweetness, even in the midst of society.

Margaret L. Been—All Rights Reserved

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“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

Hymns are so wonderful!  Great Is Thy Faithfulness is one of my most beloved–especially the words “Summer and winter, springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness, to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”

God used many people and circumstances to lead me to faith in Him 39 years ago this month, but the greatest witness–the one I could never refute or rationalize away–was God’s witness in His creation.  The passing seasons and the “awesome wonder” of nature spoke to me in ways that people and life’s challenging circumstances never could!

Now it is winter–deep and dark and cold.  Yet we know for sure what lies ahead:  the awakening, the whisper of gentle winds and rains which will melt those pyramids of snow surrounding our home. 

We know the ice will break in our lakes and ponds, and the redwings will return to evangelize our world with their stirring cry of SPRING–“okareeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord!

Margaret L. Been–All Rights Reserved

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Yes, God is in the Little Things!

Last summer (on August 12th) I posted an entry on this site, telling of how God is in the little things–how He guided me through a stressful time with meticulous attention to detail.  Again and again, I’m amazed at how God is in the little things, as well as those huge events in our lives.

Over the past months we have moved from a beautiful wild spot which we loved with a passion, to a new home in a suburban area outside of Milwaukee. 

A blessing?  Yes, as now we are close to family members and lifelong friends–and we can easily access our needed medical facilities.  Drastic, yes!  For 8 years we filled our senses with the sounds and sights of creation:  loons screaming in the night, bears climbing on our deck, Canada geese nesting at our shore, and (occasionally) a wolf running on a forest road or loping across the ice in our bay.

We loved our natural surroundings, just as we are growing to love our suburban locale with its convenience and proximity to people. God could have simply plunked us in the middle of a crowded neighborhood, and we’d be delighted just to be near our family.  But He chose differently.  Our Lord planted us in a quiet neighborhood, with a pristine park at our doorstep, where we can view the natural beauty of the changing seasons from our patio. 

A few weeks ago, I discovered a palmate leaf of seven parts on the ground in our park.  I immediately found this leaf online, and realized it to be from a Horse Chestnut tree.  This was so thrilling to me, that I wrote about it on my Northern Reflections blog. 

The Horse Chestnut tree was an integral part of my childhood, as we had one in the front yard of our Victorian home.  I spent countless hours of my youth in that tree.  Most of all, I loved the shiny reddish brown nuts, which I extracted from their prickly pods and saved in my room.

Last week, when walking around the park, I discovered the actual horse chestnuts on the ground, some in and some out of their pods.  Although I’d found a leaf earlier, I’d thought the tree it came from was far too immature to bear nuts. 

What a windfall!  I gathered the horse chestnuts and their pods (gorgeous in themselves–like roasty brown hedgehogs!).  Now they are on display in a Fenton cranberry glass hobnail bowl, in our living room–reminding me of the old adage, “What goes around comes around”

God pulled me out of one beloved home, and inserted me into another.  And He bothered to place me near a tree which will constantly recall my childhood joys.  He’s completing the circle of my life, with infinitely precious details. 

Yes, God is in the little things!

Margaret L. Been–All Rights Reserved

Note:  Although the nuts of both trees are similar in appearance, the Horse Chestnut tree is in no way related to the Sweet Chestnut.  They are totally different plants.  The horse chestnut is bitter and unedible, while the sweet chestnut is the delicacy of that song immortalizing “chestnuts roasting by an open fire” and tales of English children roasting chestnuts in their nurseries with their nannies. 

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