by Cyndi

As I was thinking about this COVID-19 situation, a scene came to me. I pictured all of us getting rounded up and taken aboard a big pirate-looking ship. It was one of those old wooden sailing ships with ratlines leading up to the crow’s nest and topsails tied up over the crosstrees as you looked at the masthead. There was no flag nor any name on its stern and it creaked and swayed as we were led coercively over the gangplank. 

Amidships many walked aboard with hands tied behind their backs and heads hung low in sorrow and disbelief. “How could this have happened?” I heard one say. “When is God going to help us?” they sighed. I pitied these saints as they slumped onto the ship and resignedly went below deck. Slaves, I thought. Just like slaves — crammed together in the belly of the ship to sweat and surrender to a new life of fear and hopelessness. A look of great loss and tears appeared on their faces as the line slowly drudged on. 

Towards the bow of ship there was another line of people coming aboard on a different gangway. The wind was gently blowing as the vessel rocked against its berth, but these people didn’t have their hands tied behind them. In fact, they had their heads up, were smiling and pointing admiringly at the beauty of the ship as they came aboard. This group didn’t go below; they filed along the side decks and onto the cabin. Sitting topsides, many were enjoying the fresh air and fellowshipping with one another about the goodness of God.

Eventually the dock lines were dropped and the ship headed for sea — the vast unknown. No one seemed to have any idea of where we were going. All that was apparent was that we were being shipped out to sea against our will. 

Those below deck wallowed in their misery. Some wanted to curse God and die. Those up on deck chose to help in the work, even assisting in hoisting the sails and pulling ropes to trim them. The wind was blowing hard now and the uncharted seas were becoming rough.

So God now turns to me and asks, “To which people group do you belong to?” Am I stuck below in the strange shadows and darkness of despair, or am I topsides looking towards an unknown horizon and future with hope and expectation?

For both groups it’s going to be a journey — a voyage with some storms to go through and no timeframe to gauge it. How are we choosing to embrace this passage? 

I believe it is a choice. 

By Cyndi

2 Peter 1:5-7  — “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” 

So how are we expected to add goodness, knowledge, self-control, and all of these things to our faith? Do we just go to church, read our Bibles and one day — boom! — we have godliness and all the rest? I think not, though it would be easier than how it actually happens! We accumulate these character traits by learning them. 

Learning requires us to grow. Different things require different skills depending on what is actually being learned — head knowledge, motor memory skills, problem solving, physical movements, and so on. I’m still in the process of learning Spanish (thank you Duolingo) where there’s a lot of thinking and processing in my mind. I find myself frustrated at times when I miss small stuff like using a masculine adjective instead of a feminine one, or forgetting those little two-letter words. Yet, in the midst of learning Spanish, I’m also learning perseverance. I’m learning to be patient with myself, not condemning or judging, but allowing for my mistakes and failures. Then I keep trying. 

Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and will increase in learning;” to which I advocate by listening to podcasts. For me, I particularly like learning more about health and fitness because I love to work out, and let me tell you, there are tons of podcasts about whatever health or fitness subject you’re interested in.  Doing this helps me with self-control and viewing my body as God’s  temple.

2 Tim. 2:15 tells us that we should study and show God that we understand His truth; and in
understanding His truth it leads us to even more truth. Many of the historically prominent universities like Harvard, Princeton, or Yale were originally based on Bible study. Education was based first on God’s principles and scripture.

Education adds to growth — both in the natural and the spiritual. Spiritual growth happens as we continue to grow in the natural, as we learn.

The point of learning isn’t always to “win” or “gain” something, though that usually occurs — it’sabout personal growth. As I keep myself in the middle of a learning curve with all its struggles and challenges, I find that I have more grace, mercy, and forgiveness towards others as I learn to have it towards myself.

So keep learning. Learn to dance, paint, take up a sport, gardening, cooking, a foreign language, play an instrument, take photographs — something! And as we continue to add to our faith, the end result will always be love. 

By Cyndi

We all go through stuff in life — the good, the bad, the ugly. Things change throughout the years — jobs, kids, parents, cities, friends — and it’s perceived that each of us simply moves from one scenario to another without much time taken to process our emotions and thoughts. 

Now some of you may be drama kings and queens who verbalize and act out every feeling that comes up, however,  I — on the other end of the spectrum — tend to contemplate internally, usually with journaling, or with a close friend. Or I just stuff all my emotions down inside and not deal with anything at all (eventually dealing with it later). But no matter how it’s done, we all have a need to process our emotions.

We all process things differently. Every loss, every job or school change, every move to another place or house, even promotions all require processing. There are times when we may deny or avoid processing, but eventually those emotions will come to the surface. 

Robert has a saying he likes to share: “It’s normal to need ministry.” In other words, going for counseling or seeking wisdom from your pastor or someone in leadership should be seen as a normal part of our Christian life to help us process. We’re not meant to do walk alone and there’s nothing wrong with us if we ask for help, despite what stigma church culture has put on it. others can reveal our blind spots, cause us to be more objective, and be a listening shoulder when we need one.  

Processing can take time. Sometimes years. But that’s okay. God’s not in a hurry.

When processing my father’s death, it actually took four years before I realized I was mad at God. (Anger is considered just the second stage in dealing with loss I found out.) Then just as I would make peace in my heart about his death, a new “section” of pain or anger would come up; like the ramifications of my son not having a grandfather, not having my dad around to share old memories, or  — even now —watching my mother grow old alone. 

There are levels of processing too. Countless times I’ve ministered to someone and they tell me, “I thought I’d dealt with this already!” Well, they had. Truly. However now it’s just a deeper level to get through. Years ago Father God gave me the example of an onion and how it has layers of skin on it. Processing events is simply taking off another layer of pain until it’s completely gone. And there’s no condemnation with this; different people process differently and everyone does so in their own timeframe. 

So what’s my point? Process. Examine. Seek counsel. Try to see yourself and your circumstances objectively by mentally and emotionally removing yourself from the picture. Look at other views, look at all the emotions. 

One of my favorite verses is 1 John 3:20: “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” Realize it’s okay to be in process. Life’s a journey, and the emotions we feel through the course of our lives are real and valid. Take time. Talk to a friend. Join a support group. Seek the Lord and His Word. Journal your questions, your misunderstandings, your pain and concerns. Stay in the process and grow through it!