SUFFERING & UNKNOWN

Our daughter has a wedding planned for June 13 but because of the covid-19 pandemic growing exponentially, what has been being planned is changing. Anyone who’s ever been engaged knows there are dreams and hopes for a special wedding day. We’ve been making plans, but life throws curve balls. It can still be a special day, just not as one had thought.

Life is like that. It doesn’t always go as we think it should.

I love this drawing:

A lot of people have been posting about suffering and I wanted to add my voice to the choir.

This is from my journal two years into our missionary journey overseas. We had taken in twin boys after living overseas one year and six weeks. One of the twins had many health issues and was in the hospital frequently the first six months we had him. It was hard on all of us and God used this to start teaching me about the theology of suffering…..

4/9/08 Falling Uphill? Are we still on the climb and falling uphill to You, Jesus? Renew us, Jesus. We need it. Jerard is sick again. His shunt seems infected. He has another surgery tomorrow.

I feel initiated into the “Fellowship of the Sufferers” (like Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring and based on Hebrews 12 and Romans 8:17). You, Jesus, are my glorious intruder. You are in the chaos of life. You are in the trial and heartaches. There is a wonderful, inexplicable participation in the life and power of Jesus in suffering.

I can have joy and comfort as I travel in this fellowship of suffering. You, Jesus, endured Your suffering “for the joy set before Him” (Heb 12:2) so that I can have joy and comfort IN my sufferings. I have a host of believers who are already in heaven cheering me on. Yes, in the midst of pain it may feel like I am alone but at the darkest times You, Jesus, work Your greatest work in my life and my family’s life and I must remember that I am in a fellowship – a fellowship of sufferers.

There are times in the midst of trial I, like Job, wonder why You, God, ever allowed me to be born. And I am thankfully learning it is okay with You if I vent frustration and anger. I used to think I couldn’t do that, but You want my honesty.

What needs to be understood is that Christ, as my gentle shepherd, leads me and each of us in this family on the path You have chosen. The path can lead through valleys deep and dark, full of pain, tumult, confusion, chaos and also the path can be restful. And the two can dwell together – joy and sorrow meeting, amalgamating in deep, trust-filled joy in You alone.

There are seasons it seems for the dark and the rest; just as in nature there are seasons. God has a rhythm and order to all He designs. But no matter where the path is leading the main thing is to keep my eyes on You, Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. To You be the glory forever and ever.

I don’t even pray anymore for the sufferings to end. I don’t want to get short-changed on lessons Christ has for me to learn. As much as I hate sitting in this hospital room away from the rest of my children, if there’s a lesson for me to learn here, then let me learn it………No matter the storm big or little – He Is. He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses; His word is sharp and active, piercing to the division of soul and spirit…discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Obedience is learned through suffering. I can draw confidently near to His throne of Grace to find mercy and grace to help in time of need. Trials, storms, sufferings of various kinds do equal God’s curriculum. Your word, O Lord, is my rock.

WISE USE

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A dear friend of mine passed away this past year. Her life was one of encouraging others. And in her dying she taught those of us who knew her how to die well.

The joy of the Lord did not depart her in pain and suffering but grew all the richer. In her passing she has inspired bolder living for Christ. In her life she made wise use of the time speaking into the lives of others and encouraging growth in Christ.

I am certain and more convinced than ever that we need to make wise use of our time here on earth.

God’s Word is our life and anchor. Every moment is an opportunity to flesh out His Word in real life – His Word is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. We need to be striving to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4).

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. We need to not allow sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talk, crude joking within our midst. Thankfulness, thanksgiving are the mandates.

What can you be thankful for today? (based on Ephesians 5: 1 – 4).

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Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5: 9 – 21.

So, as we go through uncertain days resting on the certainty of Christ let us consider how we walk, making wise use of the time we have. And let us consider how to make our eventual death fruitful, how to die well.

Henri Nouwen gives us this question to ponder, “the real question for me as I consider my own death is not: how much can I still accomplish before I die, or will I be a burden to others? No, the real question is: how can I live so that my death will be fruitful for others? In other words, how can my death be a gift for my loved ones so that they can reap the fruits of my life after I have died?”

UNCERTAINTY

Moving half way around the world from first-world-middle-class-America to third-world-Philippines certainly created uncertainty, wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into, an excitement mixed with trepidation at the fascinating strangeness of the culture, weather, habits, ways that we were not versed in but willing to learn about. Staying FAT helped with that transition – FAT meaning Flexible, Adaptable, Teachable. This paradigm for facing challenges holds no matter what the circumstance.

Sweet corn ice cream anyone?

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.

Psalm 119: 18 – 20

Staying FAT in this day of social distancing, self-isolation, health uncertainties, inconveniences gives us opportunity to practice our faith and apply God’s Word to the dailiness of our lives – to remember the truth found in 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10 – truly we are jars of clay, cracked in many ways, deeply beloved by our Heavenly Dad. Yes, we face difficulties but we do not need to lose heart (although sometimes that is easier said than done. Depression is a very real issue and a whole other blog to be written about).

There is courage to be had remembering our eternal home awaits us. We can rejoice in our light and temporary trials and sufferings, in whatever we are facing. We can choose thankfulness in the midst of uncertainty (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We can work out our own salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). We can Fight the fight, no way else is right. In Jesus Christ we’ve got the victory. Fight the fight, look in to the night, we’ve got the army of Heaven on our side. Every circumstance in our lives is an opportunity to grow closer to Christ, to apply His Word to the dailiness of life. This is what He has called us to.

1 Timothy 6:11-12 Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…

ANXIETIES

In this day of uncertainty, I’ve had conversations with some about uneasiness they feel with what all is going on. Several times while listening, I’ve been reminded of a time I really struggled with anxiety and what I did to help me start getting a handle on fears that wanted to steamroll me. I’d like to tell you that story.

When I was a kid, I was fearful often. Especially at night. When I was around 8 or 9 my dad gave me a pocket knife. I used to sleep with that, blade open, in my hand, to ward off ‘the monster.’ I doubt I ever pulled it out from under my pillow when the monster came in, but holding it in my hand helped ease my anxieties.

Fast forward into my early twenties. I was home from college after being kicked out for trying to kill myself. I don’t remember what all generated these thoughts, but I know the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the need to cast all my cares on my Saviour, Jesus.

Since this seemed a hard thing for me to do I remember the thought coming to me to write my cares down on pieces of paper – one care per paper. I then took a paper sack and fashioned a basket with it which I pinned up to the top corner of the door frame to my closet. It served as a basketball hoop of sorts. I wrote each care on a piece of paper. Offered it up to God. Wadded the paper and threw it into the basket. I did not allow myself to retrieve those papers from that bag. I did occasionally take the bag down and burn it outside, papers and all. And when anxieties that I knew I’d casted on Him tried to resettle in my mind I reminded myself over and over that I had cast them on God and I did not need to carry them.

I think this principle is still effective. If there are anxieties that keep trying to weigh you down, cast them on God over and over again. He understands our human tendency to pick things back up. If you need to physically cast the care, do as I did. Write it down, cast it into a basket or a fire. Do it as often as you need to. Sometimes the physical act helps solidify the mental habit. It did for me.

It is comforting to remember that Jesus is our high priest. He understands our struggles. Let us strive to enter into the rest of Christ, remembering that His Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Remember, none of us are hidden from His sight. So, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4: 11 – 16).

Remember to stay humble in His watch care, asking Him for wisdom and guidance. He asks us to cast all our anxieties on Him because He does care for each of us who call on Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. We need to be sober-minded, watchful; knowing our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We need to resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And what joy to know that after we have suffered a little while, God, our loving Abba, our God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5: 6 – 11)

I think in hymns and am so thankful I grew up singing hymns – they are a way to sing my theology. And I close this story encouraging all of us to sing and remember, On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Rest

In this time of Covid-19, schools closed, activities limited, social distancing, in the uncertainty of future events like high school and college graduations, going off to college in the fall, working from home or finding yourself unemployed; it is easy for fear and anxiety to arise.

I’ve been meditating on rest and peace in Christ; remembering all He’s brought me through in previous hard and uncertain times of life. The other morning I awoke with Psalm 16 going through my head and I’ve been meditating on this passage for the past few days.

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
    in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

It is comforting and reassuring to know God makes His path known to us and in His presence we have fullness of joy. If anxieties and worries try to invade, remember our loving High Priest wants to hear it all and asks us to cast our cares on Him. Spend time with Him daily, in His Word, in prayer, in quiet meditation. Cast, continually, your cares upon Him. And remember, He is our chosen portion and He holds our lot.

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Writing Prompts

I used to teach creative writing to middle schoolers while I was living overseas. I had compiled a booklet of creative writing prompts for my students to use over the summer. Now that the schools are closed due to Covid-19, I am having my sons do 20 minutes of writing each day. They are using this booklet to provide a prompt for the day. I am sharing the 72 writing prompts with you.

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Writing Prompts – 72 prompts for journaling

by Beth M. Symanzik – 2015 revised 2020

dedicated to my Creative Writing Students at Faith International Academy of Davao, School year 2014-15

copyright May 2015

A few words about creativity and journaling

Creativity is a God-given talent we should all be developing. God, our Father, is a creative God. Look around – notice the colours of the world – of nature, the various shapes, plants, animals. Notice people. Each person you meet is created in the image of God by God Himself. Amazing thought.

Creativity is a way in which you translate what you hear, feel, observe, experience, and/or think from something that’s inside you to writing creatively about the idea.

Keys to Creativity –

  • Develop a creative life style – take lessons or teach yourself art, calligraphy, music, dancing. Make crafts, woodwork, sew, garden, go to classical concerts, go to operas, ballet recitals, etc. Sing, work with clay, bake, do puzzles, do logic puzzles, doodle.
  • Exercise 20 minutes daily walking, running, swimming, biking, lifting weights, etc.
  • Spend time outdoors enjoying God’s great nature – hiking, sketching, playing, biking, skating, etc.
  • Write – write in short assignments. Spend a minimum of 10 – 20 minutes daily writing.
  • Try to get the words and memories down as they occur to you. There is no right or wrong. There is no grade. Just write. The more you write the more creative you become.

If you make a point to write daily for 10 – 20 minutes, you’ll have a lot of words written within a year that could be turned into a book or collection of stories.

WRITING PROMPTS

  1. Write about a scary dream you had.

2.What food do you miss the most from your passport country?

3. What stories have you heard from or about your grandparents?

4. If you won one million US dollars, what would you do with it?

5. What are some fun memories you have of one of the middle school Outdoor Education trips?

6. Write about a time you were lost.

7. Write about a time you moved.

8. Write about your favorite food and why you enjoy it so much.

9. If you lived underwater, what sea creature would you want to be and why.

10. If there was an underwater world where humans lived what would it be like?

11. Write about a time you were really sad.

12. Write about a time you were really proud of an accomplishment you’d achieved.

13. Finish the story:

A looming hulk rose before them in the murky darkness.

“What is that?” he gasped? “Is it a……..?”

14. Write about a favourite song.

15. Write about a favourite dessert.

16. Write some alliterations.(remember, an alliteration is using the same beginning sound in many of the words of a sentence. Ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.)

17. You are walking to school and find a large gold nugget. What will you do?

18. An asteroid is hurtling straight for the Earth…..

19. Write about your favourite childhood toy.

20. If I could change one thing about myself…..

21. If and when I raise kids I will never…..

22. Invent a new tool. Describe it’s use.

23. Describe an event that changed your life.

24. Write about when and how you accepted Christ as your Saviour.

25. Write about your favourite Bible verse and why it’s meaningful to you.

26. You’ve been locked in the top turret of a castle….

27. Five goals I have for myself are…..

28. 450 mice have invaded your bedroom. What will you do.

29. You fall in a hole and end up in middle earth. What happens next?

30. You wake up one morning to discover you’ve traveled back in time and are now a

Roman soldier…

31. A pirate ship captures you…….

32. If you could travel to the past where would you go? and why.

33. Write a list of 45 things that make you feel good.

34. What cultural differences do you notice between here and your passport country.

35. Write a list of prayer requests and praises you’ve been praying about, received answers for, are still waiting for an answer on.

36. Who is the person from history you’d love to meet and talk to?

37. Tell about what triggers anger in you or someone else.

38. Describe your ideal friend.

39. Describe your ideal teacher.

40. Describe your ideal vacation.

41. What is your favourite weather? Why?

42. What is the best book you’ve ever read? Why?

43. Make a tall tale out of an event that happened to you.

44. Be an animal and write a short story about what your life is like as that animal.

45. When I feel lonely I…….

46. Write about a computer game you’d love to create.

47. Were you ever in a fire, flood, hurricane, typhoon, or tornado?

48. “The trip to Bagabag was disasterous. The bus veered and……”

49. What is your favourite way to eat pizza?

50. Seven things I’d change about school are….

51. My favourite colour is…. It makes me feel……

52. Personify your shoes. What tale do they have to tell about the travels

you’ve done in them?

53. Write about a funny event that happened to you.

54. Write about a favourite memory you have of time spent with your dad.

55. Write about a favourite memory you have of time spent with your mom.

56. Write about what scares you most about transition to a new culture.

57. Be a mango that gets dried. Describe how it feels to shrink, shrivel, dry up, be packaged.

58. Write about a time your parents embarrassed you.

59. Write about a time a teacher embarrassed you.

60. What is something you’d like to thank your parents for?

61. When I feel happy I…..

62. How forgiving are you when a friend or your parents let you down? How do you deal with your disappointment?

63. Write a short biography of your mom.

64. Write a short biography of your dad.

65. Write a short biography of your favourite relative.

66. Write about four things your family has taught you.

67. Write about something special and/or unique about you? Why do you think it is special and/or unique?

68. You are in a strange situation and unsure how to behave. What will you do?

69. Write about a person who has greatly influenced you.

70. Write a list of items you are thankful to God for.

71. What is your earliest memory of moving to a new place?

72. “When I think about the corona virus….”

Stay creative! Keep writing!

Recommended Websites

www.dailyteachingtools.com/journal-writing-prompts.html#1

www.writingforward.com

www.ywp.nanowrimo.org

Recommended Books

“Writeriffic” by Eva Shaw – Writeriffic Publishing Group, 1995

Writeriffic II” by Eva Shaw – Waterfront Press, 2014.

“On Writing Well” by Steven King – Scribner; 2010

“Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott – Anchor; 1995

“Writing The Wave” by Elizabeth Ayres – Veriditas Books, 2014

Loving Our Neighbors

Martin Luther had this to say during the bubonic plague:

“You ought to think this way: “Very well, by God’s decree, the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal.
Therefore, I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it.
I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence.
If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others.
If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person, but will go freely.”

Words from C.S. Lewis

In 1948, C.S. Lewis wrote a paper titled “Living In An Atomic Age” after the atomic bomb was developed. I think his words ring true for this age of COVID-19.

“In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. ‘How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.’

“In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb (or COVID-19), let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

It seems a good time to dwell on Romans 8:35 – 39 “ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.