Month: October 2017

Same Kind of Different…

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I look at hearts for a living. Every day, I take an ultrasound probe and I look into people’s chests. I look at the blood flow through the valves and chambers. I assess the size, shape, function, and Doppler velocities.

After many years of doing this, I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter what the person looks like laying beside me when I’m looking at the screen. I’m only looking at their heart. The person I’m scanning could be black, white, Asian, overweight, anorexic, 95 years old, 18 years old, an atheist, a smoker, a vegan, a millionaire, homeless, a criminal, or a family member. I can’t tell by the way their heart looks on my screen.

If I couldn’t see them or was scanning through a sheet, I could only guess who that heart belonged to, what they look like, or how they live. I could be scanning the cardiologist who reads my tests, for all I know!

This got me thinking about the God we serve.

He knit us together in our mother’s wombs. He created our hearts physically and spiritually…the same. To physically pump and fire in a certain way. To spiritually crave Him. To seek Him for satisfaction when the world fails us. To love others and to find our greatest joy in serving Him. So, we are the same.

Yet, this same God who created each one of us in His image also thrives on variety. He made us to look differently, gifted us differently, walks us through different stories, and gives us different passions and interests. He loves variety. So, we are different.

I may look at hearts every day but I am so relieved that nobody knows our hearts like the One who created them. He sees all of them and He loves us anyway and even though. He inspires and strengthens them. He pushes them to share and He helps them to rest.

The next time you see someone who looks or acts differently than you think about the fact that their heart is beating in their chest just like yours. And, it is also loved just like yours.

Help Me Walk….

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We are studying the armor of God in our women’s Bible study this fall. Each piece of armor correlates with protective and offensive maneuvers we can use against our enemy. We all have One Savior and we all have one enemy who likes to disguise himself and his ways as the angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He entices us and ultimately deceives us. That’s his thing, his m.o.

This week we’ve been learning about the shoes of peace…For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. Ephesians 6:15 (NLT)

When I think of peace personally, I tend to think of rest, calmness, stillness, less movement. While this is true and ever so necessary in this chaotic world we live in, peace is also what it takes for us to move forward. We need the peace of God to take chances, to share, to reach out, to move forward, to take that step, to ask that person, to try something new, to try again, to walk out our callings.

We need the assurance and peace that He IS with us (this is the Good News/Gospel of peace) to rest physically and mentally, but we also need it to walk forward after disappointments, in the midst of fear, and resistance.

The roman soldiers back in Paul’s day had stakes in the bottom of their sandals that helped them to walk on uneasy terrain. Muddy, mountainous, rocky, wet, these stakes helped them move forward.

Just like it takes strength to step out, peace is also required. The peace that God is with us allows us to jump in. The peace that, successful or not, we have asked God to lead in our endeavors and He has promised to never leave us high and dry. Even if that person says “No”, even if that business or relationship tanks, even if that idea was not welcomed, even if the one person you’re hoping responds, grabs on, or validates you, never does, God is with you. And, He is proud of the faith you put in Him.

So, let’s walk. Let’s ask God for His peace to do so. When you feel stuck in the mud or see no way across that raging river, remember the shoes of peace described in the armor that God has provided us with. Ask Him for these shoes of peace. These aren’t high heels, these aren’t platforms, or flip flops, these are the shoes we need to climb rocky terrain, to walk through the mud and the muck, these are the shoes that will get us there…with HIM. In Christ alone….