A Little C.S. Lewis Wisdom

I've been re-reading the book "Mere Christianity" to my youngest son. He does not remember a lot of the books I read to them when we home-schooled  because he was so young. It is one of my all-time favorite books of C. S. Lewis. I keep saying  "Oh this is my favorite part" over and over. I just love the way he explains things and the analogies that he uses. We are on the final two chapters and I just don't want to finish. I want to linger and take it in for a little longer.

In the chapter I just read tonight (Counting the Cost) he talks about how God warns us to count the cost before becoming Christians. "Make no mistake," He says, "if you let me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for.  Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect-until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less." He goes on to say that He will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort made to do the simplest duty for Him.

I like that He says to not be discouraged at our own attempts at striving and even our own failures. He reminds us that each time we fall, He will pick us up again. These can seem and feel like such trite words. At least it can feel that way to me sometimes. But this chapter is encouraging in that God the Father does not give up toward His goal of perfection in each of us. Whatever that looks like.

It reminds me of the conversation I had with my sister the other day on the phone. She has epilepsy and it has cost her a lot of freedom in her life. For the safety of others as well as herself, she cannot drive; she has to rely on other people to get her where she wants to be. She has very little freedom because of her condition and because she has had so many incidents, she does not usually even walk at the park by her house alone. Her husband gave her some much needed freedom with a backup plan of calling him after every lap around the park. This worked well until recently when she had an episode while walking at the park. She is out of it after an incident and when she came to there was a nice, caring woman asking her if she was okay. She turned out to be a nurse that found my sister after she had fallen. My sister recovered and made it back home safely. She told me how she laughed at herself when she got a look at herself in the mirror because she looked like she came out of a horror movie with blood on her head and shirt. She ended up getting two staples to the head with no numbing and this is not a lone incident. My sister is one tough cookie! She inspires me so much. As she was telling me about this and then sharing a quote from a book she had read about getting knocked down but getting right back up again. I was humbled by her persistence and courage. She would really like God to heal her, to take away her affliction and I do not blame her one bit. I ask for many of the same. Yet, in her battles He is doing something in her.

My sister never wanted or never asked to be made into the sort of creature He is making her into, (as C. S. Lewis puts it) and neither do I. God seems to be forcing us on or up, to a higher level: putting us into situations where we will have to be braver, or more patient, or more loving, than we ever dreamed of being before. "It seems to us all so unnecessary, but that is only because we have not yet had the slightest notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us.....The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for." He is somehow making us perfect. It's just not our idea of perfection, or the way we would like to get there. I had tears in my eyes as my sister described this incident to me. I wish she did not have to go through this. I am so afraid for her safety and her health. I do the same thing that she does, I wrestle this out with God, wondering why??? I know the "why" questions don't usually get answered, but this chapter gives at least a hint that it is not in vain, the sufferings of this life.

They somehow can be used to either aid or prevent His perfecting work in us. I would rather lend to the aiding than preventing, even if I do it kicking and screaming. For the result of all this can be "the making of the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly His own boundless power and delight and goodness." So let us press on, and remember to encourage each other, because we all can get a little weary with the struggles of this life and we all need courage to not give in to despair and discouragement.

Treasury of Friends

The older I get, the more I treasure my friendships. Being in a state with no family and a single mom at that, my friendships give my life the connection that it needs, that we all need.

My dear friend Melanie is one of them. I met her years ago when she came out and did worship for a the kick-start of a Bible study on a weekday morning at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, a church I often did Bible Studies at. I had signed up to do a Precept study on the wonderful (and my all-time fave) book of Romans with a friend. I filled my plate with the offered refreshments and sat down to hear the announcements. Then out came Melanie, she was so filled with God's love and warmth as she lead us into worship. She began to share about the importance of worship and how her husband had died on stage worshipping the Lord. I don't remember anything else about that morning except thinking that I loved Melanie, just instantly loved her and her beautiful heart.

I'm not sure of the exact timeframe, but many, many months later I found myself starting a new job at Apple. This was a huge deal for me in the first place, another God-story for sure, but one evening I was talking to one of my new co-workers, sharing a little about ourselves and this young man named Michael told me that his dad had died on stage worshipping the Lord. My mind immediately remembered Melanie and I gushed at him "Does your mom go to Cornerstone?!!" and when he affirmed that yes, she did I told him I needed to meet her, that I loved her. I'm glad he did not look at me like I was a crazy-person! He may have thought it, but his expression did not let on if he did. So that began the start of our friendship. Michael gave me Melanie's number and we got in touch and met for coffee. She's been a widow for 15 years and is a testimony of God's provision and love. I knew that our meeting was not coincidence.

She is a music teacher, teaches voice and piano lessons and continues to lead worship. We share a love for God, music, prayer, our boy(s), movies, and people. We saw "The Greatest Showman" twice together and both said we could even go back to the sing-along version, but instead I bought it on DVD so I can sing-along in the privacy of my own space and when my boys are not around (!).

I always have fun on an outing with Melanie, whether it is meeting up for a meal, a glass of wine, seeing her son's band or daughter-in-law, or a meal at Taco Bell. She has a big heart and is an overcomer. She inspires me and is a testament of God's provision. Recently she was in a car accident where her car was totaled. She had to recover from the physical pain of the accident and also figure out how to work out her limited budget with a replacement vehicle. The Lord provided another car for her that works amazingly well with her finances and she gives the credit to Him. He takes care of her.

That Romans study was a life-changer for me in more ways than one. It was video-taught by Wayne Barber and I've never tried to write as fast as I did in trying to take notes on his insights and chewing on the meanings of the Book of Romans was the biggest breathe of fresh air I have ever tasted in a Bible study. So try to take time for friendships, I know it isn't easy. I wish I could pack more friendship-time into my schedule because I have lots of amazing friends, but busyness, chronic pain, and poor time management sometimes keep that from being a priority. It is never time not well spent when making time for a friend.  I am thankful today for Melanie, a friend God knew I needed.