Spring Of Living Water

You Deplete Me

2008-01-28T18:34:00.000-08:00

A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. Proverbs 27:15 (NIV)

A quarrelsome spouse can quickly turn the familiar phrase, “You complete me,” to “you deplete me.”

Water torture, it’s when you are restrained, lying face up with water hitting you on the forehead between the eyes….one drip at a time. It has been known to drive people crazy. The craving for it to stop is maddening.

For thirty years I’ve been observing, operating and owning businesses. For seven years in the 80’s I owned a salon where six styling chairs rotated the days with cackling women. Stand back and objectively listen to the sound. The clatter would roll like a wave, first the low rumble of chit-chat, building with the latest gossip, and finally the uproar of laughter filled the room. Often the familiar refrain centered on the grumblings and shortcomings of their spouses. It was not uncommon to hear, “He came home from his business trip and I just let him have it.” Quickly the other women would chime in with similar stories until the shop noise escalated to a deafening crescendo.

A doctor of psychology did a study on why women tell their stylists more than their shrink and he discovered it is because they have a license to touch them. When you get into someone’s space close enough to touch them, the barriers often come down.

In the past two decades my business ventures have taken me into industries which are predominantly male. It has been interesting to hear, ‘the rest of the story’ from the men’s point of view. They have been at a trade show all week and yes they have stayed in a nice place and eaten good food, but they are exhausted. Required to be at the beckon call of not only the boss, but the customer as well; the mental and emotional drain of being ‘on’ all week has wiped them out. If it has been a good week, they are on top of the word, however if things didn’t go as planned, their chins may be dragging the floor. Bombarded with compliments, complaints and temptations at every turn, their emotional, mental and spiritual tanks may be empty.

They look forward to coming home. At one point in their life they courted you, they longed for you, and they married you. Now they work for you. They go out, kill the buffalo and drag it home for the family to eat…or at least that is the way they feel after a grueling week at work. However, they still envision their princess waiting for them with a warm smile, a gentle hug and an affectionate kiss.

The homecoming of the weary warrior is not always what he envisions. He is often greeted with a snippy remark, a screaming child and a frozen bed. Immediately he wants to turn and run back to the wilderness where at least he had a fighting chance.

In James the 4th chapter he poses the question, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it.”

Are you practicing water torture on your spouse? Are you killing your marriage one drop at a time? Marriages don’t fail overnight; it takes months, sometimes years of maddening quarrels to finally snap the final thread of sanity.

It is a choice. Proverbs 31: 11 & 12 tells us of a woman who saw the big picture; the health of her marriage. “Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.”

Choose today to be the towel that wipes the sweat from your weary warrior’s brow, not the drip that drives him mad.

My Prayer for Today:
Father, we praise you for giving us your words of wisdom. Teach us today how to be wives who encourage and not discourage; who hug and not harm; who lift and not drip quarrels onto our husband’s weary hearts. Forgive us when our homes don’t reflect your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

I Never Saw It Coming!

2008-01-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. Ecc. 7:14 (NIV)

One night while driving to church I asked my then 16-year-old daughter, "What is your favorite thing about living, right now?" "That's a great question!" she replied. She pondered a moment and then began to reveal what made her life tick.

"This is an incredible time for me...and I never saw it coming." she said. "This year is less about proving myself and more about being myself. It's a beautiful spot. I laugh every day."

My heart smiled as I clung to those thoughts. She had so much more to share, but these words stuck to my mind like flypaper. For a junior in high school to sort out what's real from what's fake, what's true from what's false, what's important from what is worthless, is exciting stuff for a mom.

She made very deliberate decisions when she entered high school two years earlier. The most important one was asking God to lead her through decisions about dating, classes, choosing friends and choosing work. Her rationale: why allow your life to be jerked around by emotions that you are neither prepared nor ready to handle. Turn it over to God and anxiously anticipate the outcome.

And in her junior year those tough choices began to pay off. Her peers respected her for who she was and what she stood for. She saw life as a beautiful spot, one to be enjoyed and savored. And the remarkable part is she never saw it coming.

God expects us to wait in eager anticipation of the future plans he has laid out for us. When we become adults we crowd God out of the plan. We take jobs, we choose mates and we raise children without checking first with the plan-maker, God. He has given us a brain, so surely we can figure this out on our own, right? Why? Why risk the emotional upheaval wrong decisions can make when we have a heavenly father with a perfect plan?

Pray today that every decision is made through the filter of His perfect plan. Then one day you can say, "Wow! I never saw it coming!"

Romer's Tear

2007-08-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

It was the last day we would spend in Ecuador. After cramming so much into such a small span of time, my body was exhausted and my senses were strained. We had seen squalor conditions, extreme poverty and children longing for hope. We had laughed with them, cried with them and loved on them. My tear ducts felt drained.

Before the trip I had tucked a Spanish Bible into my suitcase with plans to give it to a program director. Each day I looked for it, but could never seem to find it. So on our last morning, I was surprised to find it in the bag of goodies I had packed for the children.

When we arrived at the inner-city program site, little Romer fixed his eyes on mine. He was dressed in a navy blue uniform sweater with his hair neatly combed. He could easily have been mistaken for a child from an American middle class family. But his eyes told the real story. My friend, Van speaks fluent Spanish and helped me to understand that Romer was one of many children in his family. He was 8 years old and loved this program because he was able to learn about Jesus. He was shivering and asked if he could sit on my lap. I held him as we watched the older children perform a worship song for us. I asked him if he had his own bible, he said no. I reached into my bag and pulled out the gift. “You do now,” I told him. On the inside cover I wrote: To Romer From Luann August 2007 Tiamo.

He looked at the bible, then looked at me for confirmation that it was really his. I shook my head yes and his deep brown eyes spilled over and a giant tear escaped. He grabbed my neck and cried, “Tiamo! Gracias!” Our tears flowed together down my cheek. My heart once again tore open and fresh love poured out. The unprocessed moment left my lips quivering and my senses exposed.

When was the last time I clutched the Word of God so tightly in my hands? When was the last time I clung to the pages as if they were my very life source? This young man taught me a lesson I have taken for granted. Cherish the Word more than the bread I eat.

“Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

My Journey to Ecuador - entry one

2007-08-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Life-altering! Half of our Proverbs 31 team just returned from Ecuador with the Compassion International group. Can I truly describe the experience in mere words? No. But I will attempt to share moments that burn forever in my memory.

I must tell you, Compassion International is the program I've always longed to discover. For years we have worked with missions in our church, both inner-city and abroad. I often felt we were just placing a band-aid on a gaping wound. My husband and I would wonder if throwing a turkey at someone during Thanksgiving was really making a difference. Was there really any way to impact a single life forever? The answer is YES! I am a sold-out believer in this program now that I have seen it with my own eyes. I have witnessed the impact they make on a single life from birth through adulthood and it is mind-boggling! Let me attempt to relate my experience. It will take several entries to tell it. Our liason from Compassion gave me excellent advice: she said to prepare 3 separate responses for people who ask, "How was the trip?" First prepare a 30 second version for those who ask only to be nice, but really don't want to hear about it. Next prepare a 2 minute version for those who are truly interested, but don't have the time to listen. And finally prepare a 30 minute version for those who love you and truly want to know the impact the trip has made on your life. Any longer that 30 minutes and anyone might be overwhelmed. So I will endeavor to give you bite-sized remembrances.

Here are some names of children, mothers and survivors I hope never escape my recollection: Ties, Juanito, Johnny, Mary, Jonathon, Daniella, Paula, Delores, Romer, Steven, Justin and Darwin. Along with the incredible staff we had the honor of serving beside, Veronika, Omar, Robert, Sixto and Joy.

Saturday we traveled into the mountains from Quito to meet sponsored children and the wonderful couple running the Salvation Army church. The roads were not really roads, they were dirt trails with deep ravines and crater-sized holes. Our bus would dip and rock as the talented driver inched his way through the obstacle course. We stopped beside a fence lined with children. We noticed the director and his wife encouraging them to quickly get in place. As we stepped off the bus, we entered a new reality. Positioned on a steep hillside, this village was a mix of craggy rocks and squatters homes. And in the midst of it, the Salvation Army had a very modest block building with several extensions and a small playground.

The children lined up on each side of the walkway into the playground and took our hands to escort us into the building. Their little hands were chilly and rough and their faces seemed chapped from the harsh elements. Madelina and Jordan were my escorts. They were 5 and 7 years old. When we found our seat inside, both children jumped onto my lap and hugged my neck. The older children put on a lovely program for us and the staff showed us the records that are kept on each child's progress.

We divided up into groups and went with the children into their classrooms. We laughed, played and learned along side them. Their inquisitive eyes searched mine. It was if they were wondering why we cared for them enough to come.

It was time for lunch and the little kitchen was busy preparing the food. Our team served the children roast chicken, rice and vegetables. We then departed to visit individual homes.

AFRAID

2007-08-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Co. 5:17 (NIV)

Devotion:
I was afraid of you. Yes, you. Do you know how long God has tried to work completely through me and yet was continually blocked because of my fear…of you? Most of my life my confident exterior has been a mask, like siding slapped on an imperfect house. I’ve been here, you just couldn’t see me. You saw the white vinyl siding that looked bright and cheery, but you didn’t see me.

If I dared rip off the façade you would see my rotted frame, gaping holes and leaky life. I was afraid you would run screaming at the sight…if you saw me exposed. I was afraid of your reaction.

I had lived with that shambled life for so long I couldn’t imagine myself as a new creation. I pictured the old hiding behind the veneer. What would you truly think of me if you knew the intimate details of my past? I was afraid to find out, so I hid it from you.

The Holy Spirit tried to comfort me, speaking softly to my heart, “You are a new creation. Live like it.” I would rebut, “Have you seen my past?” Then I would dutifully pull out my wallet-sized memories and begin flipping through them as a reminder of just how decayed my life had been. As I would question, “ Do you see this? Do you understand how people react to this sort of mess? They don’t embrace it, they separate from it! They run from this!” Timidly I cried, “Can’t you see this rotting foundation? See the lies that leaked in over here? Surely you can see right through these holes in my judgment!”

“Here is what I see,” the Holy Spirit whispered, “a new creation.” And he pulled out a mirror and held it up to my heart. The images that burned in my brain seemed to be blocking my view. They fogged the mirror. Then a nail-scarred hand gently wiped the fog away and I saw a snowflake; first one, then another. As the reflection of my heart panned out, the view became crystal clear. There was no run down frame wrapped in white vinyl. No! For the first time I could see it, a brand new home glistening on a solid foundation surrounded by a blanket of white! And it was breathtaking!

Was this really MY heart? Streak-free windows allowed me to peek in at the brand new furnishings of peace, joy and kindness that were scattered in each room. For years Christ stood on the outside of my broken down heart, knocking. But once I let him in, all things were changed. I became a new creation.

So how about you? Are you afraid? As I speak to women across the country I find that 90% can’t let go of their past, they are afraid others will condemn them. Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We each have a past, remember ALL have sinned, but you no longer need to be afraid of your dark past. Ephesians 5:8 promises, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” You don’t have to be afraid. Christ is calling you to live in fearless freedom.

Dear Lord, thank you for throwing our sin in the sea of forgetfulness and making us bright shining children of light. Help us each day to walk in that light and see your reflection in our hearts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.