Comfort Zones

                                                                                                                                            Ezekiel 37:1-14

A prophetic voice “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comforted.”

Sister Shirley

I was visiting with friends recently and one, who had been out the country for several years after having grown up here, noted how different Nigerian society is today. We all keep to our neighborhoods and stay out of areas less familiar to us or that are not dominated by our own people.

To put in my own words, we stay in our comfort zones. I am reminded of a challenge I heard several years ago from a Catholic sister I once worked with, she challenged people around her to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted.” In this context I would stretch the last words to include those living a comfortable life, not having concern for others; they too need to be afflicted.

If we find we are contented in our comfortable lives I think we should thank God for his provisions and blessings, but personally, I fear that state of contentment because too often I find that if I stay there, I end up getting lazy and begin to dry up. I end up going through my days without any real connectedness, like I was a robot; living without feeling or deep concern for those around me.

God calls us to live in a state of community, but if we just stay within our comfort zones we isolate ourselves. When God created this world he did it with much diversity. He used an array of colors and textures. If we cut ourselves off from even one part of that diversity then we are not living the life God intended for us. May you daily remember to seek to understand God’s dreams so that you don’t miss out on the life God intends for you. And remember; if your life is too comfortable, maybe it’s time shake things up a little!

Do Not Let Anger Reign

“In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not let the devil get a foothold.”

Ephesians 4:26-27           

I made it out walking yesterday, took my daughter shopping for cloth to make some dresses, and made pizza for supper, but not without losing my temper several times.

Over the weekend I attended a Niger Wives Bible Study, all of the women who attend the monthly fellowship are married to Nigerians. Our topic for the day was anger. One of the questions that we discussed has been on my mind since the meeting; “Why do many Christians seem to be so angry.” I hope no one would describe me as an angry person, but I am guilty of getting angry often; yesterday was no exception.

I won’t bore you with the details, but by the end of the day it not only poured rain several times, I also poured out my anger several times. I will admit that at least some of the occasions warranted correction, even strong correction, I just wish I could offer correction without becoming angry because it is so easy to throw in words that are hurtful and not necessary.

Don’t get me wrong, this text does not condemn anger. Anger can be a constructive tool, even Jesus got angry in the temple, but anger should not be followed by sin.

I am thankful that apologies were made before going to bed, but I still pray that I could learn to get angry without sinning and hurting other people’s feelings with my words. I pray today will be a day where joy might reign and if corrections are necessary, I might make them with more gentleness.

Break Time!

School closed four days ago and graduation was three days ago. I didn't realize how much I needed a break. I had noticed that students were telling me to "chill out" more often so I guess they noticed how my stress level was rising.

Today I actually laughed myself! (I was looking the other way and ran into a door that is usually opened.) It did feel good to laugh, I guess I don't do it enough...especially toward the end of the school year!

I guess I'll have to try harder to rest more during the next Christmas break because the second semester just had too many stresses: curriculum revisions, bombings in town, increased security concerns in town and at school, classroom challenges, and more.

Somehow I survived it all, but only by leaning on God. Without him I could not have held on to the end. The way the challenges just continued, crept up on me, and drained my energy so that I had little creativity kept me from fully recognizing how much I was ready for a break.

Now it is here and I pray I can find a pace that is refreshing and can re-invigorate my teaching for next year.

We don't have any big plans these next two months. I hope to read several novels, do a few things in the house, watch Food Channel and some detective shows, read some history books for fun and brainstorm ideas for next year. I'm teaching African History again and I need to get a fresh approach in my other classes too. We'll get out of town for a few weeks when we spend time in our own home in Adamawa State.

I also hope to start walking again. I fell a few months ago and have only been walking once or twice since then. Now my toe and knee have healed, but it's hard to get in the habit again.

Well, it's time to take a break from the computer and do something else. I don't think I have time for a walk since it will be dark soon, but I do have a novel to finish reading. See you later!

Surviving

Our soul waits for the Lord, he is our help and our shield.            Psalm 33:20

Are you just surviving in this world? So often there are times, or days, in our life when we feel we just have to get by or get through the day, next few weeks, or period. As a history teacher I find it takes less effort to focus on the past, but to really understand it we must make connections to today.

I don’t think it is God’s desire for us to just get by, but he understands our limitations so over and over in the Bible he offers us hope and himself to hold on to when we feel like we might otherwise just lose it and fall apart.

I think one of the reasons Jesus’ teachings were in story form is because it is much less demanding to focus on someone else’s story than our own. By listening to a story our defenses go down a little and we think about the characters in the story, but then so often we find we connect to someone or some event in the story, and realize we can learn something from it.

Once we begin to make connections to a story, we have to make a choice. Do we just think to ourselves, “Oh, that was a nice little story? Funny how it sounds so familiar.” and then walk away. Or we can say, “Wait a second, what is this really saying!” and then try to take correction, or hope, and apply it to our own life.

As we go through life’s many challenges, I hope you too are comforted and refreshed by the fact that God’s source of strength is waiting for us to grasp and hold close like a shield. He offers himself as both our protector and our personal source for courage.

May you claim his shield and raise it high so that you, and those around you, might breathe a little easier knowing we are not alone; if we claim God’s promises fully, we may even find ourselves dancing for joy at the end of the day or battle!