A Time...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Last week, it seemed, was a time for death. Lena's brother passed away after 3 months of health complications. One of my college classmates was killed in a motorcycle accident. The president and a large number of top officials of Poland were in a plane crash and lost their lives. 2 kids died in a house fire in my home town. These are just the ones that touched my circle of influence in some way.

I don't always understand the reasons God does the things a certain way. I don't know why Lena's brother lived to be in his 70s, and my classmate Mark only lived to be 23. But I'm thankful that God is in control of all of our lives, and he has our days numbered. These deaths didn't happen outside of his plan for the overall scheme of things. He is going to provide healing and life to those who are mourning right now, because that's how God works. So I don't have to understand, but I do need to trust and praise Him no matter what.

Encountering Other Religions

Actually in both of my classes this week we are looking at the topic of encountering other religions and the Christian response. I think this is an area in which I used to be pretty rigid. No other religions are correct, and Jesus is the only way to salvation. I still believe that Jesus is the only way, but I feel like I have been able to approach other religions with a bit more of an open mind.

I appreciated this quote from my Missiology textbook: "A missionary can be uncompromising without being vindictive or mean-spirited. By focusing energy on positively living and teaching the truth rather than constantly attacking lies, missionaries will be more effective in encouraging people people to change allegiances and follow Christ".

I appreciated this quote because it offered a solid middle ground in between two extremes. As Christians we are to love the people around us and I think this means lots of listening and respect for what they believe. But we must also remain solidly grounded in the Bible and our beliefs. Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life and our job and privilege is to share that with others.

Ode to "The White Car"

My car has had several issues this week, and in order to process it all and relieve a little stress my sister encouraged me to write a memoir of sorts of my car. I don't have a special name for it, but for the longest time my family simply referred to it as "the white car" (as opposed to the red car which belonged to my sister and the gray car belonging to my brother).

I have been driving this car for 8 years, since right before my 16th birthday. I used it to take the driver's test to get my licence, which took place in the thriving metropolis of Pierce, Nebraska. It was a great little car because it had lots of zip and the heat and AC worked great (this seemed particularly impressive at the time I guess to compared to other vehicles we had).

I have put a lot of miles on that car since my 16th birthday. I was the first kid in the family to start driving so I got to shuttle siblings to church activities, baseball practice, and all kinds of things.

I remember packing up my things to head off the day after I graduated from high school to go to staff training at Timberlake Ranch Camp. I drove back and forth every weekend so I could spend that time with my family.

Then I packed up the car again for my freshmen year of college. My car saw a lot of miles through the 4 years driving back and forth to Northwestern. Since I was one of the few of my friends who had a car I got to be the chauffeur on many occasions which was great. Through the years we made trips to Lifelight, Sioux City for bridesmaids dress shopping, wing outings, and countless Walmart runs.

And now my car has served me faithfully (well, up until last fall) in Texas. Even with the various issues over the last 9 months or so I am still grateful for my little white car and being able to get to school and back and all the other places I need to go. I'm not sure how much more the white car can take, but I'm grateful for the past 8 years. Considering the car is almost as old as I am, it has lasted quite well.