Ashy or solid?

But the Spirit guides us

Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

Sometimes life feels so unpredictable walking forward feels “ashy.”

I internalized that image from an experience I had when I was fourteen. I attended a youth retreat a few hours from my home in Guatemala, designed for MKs (missionary kids) for whom such an experience was rare. What a privilege! I have never forgotten the fun of spending time with other teens, nor the impact of our speaker Ron Blue’s teaching about Romans 12:1-2: Don’t conform to the world …

During the retreat we got to hike a mountain next to Pacaya, an active volcano. It was hard! A recent eruption had buried the trails in several feet of still-warm ash. Have you ever tried to walk through ash? Imagine trying to climb a hill when with every step you try to take you slide backwards or sideways. Just keeping your balance, or getting to your feet again after you fall, feels like the toughest thing you’ve ever tackled. And the ash gets into your clothes, into your mouth and eyes, covers your skin … A “slippery slope” for sure.

Pacaya Volcano: Shutterstock yggdrasill

We didn’t manage to hike far. We finally got around to the side of the mountain not facing Pacaya, where we could sit, gulp water, and gasp over the majesty of a circle of volcanoes, a crystalline blue lake nestled in the valley between them. As we took in the view, our speaker challenged us to give our lives to the Creator of all this beauty, a trustworthy guide.

Our leaders decided we should walk downhill on that side of the mountain, to avoid most of the ash. What a delight and relief to find firm footing! We no longer took it for granted.

All this was still vivid in my mind when a short time later I moved to the U.S. to live with a family I didn’t know in a foreign world where almost nothing was as I expected.

Occasionally another teen would give me hints about how to dress, how to behave, how to talk, how to relate, guiding me to a firmer path through the strange adolescent milieu of an American high school. They probably had little idea how important I found their willingness to share their knowledge. Despite Romans 12:2, there were many ways I needed to conform to this world! Sorting all that out sometimes felt like walking through ash.

Our sibling group is walking through some tough uncharted “ashy” terrain related to health and aging. It’s good to know that we can trust the Holy Spirit to guide us on solid ground.

My strength and my song

But God gives victory

Isaiah 12:4 Praise his name! TELL the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!

This is one of the texts which motivated me to write Karis’s story and to begin this blog.

So, what has the Lord done for you? Remember and Tell! You can use this blog to TELL, to honor him. Send me your one-page story—or song!

Your story matters! It’s an essential part of the great weaving of a tapestry of praise through history and around the world.

Woman weaving in Sololá, Guatemala Shutterstock: Jose de Jesus Churion Del

Dr. Dan Allender, in To Be Told, says there’s also a huge benefit for our future when we remember and tell our stories: “God wants to reveal himself through your story. … As you gain a clear sense of how God has written your life so far, you will see how he is leading you … He asks you to join him in coauthoring the rest of your story.”

In Nebaj, Guatemala, where I grew up, women tell their stories through their weavings. Image by Picasa

Isaiah’s song is so beautiful, I want you to enjoy the whole thing. Notice how he weaves the past into the present and future. Because of what God has done, I praise him today and trust him for tomorrow—and when today becomes tomorrow, I will have yet more to praise him for.

I will praise you, O Lord!

“God has come to save me.

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

The Lord God is my strength and my song;

He has given me victory.”

With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!

In that wonderful day you will sing:

“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!

Tell the nations what he has done.

Let them know how mighty he is!

Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.

Make known his praise around the world.

Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy!

For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you” [Immanuel!]

(In relation to this song, see also Exodus 15, Psalm 118, John 4:14, Revelation 22:17)

Verse 3 reminds me of Brazilian Ana Paula Valadão’s beautiful song “Águas Purificadoras” (Purifying Waters). I found her singing it in English!

What does this mean to you today?

But God cares about us

1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

My dad was a Bible translator for the Nebaj Maya-Ixil people in Guatemala. He told us the story of translating this verse, 1 Peter 5:7, with the help of an Ixil assistant. Dad read to him his initial attempt and his assistant said, “No, no, you can’t say that.” So, Dad tried again. And again. Until he had exhausted all his vocabulary.

On the way to Nebaj, which is over the farthest mountain in this photo.

Then Dad had an inspiration. He went back to his original wording and asked his assistant, “If we were to say this, what would it mean to you?”

His assistant said, “Why, it would mean what matters to me, matters to God. That’s not possible!”

The god he knew was self-centered, cruel, and vindictive. He had no categories in his mind for a God of love. Eventually, he came to believe in a different God, one who knew him and thought about him with affection, who cared about him.

Dad speaking at the dedication of the Ixil translation of the New Testament in August, 2008. All of his children and 17 of his grandchildren were in attendance–you can see some of them in the photo to the left. In November, God took Dad Home.

Today, I’m asking myself and you Dad’s question: If we were to say God cares about you, what would that mean to you?

I’m entering this day with worries and cares. You too? God invites us to give our burdens to him. He’s the only one strong, wise, and caring enough to carry them.

Walk through this week with Jesus

But Jesus says, “You did it for me” by Ed Fox, from San Andrés Sajcabajá, Guatemala

Matthew 25:34-40 Then the King will say, “Come … For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me. … I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!

As we walk with Jesus through Holy Week, we can experience once again the way he identifies with us in our own much smaller suffering. As so many people are pouring out resources to care for victims of the war in Ukraine and in other places of deep need, Jesus says they are doing it for him. But first, he poured out his life for us.

Ed Fox, a childhood friend from Guatemala, responded to the last post, “Turn toward not away,” illustrating this. Thank you for sharing with us, Eddie.

*Antigua, Guatemala (home of my brother Steve and Elaine) Holy Week sawdust carpets* GettyImages-505656257

“This story and lesson from Karis’s and your experiences has touched me to the core. So many of the thoughts she expressed to you and in her journals are similar to my own.

My own dad experienced terrible physical and emotional suffering and anguish. He turned towards Jesus and not away. Until the day he died, I asked God to put at least some of Dad’s suffering on me, in part so he might finish the tasks God had given him as a Bible translator. He and Mom did indeed finish shortly before he passed away, and I think of your dear parents, as well, and Mary and myself, as we stumble to the finish line.

About six months following Dad’s departure to Heaven, my own chronic sufferings began and have never ended. Many friends in Guatemala consider my physical (and perhaps emotional) suffering to be a result of my own sin and shortcomings. The “health and wealth” gospel is the main thing going in many of the new Guatemalan congregations, both Evangelical and Catholic. On top of that is the reticence in Mayan culture to make public any illness or trouble in one’s own life. That has fed the idea that it is shameful or an embarrassment when one must ask for prayer. Most troubles in this life are considered to be brought on by one’s own failings and shortcomings.

My suffering, though, has drawn me much closer to Jesus. I believe Jesus has chosen me to walk with Him in His and other people’s sufferings. In turn, I have chosen, as Dad and Karis did, to walk with Jesus and do my best to encourage others along the way.

We have a choice. We can choose to suffer and walk with Jesus, or we can choose to suffer and be bitter and angry. As you say, we choose to turn towards, not away. Although God has provided me with many small encouragements and victories along the way, He has chosen not to heal me completely. I’m usually okay with that after 22 years, but not always! Mary hears my complaints nearly every day of our lives, and so does God!

I want to leave you with a song that encourages me in my pain. Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven.“