Love lesson from a crazy lady...and God

"You're really pretty...I just thought you should know that."

If it were a movie, I would have heard the line from a single Christian guy my age who I also found attractive (on multiple levels).

But it wasn't a movie. It was my life...which meant the line came from a crazy middle-aged woman yelling from across the street in the middle of downtown Tacoma...shouting at me or the two girls I was with?...I don't honestly know. :)

Laugh with me if you will, but so many people on this planet want to be noticed...not solely for the sake of recognition, but just to know that what we do...or who we are...matters to somebody else.

There are moments where I've tried to go the extra mile. At work, it happens when I take on an extremely tough (or dull) assignment with a tight deadline and, in the words of Tim Gunn, "make it work." In my personal life, I may wear extremely uncomfortable shoes, clothes or a certain hairstyle in an attempt to just look better...or perhaps catch the attention of a specific guy.

And guess what? Sometimes no one at work says "thank you" or the guy I was interested in doesn't appear to notice or even care.

I was thinking about that after my run-in with the crazy lady this week when I felt like God spoke to my heart...

"Sometimes I feel that way about you...like I'm here with you always and you don't notice Me or the things I've done."

Whoa.

I've heard it said that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. And when it comes to my relationship with God and what He wants, I know that's true (see Rev.3:16). He deserves so much more than I could ever offer...but I can give Him my best. My best is more than my money (though it does include that, too!)--it's my whole heart.

In the busyness (or challenging circumstances) of life, it can take effort to notice God's voice,
presence or blessings, but that doesn't mean He's absent, silent or not blessing me (hello--every day...every breath...is a gift).

Many people think that to please God, you have to be perfect. But now I think of it like the crazy lady's street shout out: even though the compliment was delivered through an imperfect person in a non-movie moment, it still meant something to me.

When I take notice of God and thank Him for who He is, it's usually not perfect. I probably don't notice everything (is that even possible?). I may not say all the right things at the right time. But I bet He still appreciates it.

Maybe to God, I'm a little like the crazy lady.

:)

Ready...or not?

"I'm ready, God, so ready."

Have you ever prayed like that?

I think for many of us, it's a last-ditch effort kind of prayer. It's the, "I'm still here, God, do you hear me?!? Do you see what I'm going through?!?" kind of prayer. It's probably a prayer of desperation--for that long-awaited job, spouse, financial stability, salvation of a close friend or relative, healing, relationship repair...you name it.

Last night I was reading a prayer that started like that in the Bible (David's prayer in Psalm 108 according to The Message version) but that's not what it was about...well, not exactly.

Here's how it goes:

I'm ready, God, so ready,

ready from head to toe.

Ready to sing,

ready to raise a God-song

"Wake, soul!"

...I'm thanking you, God,

out in the streets,

singing your praises

in town and country.

The deeper your love,

the higher it goes;

every cloud's a flag to your faithfulness.

Soar high in the skies, O God!

Cover the whole earth with your glory!

Whoa.

David's "I'm SO ready, God" was expressing his desperation to thank and praise God.But that's not where the story ends:

And for the sake of the one you love so much,

reach down and help me—answer me!

Hold up--David was desperate to praise God...when, at the same time, he was also desperate for help? He was psyched to thank God...when the answers weren't there yet? Wow.

Let's see how God responded to that:

That's when God spoke in holy splendor:

"Brimming over with joy,

I make a present of Shechem,

I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.

Gilead's in my pocket,

to say nothing of Manasseh.

Ephraim's my hard hat,

Judah my hammer.

Moab's a scrub bucket—

I mop the floor with Moab,

Spit on Edom,

rain fireworks all over Philistia."

Translation? God's basically saying to David (a warrior), "I'm giving you new territory. I've got allies for you in my back pocket. And I'm taking out your enemies."

I kind of wish the prayer ended there.

But I'll be honest--I'm really glad it doesn't. Because it goes on to show a little bit more of David's humanity. After God spoke and basically said, "Don't worry--I'm taking care of you and your situation," David did what a lot of do...he kept on talking:

Who will take me to the thick of the fight?

Who'll show me the road to Edom?

You aren't giving up on us, are you, God?

refusing to go out with our troops?

David's questions here are interesting to me. He is the man after God's own heart--but he's also still a man. A human being. And like a lot of us, he doesn't just want God to answer--he wants the details. He doesn't just want to know what's going to happen...he wants to know how.

The prayer ends as David says:

Give us help for the hard task;

human help is worthless.

In God we'll do our very best;

he'll flatten the opposition for good.

The good news? In the end, David trusted God and admitted the limitations of humanity. However, I also love that David didn't let his limitations stop him from doing his part.

I hope reading this passage (and my little commentary along the way) encouraged you. I know looking closely at David's example and God's way of speaking and answering prayer in this passage was a good reminder for me--to focus on thanking God just for who He is, to listen, to trust His plan for my life and to do my best with whatever "hard task" I encounter.