The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord,who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:7-8

There are so many mentions of altars in Scripture. Like the one mentioned above, altars often represented a personal encounter with God. The altar was built AFTER the encounter to serve as a reminder of what happened there. Because people tend to travel by the same places and pathways, the altars then served as a reminder of that encounter when that place was passed in the future.

There’s a lot that can be followed in the story of Abram. Many encounters with God. Many times he remembered the Lord’s goodness. Other times when he took things into his own hands to manipulate the outcome. Isn’t it awesome to think that even when we try to play the hand of God, it doesn’t change who He is? When things work out as we wish, He is still the same God. When things go completely opposite of anything we’d ever wish….He is still the same God. The altars of remembrance don’t disappear when we don’t get our way. In fact, that’s probably when they become the most meaningful.

November of 2016 was one of the most difficult months in my life. The Clifs Notes version will tell you that my dad had a ruptured aneurysm, had to be airlifted to a hospital in Mississippi, and that began a journey of surgeries and rehabs and successes and struggles. The Neuro ICU can be a lonely place. Yes, there are nurses buzzing around taking care of patients, doctors rounding with medical students, housekeeping coming through to keep things tidy and the nutrition team making sure the patients are well fed. Even when i was surrounded by people, including my dad lying in the hospital bed, I was alone.

In the midst of all of that, though, I got to build some altars. Linda was my dad’s first nurse. In the beginning, we had no idea if dad would wake up or what he would be like if/when he did. I was scared. But God sent a nurse named Linda (my mom’s name) to remind me that He was with us. Hannah was one of my dad’s nurses in the Neuro ICU. Her mother had the same type of aneurysm as dad and she became a nurse in THAT unit because she helped nurse her mom back to full health and wanted to do the same for people like her mom.

Friends and family members drove over to Mississippi to offer support, comfort, and presence. My husband stayed in town to take care of the kids and keep their routines as normal as possible. While I was away, friends back home helped provide meals to my family and care for my kids. One friend rode to MS with me that dreadful night because we didn’t think dad was going to make it and she refused to let me do that alone. A friend from college who lived in the area helped get my aunt to the airport so she could fly back to Cleveland. There are so many things that happened that I am just truly grateful for.

So why the reflection now? Almost five years later?

In August, I got to travel to Arkansas to present to the El Dorado School District. The way I drove to Arkansas was through Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi. Home of the University of Mississippi Medical Center where Dr. Chad Washington and team saved my dad’s life. Home of moments of brokenness and peace and fear and celebration. As I drove through, I remembered each hotel I stayed in during my time there. The meals I ate at Cracker Barrel. And the coffee I picked up each morning at Dunkin’ before heading to the hospital. After we presented in Arkansas, I drove back home. Through Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi. Home of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Home of Sal and Mookie’s pizza joint. Home of Cups Espresso Cafe. Home of prayers answered and dependence on the Lord established.

The awesome thing was that my friend and co-worker Cheryl was on that trip with me. As we drove back through Jackson on the way home, I got to tell her all about God’s provision for my family in that city.

A lot has happened since November of 2016. A lot has been good. A lot has been really, really hard. Those hard times could easily cause me to forget. So, Lord, thank you for choosing the hard days of August 2021 to drive me back through Jackson, Mississippi…..twice……so that I would remember. You’ve been with me through it all.

One year and one week ago, a man who was a stranger to most of us lost his life. His name is George Floyd. In the 372 days since then, we have all had a lot of time to process. To evaluate. To change. Or to stay the same.

In the weeks following Mr. Floyd’s death, I watched a message by Andy Stanley called “This Human Race.” His message provided a very truthful and heartfelt message on racism in our country. One of the concepts that challenged me the most was that of being NON-racist or ANTI-racist.

According to my good friend, Merriam Webster, the prefix “Non-“ means “not; other than; reverse of; absence of.” Merriam Webster also defines the prefix “Anti-“ as “exerting energy in the opposite direction, one that is opposite in kind to, opposing in effect or activity, or serving to prevent, cure, or alleviate.”

Those words are only one letter apart but they couldn’t be more different. Let me explain as Andy Stanley did and with the application of Merriam Webster’s definitions.

I can easily say I’m NON-child abuse because I don’t abuse my children. If I see it happening, I can walk by and think, “I’m non-child abuse because I don’t do that to my children.” However, if I’m ANTI-child abuse, I cannot simply walk by undisturbed and proud that “I don’t do that.” Instead, what is happening is so disruptive to my spirit that it requires a response. An action. Not an internal evaluation of how good I think I am.

Over the past year, I have had the privilege to engage in some extremely difficult conversations with people who have grown more precious to me than I could have imagined. These conversations didn’t happen because life was great. They happened because of very hard situations that involved racism. Those situations brought things to surface that these friends have had to deal with their entire lives because of the color of their skin.

Please hear my heart when I say this: I am NOT making a political statement. I am so far over the political climate in our country that I don’t care what “side” you voted for or where your political preferences lie. What I do know is that until we take ownership for OUR OWN responses and quit throwing out very general “they” statements to blame everyone else, we will never make progress. Not as individuals and certainly not as a nation. A political party will never change your heart. (But Jesus can.)

That being said, I’ve sat across the table from friends who were told they were the hardest working people at the business but they couldn’t be promoted because the owner “didn’t want black people out front.” I’ve listened to stories about parents who train their black sons how to respond if they were ever to be pulled over by law enforcement – and I’ve never even considered that to be a necessary conversation with my white son. I’ve learned about a friend close to my age who was seated on one side of the math classroom with her four black classmates while the teacher turned her back to them and taught the rest of the white students – the entire year. I don’t know if this brings a rise in you – but I can tell you that these are no longer just stories I’ve heard but they are areas of hurt in the lives of people I love. What hurts them hurts me.

In October of 2020, I got to visit First African Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This was the site of a horrible event called Bloody Tuesday. It all happened on June 9, 1964. A group of African Americans wanted to march from the church to the nearby courthouse simply to get a drink of water out of the same fountains white people used. As they marched down the front steps of the building, many were attacked and repeatedly beaten by local law enforcement officers. One of those men was Mr. Maxie Thomas, seen in the freshly starched denim pants below.

At the time, Mr. Maxie had recently returned from serving in the Vietnam War. His willingness to serve our country at that time meant that he left his family behind as he volunteered to offer his life to fight for your freedom and my freedom yet return to Tuscaloosa and find the freedom he fought for was not offered to him. He actually took the brunt of a brutal attack as he protected a female marcher.

Mr. Maxie spoke to us that October afternoon – and, as a man who suffered immensely because of the color of his skin, he challenged us by repeatedly saying, “We CAN overcome because we are all a part of the Human Race.” His words continue to resonate with me every single morning as I look in the mirror.

This. Human. Race.

Non-?

Anti-?

You choose.

I played volleyball in high school. The court was very clearly defined – usually by some dark and bold color of paint. During a volleyball match, a line judge is placed an two corners of the court…the corners opposite of where a player stands to serve. The line judge is given a flag and is asked to identify a few game-changing things:

1. Did a player touch the ball before it went out of bounds?

2. Did the ball land INside of the lines marking the court?

3. Did the ball land OUTside of the lines marking the court?

Sometimes, the line judge’s job was extremely easy. The player very blatantly touched the ball, the ball very plainly landed inside the court, or the ball very plainly flew out of bounds. You could be guaranteed that if the ball landed close to the line….the arguing would begin. Apparently, when things are close, people argue as of the boundary lines should change.

Merriam-Webster defines a boundary as “something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent.” we may refer to a boundary as a border, an edge, a frame, or a margin. Whichever word you choose, there’s no doubt that a boundary line represents what is in bounds and what is out of bounds……and boundaries don’t typically move.

My friend, Mary Leach, invited me to read a devotion on the YouVersion app and it’s called “Boundaries 101.” (Check out Mary’s blog Here!) as we started on day one, these words screamed at me: “In addition to showing us what we ARE responsible for, boundaries help us to define what is NOT on our property and what we are NOT responsible for.”

As I read those words, I immediately looked down at the red rash that is still present at the base of both of my legs. Two weeks ago, I was working in the yard. Edging. Weedeating. Mowing. Cleaning up. As I began mowing, I noticed some overgrowth that was…..technically…..on my neighbor’s property, but growing up MY fence. In my mind, it would be helpful to them if I grabbed the weed eater and took care of it….and it would uncover part of the fence we recently spend a lot of money having installed. All was well when I finished and the yard looked great. That was Saturday. About 18 hours later, my legs were covered in blisters….that itched….and, quite honestly, looked horrible. I immediately had to call an audible on what I was going to wear to church and even had to change my plan for shoes because of the presence of my friend….Poison Ivy.

When we bought our home, there were stakes in the yard to show our property lines. What’s inside of those lines belongs to us….and we are responsible for taking care of it. What’s outside of those lines? Not our responsibility. Not to do ourselves. Not to tel others that it’s not being done. Our property lines – boundaries – give us clear cut direction on how to run in our lane.

Disrespecting the boundaries brought poison into my life. (Please don’t misread that as I wanted my neighbor to get it. We have roundup. 😊) All because I saw something in someone else’s boundaries that I wanted to address….and I thought it would “help” them (or just make my yard look better, truth be told) for me to do it. The result was painful.

What line judge are we looking to as the source of what’s in and what’s out?

-My preferences?

-What makes ME comfortable?

-What a certain group of people prefers? (Family, friends, political parties, media, whomever is influential in our lives at the moment)

-The unchanging Word of God?

When we allow God’s Word to truly draw the boundaries, we don’t have to challenge them. We don’t have to step outside of His design and find ourselves covered in poison ivy. We really can avoid a lot of pain when we choose to live inside the safety of His boundaries.

It’s game time! Grab your knee pads, listen for the whistle, and put the ball in play! Keep your eyes on the Line Judge….and stay inbounds.

A few weeks ago, I read a quote and chuckled. “On January 1, 2021, the statement ‘Hindsight is 2020’ will never be more true.”

What a year, you know? As a professional in the field of education, little did I know THEN that the end of the work day on March 13, 2020 would not be the traditional launching into spring break. Instead, an announcement that afternoon let used words like social distance, masks, COVID, shut downs, and essential workers. It’s not that I’ve never heard those words before (with the exception of COVID), but I had never heard them all used in a press conference that would dramatically change life as we knew it.

From March of 2020 until December 2020, these are some things that made themselves at home in our world, our nation, our state, and our city:
*A life-altering, massively contagious virus that has taken many and sickened many more
*Economic crisis
*Shortages of goods/supplies
*Political animosity
*Racial tension
*Social isolation
*Blame casting
*Relational breakdowns

Just tonight, I have been watching Passion 2021 with my children. We usually jam out to KB on iTunes, but tonight we got to do that in our living room. A little later in the evening, KB brought an extremely powerful message from the book of Psalms. In his message, he made this statement: “So many people continually say that ‘they can’t wait to get out of 2020;’ Maybe we need to ask what 2020 is trying to get out of us!” BOOM!

The list above gives an overview of the impact of living through this pandemic and it is pretty disheartening. Tonight, as we head towards 2021, I want to reflect on what 2020 has done through a different lens. Yes, the year has been hard. However, the past nine-and-a-half months have taught me several really important lessons:

1. Crisis is a great (and necessary) editor. There are things that will never get our time or attention until a crisis demands them.
2. Relationships matter. Whether we are introverts or extroverts, WE NEED EACH OTHER. My pastor has said on many occasions that we need to “maintain physical distance but stay socially connected.” We were not created to do life alone. Don’t try.
3. We all have a story that has been shaped by our past. Take time to truly get to know the people in your life – be in relationship, not just in proximity. You just might understand them – and yourself – better.
4. In uncertain times, it is so necessary to hold on to Hope. His name is Jesus!

Romans 5:3-5 says “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

2020 has been a harsh but honest teacher. It’s caused me to look at me, to look inside of me, and then to look at everything and everyone differently. Bring on 2021!!! I’ve got my world to change.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. “ -Ephesians 6:10-17

This time of year always brings some “flying friends” around my house. No, it’s not the chirping birds who occasionally build a nest in our crepe myrtle trees or on the ledge of the columns on our porch. It’s these feisty, bossy, territorial things called…..CARPENTER BEES.

Several years ago, I was talking to a friend and her husband about cutting the grass in the backyard. A wooden fence encompasses our backyard for privacy and to keep our dog, Deuce, safe and sound. This fence is also a burrowing ground for carpenter bees. As I started to move into the backyard, these bees would dive bomb at my head. Even when I was far away from the fence, they continued to bully me. (Yes, the drama is real.) If there had been cameras installed in the backyard at that time, they’d have seen me ducking, swatting, shrieking, pushing the lawnmower off on its own (as a decoy?) and hauling tail out of the backyard. Ridiculous. I JUST WANTED TO CUT THE GRASS! My friend’s husband gave me some advice: “Don’t worry about them – they’re just carpenter bees. Look at its face. If it’s yellow, it won’t sting you!” While I appreciated the advice, I knew good and well I didn’t want those things close enough to my eyeballs to see what color their faces were! The yard could wait…..I was fleeing to “safety:”

This spring, I’ve made a a decision that I will not allow a one-inch insect to have so much control over me. I’ve mowed several times and I just walk patiently, keeping my head up, keeping my hands on the mower and finishing what I’ve started. Those bees are still swarming. They still dive bomb at my head. They still go get their friends and try to double team me. I still have those moments of fear that I’m about to get stung by one of them, but I press on.

You see – I didn’t do ANYTHING to aggravate them. I didn’t hit the fence, I didn’t bring out any bug spray, and I didn’t bother them at all. Thinking back on my friend’s advice, I researched a little bit about carpenter bees. I learned that the females are the only ones with stingers but they rarely sting unless their nest (probably inside the posts of our wood fence) is threatened. In reference to the male carpenter bees, however, the Terminix website states “This ‘stingless aggression’ is little more than a scare tactic, but should serve as a warning that you’re getting too close for their comfort.” Wait a minute. You’re in MY backyard burrowing in MY fence and warning me that I’M too close for comfort? All I did…..was try to mow the grass.

Spiritually, it’s easy to feel the same way. I didn’t do anything to “stir up the enemy.” All I did…..was give my heart to Jesus. And in that moment, I became a target of dive bombs at my head (mind), my heart (spirit) and body (soul). Sometimes, it’s a “one bee” attack. Other times, it’s a full team assault. Just because……being a follower of Christ encroaches on the enemy’s territory and he knows no other way but to threaten and bombard us to weaken our impact and make us want to quit. To question. To pull back.

Ephesians 6 gives us so much to equip us. We are told how to dress. We are told that to PUT ON (Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Gospel Shoes of Peace) a few articles that, by nature, serve their purposes just by wearing them. In addition, though, we are told to TAKE UP some additional things (Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, Sword of the Spirit) that are intended to be used when the enemy sends his fiery darts our way. Just like when the Carpenter Bee five bombs my head. Will I be ready? Or will I run?

Keep your hands on “the mower,” my friends. Keep pushing on and don’t lose sight of what He has called you to be and do.

To all of the carpenter bees in the backyard and the enemy who is equally unwelcome…..BUZZ OFF.