Friday, November 16, 2018

Missing Pieces

Friday, November 16, 2018
If you have ever had one of those nagging feelings, a sense that something is missing, this won’t be hard to understand.  My missing piece is a sense that I gave up something sacred to do something else … also sacred.  And it caused a void, a vacancy in me which cannot be undone.  But, like all the holes in me, Scripture speaks faith to my places of emptiness.
Hannah also had an emptiness; she was barren, unable to have children.  Three-thousand years ago that was more than a lifestyle choice, or something to let a fertility expert handle.  In Hannah’s world this was a flashing neon sign to all who knew her that God considered her unworthy and had made her a second-class woman.  It said all her outward beauty was for nothing; she would live in pain and shame all her days.
But Hannah was filled with more than pain; there was also faith.  She prayed with an open life before the Lord, promising to dedicate a first son God would give her back to God’s service.  Acknowledging God’s sovereignty was part of her thanksgiving prayer when God blessed Hannah with newborn Samuel:

For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order.  1 Samuel 2:8(NLT)

Hannah followed through and brought a newly weaned toddler to the temple to serve the Lord.  And this is where the hole, the missing piece in my heart, tracks with Samuel;

But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord.  He wore a linen garment like that of a priest.  Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice.  Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.”  And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.   Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.  1 Samuel 2:18-21(NLT)

Every time I read about Samuel’s boyhood, spent in the temple, away from parents and his brothers and sisters, I get wistful about those years after leaving home.  Far from family, moving around in ministry, place after place, can grind that longing into a nostalgia that burns a hole inside.  Relationships at the end of a phone connection can only go so far.  Holding a hand, staring into your blue-eyed Mom’s face, a hug from your Dad, or brother; distance extinguishes such treasures.
A bit of confession is due here; there have been times, and not just a few, that I have felt like Peter:

Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you.  What will we get?”  Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  Matthew 19:27-28(NT)

The approval of God, and the crown of serving Him throughout eternity aside, the nagging wonder of all those nomadic, itinerant years, missing family birthdays, connection for my children with their cousins and grandparents – well, it wears on you and, if family means anything to you, you must take that before the throne. 
And when I did, Jesus spoke these words into my heart, through the Apostle Paul:

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:6-7(NLT)

I still miss my family, and we do what we can to stay in touch, grow in grace and love towards each other.  I value and treasure whatever time we get to spend together with the all-too-few visits on special occasions.  But God’s Word rings true; my heart overflows with thankfulness in this season; my Redeemer is making all things new, even as we speak.
For You Today
In a week this year’s Thanksgiving Day will be history.  But the season of Thanksgiving is eternally yours if you’re allowing your life’s roots to grow deep into Christ Jesus and building your life on him; thankfulness overflows every day!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

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