It was one month ago today that Nathan had surgery at Oregon Health and Science University. They operated on his legs and jaws simultaneously. He still walks with a bit of a limp and he'll need more oral surgery. (He won't get replacement teeth implants until October or November.) But he has a long break before his next surgery (on July 17), so we've taken the opportunity to head home to the Philippines--for the first time since the accident.
We landed in Manila yesterday. As we drove home from the airport, I asked Nathan how it felt to be home. "Rapturous," he said with a grin.
I share Nathan's sense of excitement and relief. I am thrilled to be back under the same roof with Hannah and Stacey. I am, at the same time, sobered by the thought of what might have been. I told Nathan as we rode home from the airport, "I'm sure glad to be bringing you home in a taxi...instead of a hearse." (God has been so gracious to our family in sparing Nathan. I'm once again reminded of the words of Psalm 56:13 (in the New Living Translation): "You have rescued me from death... So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.")
I've been thinking recently about what it means to be home. Some weeks ago, I got email from Hannah saying that she'd spent a couple days as the houseguest of a friend in Baguio City (where we lived for seven wonderful years). Our friend suggested we move back to Baguio. "Why don't you come home?" she asked. I was touched by her choice of words. "Just where is our home? " I asked myself.
"Home," it is said, "is where the heart is." But I concluded that home is where we have a place in the heart of another, a place in the heart of someone who loves us.
About that time, I read Psalm 90:1 (in the NLT): "Lord, through all the generations, you have been our home!" What a wonderful thought!
It may be confusing to try to identify just where our earthly home is. Is it Manila? Portland? Baguio? (I even have several places in Austria that I called "home" for a while! And I've hung photos of Oregon in our house in Manila to try to feel at home in two places at once!) But our truest home is in the heart of God. That is not just a place where we are always welcome; it's a place that we will never ever leave!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
A wonderful discovery
Nathan has, for some weeks, been walking with a cane (that's great progress!)...but he walks with a limp because he can't lift his left foot. He can lift the leg but his foot hangs limp; the nerve in his left leg was damaged in the accident last October. The doctors have been telling us that that nerve might, over time, regenerate....but that it might never recover. Time will tell, they said; any recovery would take months.
Just day before yesterday, Nathan made a wonderful discovery. He found that he can now move his left foot from side to side. He can't yet lift it, but that lateral movement seems to suggest that he will eventually regain the ability to lift his foot, and to walk (or even run!) without a limp.
I couldn't put more fitting words in Nathan's mouth than the words of Psalm 103:
"Praise the Lord, I tell myself;
with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, I tell myself,
and never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He ransoms me from death
and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle's!"
Just day before yesterday, Nathan made a wonderful discovery. He found that he can now move his left foot from side to side. He can't yet lift it, but that lateral movement seems to suggest that he will eventually regain the ability to lift his foot, and to walk (or even run!) without a limp.
I couldn't put more fitting words in Nathan's mouth than the words of Psalm 103:
"Praise the Lord, I tell myself;
with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, I tell myself,
and never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He ransoms me from death
and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle's!"
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Perseverance and hope
Nathan's surgery went well, but we didn't make quite as much headway as we had hoped. The orthopedic surgeon removed the screws from Nathan's right ankle, but the bone in his left leg has not healed enough to allow for the removal of the external fixator. And the oral and maxillo-facial surgeon was not able to install the implants in Nathan's upper jaw as he discovered that there is not enough bone left. So he took a piece of bone from the back of the jaw and grafted it to the front. We have to wait a couple months for the leg and jaw to heal before Nathan will be ready for the dental implants.
Perseverance, and hope, are the name of the game, it seems. Romans 15:5 and 13 (in the NIV) serves to remind us that "...God...gives perseverance and encouragement..." and that He is "the God of hope."
Perseverance, and hope, are the name of the game, it seems. Romans 15:5 and 13 (in the NIV) serves to remind us that "...God...gives perseverance and encouragement..." and that He is "the God of hope."
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Hoping in the Lord
A friend reminded me the other day that it's been a long while since I blogged. Nathan is making good progress in physical therapy (he's walking with a cane now!), but his progress in therapy is limited by the fact that the fixator is still in place on his left leg.
And he's got a long ways to go when it comes to his reconstructing his jaw and teeth. He had two root canals this past week, and hopefully, we can push through with surgery on his jaws this coming week. The surgery on his jaws is to be synchronized with the removal of the fixator on his left leg and the removal of two screws from his right ankle. We'll see if all that can be arranged this coming week. We are a bit weary.
I was reminded, as I typed the word "weary," that that is the precisely the word Isaiah 40:29-31 uses to describe the condition that the Lord wants to help us with:
"He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not be faint."
And he's got a long ways to go when it comes to his reconstructing his jaw and teeth. He had two root canals this past week, and hopefully, we can push through with surgery on his jaws this coming week. The surgery on his jaws is to be synchronized with the removal of the fixator on his left leg and the removal of two screws from his right ankle. We'll see if all that can be arranged this coming week. We are a bit weary.
I was reminded, as I typed the word "weary," that that is the precisely the word Isaiah 40:29-31 uses to describe the condition that the Lord wants to help us with:
"He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not be faint."
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
"The LORD will go before you..."
Six years ago, when we as a family were anxious about moving from our much-loved home in Baguio City to the heat and congestion of Metro Manila, Hannah and I were encouraged by Isaiah 52:12: "The LORD will go before you..." I have, over and over, been reminded of that passage as we have moved through the saga of Nathan's accident. It applied, not only to Nathan's transfer from the Salzburg hospital to rehab in Klosterneuburg, but equally to our move to Portland. The most remarkable part of our transfer to Portland was not the Lord's provision of housing (we are staying in my parents' home), but the way the Lord matched us with expert medical specialists.
As we were making plans to leave Klosterneuburg for Portland, I happened to receive email from Jan Naas, Hannah's roommate of 25 years ago (when Hannah was studying in Portland and we were dating). Jan has been working at Portland's highly-regarded Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) for more than 30 years. I told Jan that Nathan would be needing the care of an oral and maxillo-facial surgeon and a orthopedic surgeon as well as rehab. Jan immediately contacted her doctor friends and, even before we had left Austria, helped me arrange appointments with the head of OHSU's residency program in oral and maxillo-facial surgery, and with one of only two orthopedic surgeons in Portland who specialize in trauma cases. Both doctors are professors at OHSU. Within 24 hours of our arrival in Portland, Nathan was seeing those distinguished young doctors who squeezed him into their appointment calendars at the request of colleagues who are Jan's friends. That was remarkable.
But that the the LORD had "gone before" us was highlighted in a small but poignant way on our arrival at the lobby of the OHSU Physician's Pavilion. There, taped to a wheelchair at the front door, was a sign "Reserved for Nathan Haskell." Not only had Jan helped arrange appointments with some particularly expert doctors, but she had thought of everything--from reserving a wheelchair, to showing us around, and even treating us to Starbucks and to lunch. Her kindness in those "little things" served to remind me that we never drop off God's "radar."
Nathan is making progress every day. We will, later this morning, see the prosthodontist who is working with Nathan's oral and maxillo-facial surgeon to reconstruct his jaw and teeth. Nathan is less and less dependent on his crutches, and the orthopedic surgeon has begun removing the stainless steel pins from the external fixator that reinforces the bones in his left leg, now that the bone is growing steadily. We don't know if the nerve in that lower leg and foot will come back or not; time will tell. But it is enough to know, for now, that the LORD is going before us.
Perhaps Isaiah was echoing Moses' words as he urged God's people to move on into territory that was new to them, and daunting: "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV)
As we were making plans to leave Klosterneuburg for Portland, I happened to receive email from Jan Naas, Hannah's roommate of 25 years ago (when Hannah was studying in Portland and we were dating). Jan has been working at Portland's highly-regarded Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) for more than 30 years. I told Jan that Nathan would be needing the care of an oral and maxillo-facial surgeon and a orthopedic surgeon as well as rehab. Jan immediately contacted her doctor friends and, even before we had left Austria, helped me arrange appointments with the head of OHSU's residency program in oral and maxillo-facial surgery, and with one of only two orthopedic surgeons in Portland who specialize in trauma cases. Both doctors are professors at OHSU. Within 24 hours of our arrival in Portland, Nathan was seeing those distinguished young doctors who squeezed him into their appointment calendars at the request of colleagues who are Jan's friends. That was remarkable.
But that the the LORD had "gone before" us was highlighted in a small but poignant way on our arrival at the lobby of the OHSU Physician's Pavilion. There, taped to a wheelchair at the front door, was a sign "Reserved for Nathan Haskell." Not only had Jan helped arrange appointments with some particularly expert doctors, but she had thought of everything--from reserving a wheelchair, to showing us around, and even treating us to Starbucks and to lunch. Her kindness in those "little things" served to remind me that we never drop off God's "radar."
Nathan is making progress every day. We will, later this morning, see the prosthodontist who is working with Nathan's oral and maxillo-facial surgeon to reconstruct his jaw and teeth. Nathan is less and less dependent on his crutches, and the orthopedic surgeon has begun removing the stainless steel pins from the external fixator that reinforces the bones in his left leg, now that the bone is growing steadily. We don't know if the nerve in that lower leg and foot will come back or not; time will tell. But it is enough to know, for now, that the LORD is going before us.
Perhaps Isaiah was echoing Moses' words as he urged God's people to move on into territory that was new to them, and daunting: "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV)
Friday, February 8, 2008
On patience and "the magnificent future God has planned for us"
I just ran across J.B. Phillips' paraphrase of the passage (Romans 8:18-25) I quoted in my previous blog. The Apostle Paul's thoughts on endurance, hope, and patience:
"In my opinion, whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God's purpose it has been so limited - yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!
It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realized our full sonship in him. We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven't yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience."
"In my opinion, whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God's purpose it has been so limited - yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!
It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realized our full sonship in him. We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven't yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience."
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
On waiting patiently: "This is taking forever!"
Hannah and I tend to look at how far Nathan has come. When I sent her a text message about his walking with crutches, she replied that she wishes she were around to see it. (When she last saw him, he was wheelchair-bound.) She texted: "Not long ago his sitting up was an amazing feat!"
Nathan, on the other hand, tends to focus on how far he has to go. He walks with two crutches--slowly, and with difficulty. (Doctors say that three things heal particularly slowly: bones, nerves, and emotions. Nathan's injuries are to bones and nerves.) And he has months of oral surgery ahead. While he rarely complains, he did express frustration the other day. Said he: "This is taking forever!"
Both points of view are realistic. He is making headway, but it is a slow process...and difficult.
Nathan's accident, and his recovery, have become, for me, a metaphor with respect to the shape of the world in which we live and the work to which we are called. Things are quickly and easily loused up, or even destroyed, but they are only slowly and painfully restored or set right.
Adam's and Eve's Fall into sin took but a moment, but the long-term effects were devastating, and reversing them is a slow process, and difficult. It is not as easy to straighten things out as it is to louse them up. Whether it is bodies that are broken, or our environment that is polluted or destroyed, or relationships that are ruptured, or injustices that are perpetuated, we should not be surprised that restoring things is an uphill battle, a painfully slow process. That is reality; and, as our young friends are fond of saying, we've gotta "deal with it." We must not give way to despair, but rather keep on laboring at setting things right, energized by the hope that there is a Day coming when things will, at last, be set right.
"The creation waits in eager expectation...for the creation was subjected to frustration... The whole creation has been groaning... Not only so, but we ourselves...groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.... Who hopes for what he already has? But...we wait for it patiently." (Romans 8:19-25, New International Version)
Nathan, on the other hand, tends to focus on how far he has to go. He walks with two crutches--slowly, and with difficulty. (Doctors say that three things heal particularly slowly: bones, nerves, and emotions. Nathan's injuries are to bones and nerves.) And he has months of oral surgery ahead. While he rarely complains, he did express frustration the other day. Said he: "This is taking forever!"
Both points of view are realistic. He is making headway, but it is a slow process...and difficult.
Nathan's accident, and his recovery, have become, for me, a metaphor with respect to the shape of the world in which we live and the work to which we are called. Things are quickly and easily loused up, or even destroyed, but they are only slowly and painfully restored or set right.
Adam's and Eve's Fall into sin took but a moment, but the long-term effects were devastating, and reversing them is a slow process, and difficult. It is not as easy to straighten things out as it is to louse them up. Whether it is bodies that are broken, or our environment that is polluted or destroyed, or relationships that are ruptured, or injustices that are perpetuated, we should not be surprised that restoring things is an uphill battle, a painfully slow process. That is reality; and, as our young friends are fond of saying, we've gotta "deal with it." We must not give way to despair, but rather keep on laboring at setting things right, energized by the hope that there is a Day coming when things will, at last, be set right.
"The creation waits in eager expectation...for the creation was subjected to frustration... The whole creation has been groaning... Not only so, but we ourselves...groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.... Who hopes for what he already has? But...we wait for it patiently." (Romans 8:19-25, New International Version)
Friday, February 1, 2008
On "being mother and father"
On checking my last blog date, I was chagrined to discover that it's been ten days since I last blogged. :(
By way of trying to account for my deliquency as a blogger: I have, since January 3, been quite stretched, trying to be both mother and father to Nathan. It has been more challenging than ever as I made arrangements to travel, spent 48 hours in transit, and on landing in Portland, have begun to make decisions and make arrangements with respect to his medical care here.
I, just this morning, figured out why it is so stressful: It seems to me that to "be both father and mother" is almost impossible. (I am newly impressed with the way Paul described the way he managed to take on both roles in his ministry to the young believers in Thessalonica: "...We were as gentle among you as a mother...," while, at the same time, "we treated each of you as a father... We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy." (1 Thess. 2:7, 11-12, New Living Translation) Paul the Apostle did it all!!) But it is no wonder Nathan and I feel the absence of Hannah.
I will, tomorrow, get right back to blogging on God's remarkable provision. But, for today, I am feeling the lack of what He has not provided: anyone who could take Hannah's place as wife and mother.
Here's to Hannah (who is not only a wonderful wife and mother, but a terrific counselor, professor, and administrator!):
"She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her....
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She gets up while it is still dark....
...and her lamp does not go out at night
(especially while finishing her doctoral dissertation!)
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women do noble things but you surpass them all.'"
(Proverbs 31:10-12, 15, 18, 25-29, New International Version)
By way of trying to account for my deliquency as a blogger: I have, since January 3, been quite stretched, trying to be both mother and father to Nathan. It has been more challenging than ever as I made arrangements to travel, spent 48 hours in transit, and on landing in Portland, have begun to make decisions and make arrangements with respect to his medical care here.
I, just this morning, figured out why it is so stressful: It seems to me that to "be both father and mother" is almost impossible. (I am newly impressed with the way Paul described the way he managed to take on both roles in his ministry to the young believers in Thessalonica: "...We were as gentle among you as a mother...," while, at the same time, "we treated each of you as a father... We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy." (1 Thess. 2:7, 11-12, New Living Translation) Paul the Apostle did it all!!) But it is no wonder Nathan and I feel the absence of Hannah.
I will, tomorrow, get right back to blogging on God's remarkable provision. But, for today, I am feeling the lack of what He has not provided: anyone who could take Hannah's place as wife and mother.
Here's to Hannah (who is not only a wonderful wife and mother, but a terrific counselor, professor, and administrator!):
"She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her....
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She gets up while it is still dark....
...and her lamp does not go out at night
(especially while finishing her doctoral dissertation!)
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women do noble things but you surpass them all.'"
(Proverbs 31:10-12, 15, 18, 25-29, New International Version)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
On kindness and generosity
Nathan's progress has been such that there is an end in sight to our sojourn in Klosterneuburg. We plan to leave the rehab center on Thursday, bound for Salzburg (where we will return the car that was loaned us these past six weeks), and then fly to the USA on Monday (if I can work things out with the insurance companies involved).
I was quite dumbfounded at the way 3 John 5 perfectly describes Rob and Sandy Shaffer's ministry to me these past few days: It says "...you are doing a good work for God when you take care of the brothers who are passing through, even though they are strangers to you." (See the footnote in the New Living Translation.) I trust this blog serves as the sort of response described in verse 6: Telling God's people elsewhere of those gracious hosts' "friendship...and loving deeds."
The Shaffers so graciously hosting me is not the only example of kindness and generosity we have experienced these past few days. Nathan's attorney emailed to say that she had an idea she'd like to discuss with me. When I called, she explained that the driver's insurance company apparently intends to "stall" until Nathan's legal expenses compel him to give up on legal remedies, but that if Nathan has virtually no assets (and that is certainly the case!), she'd be happy to take on his case on a charitable basis. What a wonderful surprise!
Psalm 40:1-3 continues to be an uncannily apt description of the Lord's dealings with us over the past three months: "...The Lord...heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair... He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along..... Many will see what he has done and be astounded."
I was quite dumbfounded at the way 3 John 5 perfectly describes Rob and Sandy Shaffer's ministry to me these past few days: It says "...you are doing a good work for God when you take care of the brothers who are passing through, even though they are strangers to you." (See the footnote in the New Living Translation.) I trust this blog serves as the sort of response described in verse 6: Telling God's people elsewhere of those gracious hosts' "friendship...and loving deeds."
The Shaffers so graciously hosting me is not the only example of kindness and generosity we have experienced these past few days. Nathan's attorney emailed to say that she had an idea she'd like to discuss with me. When I called, she explained that the driver's insurance company apparently intends to "stall" until Nathan's legal expenses compel him to give up on legal remedies, but that if Nathan has virtually no assets (and that is certainly the case!), she'd be happy to take on his case on a charitable basis. What a wonderful surprise!
Psalm 40:1-3 continues to be an uncannily apt description of the Lord's dealings with us over the past three months: "...The Lord...heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair... He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along..... Many will see what he has done and be astounded."
On teeth...and trust
It's been too long since I've blogged. Nathan is making slow but steady progress in his rehab. He has, this past week, gotten out of the wheelchair to walk around on crutches (for a few meters). The Shaffers, the couple with whom I am staying in Klosterneuburg, were kind enough to take us along to see an English movie in Vienna, and Nathan managed to get in and out of the theatre on crutches. I am working on making arrangements to move him to the USA this coming week for more rehab and oral surgery.
Over the weeks I've enjoyed interacting with Fr. Jim Connelly, the director of the Salzburg program Nathan was enrolled in before the accident, and with Eva Aussermair, Nathan's theology instructor in Salzburg. Both Fr. Jim and Eva pray through the entire book of Psalms. I mentioned to Fr. Jim and to Eva that I've always been taken aback by the imprecatory psalms (the ones in which the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies). After Nathan's accident, I was particularly taken aback by Psalm 3:7: "Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!" I thought to myself, "That's exactly what happened to Nathan! He was struck in the face (by a side-view mirror), shattering his teeth. That's awful! Who would wish that on anyone?!"
But Eva dearly loves the Psalms, and when I mentioned my being taken aback by the imprecatory psalms, she shared with me three helpful thoughts on those psalms (off the top of her head!):
1) The psalmist is calling on the Lord to act on his behalf, not announcing his intentions to "take matters into his own hands."
2) The Lord, through the psalmists, lets us know that He is not put off by our honestly expressing our strong feelings. In fact, He invites us to pour out our hearts to Him. (Psalm 62:8, for example, says "O my people.... Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.")
3) The imprecatory psalms can serve as a reminder to try to see ourselves as others see us. That is, might it be that there be those who are so angered by the way that I have, in some way, hurt them, that they are, right now, inclined to pray God's judgment on me?!! A sobering and humbling thought.
I was reminded of the imprecatory psalms this past week when Nathan and I learned that both the driver of the car that hit him and the company that insures the car have been trying to avoid taking responsibility for the accident. The driver did not even report the accident to the insurance company, and now the company is ignoring Nathan's attorney's letters. Nathan and I were frustrated...and angry. And that reminded me of the sentiments of the psalmists who penned those imprecations....and of Eva's thoughts on those psalms. (1) It is good to be honest--with oneself and with God--about how we feel. (2) At the same time, He wants us to trust Him to deal with injustice...in His time. The verse immediately following Psalm 3:7's "shatter their teeth" imprecation says: "Victory comes from You, O Lord! May your blessings rest on your people." That's what I'm counting on!
Over the weeks I've enjoyed interacting with Fr. Jim Connelly, the director of the Salzburg program Nathan was enrolled in before the accident, and with Eva Aussermair, Nathan's theology instructor in Salzburg. Both Fr. Jim and Eva pray through the entire book of Psalms. I mentioned to Fr. Jim and to Eva that I've always been taken aback by the imprecatory psalms (the ones in which the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies). After Nathan's accident, I was particularly taken aback by Psalm 3:7: "Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!" I thought to myself, "That's exactly what happened to Nathan! He was struck in the face (by a side-view mirror), shattering his teeth. That's awful! Who would wish that on anyone?!"
But Eva dearly loves the Psalms, and when I mentioned my being taken aback by the imprecatory psalms, she shared with me three helpful thoughts on those psalms (off the top of her head!):
1) The psalmist is calling on the Lord to act on his behalf, not announcing his intentions to "take matters into his own hands."
2) The Lord, through the psalmists, lets us know that He is not put off by our honestly expressing our strong feelings. In fact, He invites us to pour out our hearts to Him. (Psalm 62:8, for example, says "O my people.... Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.")
3) The imprecatory psalms can serve as a reminder to try to see ourselves as others see us. That is, might it be that there be those who are so angered by the way that I have, in some way, hurt them, that they are, right now, inclined to pray God's judgment on me?!! A sobering and humbling thought.
I was reminded of the imprecatory psalms this past week when Nathan and I learned that both the driver of the car that hit him and the company that insures the car have been trying to avoid taking responsibility for the accident. The driver did not even report the accident to the insurance company, and now the company is ignoring Nathan's attorney's letters. Nathan and I were frustrated...and angry. And that reminded me of the sentiments of the psalmists who penned those imprecations....and of Eva's thoughts on those psalms. (1) It is good to be honest--with oneself and with God--about how we feel. (2) At the same time, He wants us to trust Him to deal with injustice...in His time. The verse immediately following Psalm 3:7's "shatter their teeth" imprecation says: "Victory comes from You, O Lord! May your blessings rest on your people." That's what I'm counting on!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
"Amazing, amazing..." :)
Audrey, one of Nathan's fellow patients at the rehab center, asked me the other night about where I was staying here in Klosterneuburg. "At a hotel?" she wondered. "At a house," I explained. "In fact, I have it to myself. The people who are leasing it are in the U.S. Actually, I haven't even met them. They're friends of friends of friends of friends."
"But I'll be transferring next week," I added. "Another family will be arriving to occupy the house I'm in now. So I'll be transferring to stay with another family. More friends of friends of friends."
Audrey had to laugh in astonishment at the thought that I had, not one, but two, "friends of friends of friends" willing to accomodate me in town as small as Klosterneuburg. "You know, Klosterneuburg is not a big place," she pointed out. As if I hadn't noticed.
"That's the way you religious communities operate..." mused Audrey. (I'd told her the other day that I'm part of a Christian "community.")
The following morning one of Nathan's nurses likewise asked about where I'm staying. When I explained that I'm staying with at the home of "friends of friends" in Klosterneuburg, but that I'll be transferring next week to stay with other "friends of friends," she kept repeating, "Amazing, amazing." (I assured her that I am as amazed as is she.)
I could not ask for a more remarkable demonstration of the truth of Jesus' words in John 13:35: "...Love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
"But I'll be transferring next week," I added. "Another family will be arriving to occupy the house I'm in now. So I'll be transferring to stay with another family. More friends of friends of friends."
Audrey had to laugh in astonishment at the thought that I had, not one, but two, "friends of friends of friends" willing to accomodate me in town as small as Klosterneuburg. "You know, Klosterneuburg is not a big place," she pointed out. As if I hadn't noticed.
"That's the way you religious communities operate..." mused Audrey. (I'd told her the other day that I'm part of a Christian "community.")
The following morning one of Nathan's nurses likewise asked about where I'm staying. When I explained that I'm staying with at the home of "friends of friends" in Klosterneuburg, but that I'll be transferring next week to stay with other "friends of friends," she kept repeating, "Amazing, amazing." (I assured her that I am as amazed as is she.)
I could not ask for a more remarkable demonstration of the truth of Jesus' words in John 13:35: "...Love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Monday, January 7, 2008
On being carried: He's big enough!
The Lord has, time and again, brought to my attention passages of Scripture that are uncannily applicable to our circumstances. The most recent example was my running across Deuteronomy 1:31-33 yesterday morning. The New International Version reads: "The LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son.... The LORD your God...went ahead of you on your journey...to search out places for you to camp."
What an apt description of the Lord's care for us! He "went ahead of us" to Klosterneuburg (a place I had never heard of just a few weeks ago) to "search out a place for us to camp" (a house just five minutes drive from the rehab center!).
Most special of all is the phrase "as a father carries his son." I gained a new appreciation of that phrase Sunday afternoon. The house in which we are staying has more than two dozen stairs from the street to the front door. Those stairs become frighteningly slippery when they are icy; and there is no handrail. So Nathan and I had quite a struggle getting him down the stairs in order to get him back to the rehab center Sunday afternoon. It was all we could do to pull it off. A bit scary, in fact. We managed to pull it off. But only barely. It would have been easier had I been big enough to carry him. But I'm not that big or strong. :( It is good to know that our Heavenly Father is able and willing to carry us!
It was great to have, not just Hannah, but Andrew and Stacey and Sarah here for the holidays. And it was wonderful that Nathan's long-time buddy Boram was able to fly in from Oxford for the weekend, beginning the very day Hannah and the Stacey and Andrew and Sarah flew back to Manila and Portland, respectively. (Not only did those family and special friends lift our spirits, but Andrew and Boram were able to help me lift Nathan up those stairs!) But now that they are gone, I have to count on the Lord to "carry" Nathan and me. It is good to be reminded that that's what He's both able and willing!
What an apt description of the Lord's care for us! He "went ahead of us" to Klosterneuburg (a place I had never heard of just a few weeks ago) to "search out a place for us to camp" (a house just five minutes drive from the rehab center!).
Most special of all is the phrase "as a father carries his son." I gained a new appreciation of that phrase Sunday afternoon. The house in which we are staying has more than two dozen stairs from the street to the front door. Those stairs become frighteningly slippery when they are icy; and there is no handrail. So Nathan and I had quite a struggle getting him down the stairs in order to get him back to the rehab center Sunday afternoon. It was all we could do to pull it off. A bit scary, in fact. We managed to pull it off. But only barely. It would have been easier had I been big enough to carry him. But I'm not that big or strong. :( It is good to know that our Heavenly Father is able and willing to carry us!
It was great to have, not just Hannah, but Andrew and Stacey and Sarah here for the holidays. And it was wonderful that Nathan's long-time buddy Boram was able to fly in from Oxford for the weekend, beginning the very day Hannah and the Stacey and Andrew and Sarah flew back to Manila and Portland, respectively. (Not only did those family and special friends lift our spirits, but Andrew and Boram were able to help me lift Nathan up those stairs!) But now that they are gone, I have to count on the Lord to "carry" Nathan and me. It is good to be reminded that that's what He's both able and willing!
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