Janet Paschal - Living The Word

LIVING THE WORD
March/April 2007 (re-printed from the Homecoming Magazine)

I love to own them, to hold them. I love the way they feel, the way they smell. Tread my favorites multiple times, finding a new sense of the story with each telling. I've been told there is probably a book that would help me with this obsession, but I'm not interested. I don't want to be cured.

That said, I recently re-read Corrie Ten Boom's classic, The Eliding Place. The absorbing account of her family's encounter with mankind's barbaric breach is just as I remembered-bitterly wonderful.

During this particular reading, one sentence in her narrative stood out. Toward the end of her story she returns home alone, her father having died shortly after their arrest and her beloved sister shortly before their release. She wrote that her first thoughts were, "What if Betsie had lived a few days more? What if they'd released us a little sooner? What if Papa had come back when he had the chance? What if..." Then she made a great statement. She said there really are no 'what ifs' in God's kingdom. None.

Have you ever played that deceptive little game? What if I'd been born sooner, or later, or prettier, or wiser? What if I'd known the right people, said the right things, changed my major, or taken a risk? What if I'd married sooner, or later, or married someone else? What if I'd trusted my instinct or chased my dream or shunned convention?

My favorite scripture is Psalm 139. 1 call it 'God in your face.' Simply put, He knows our thoughts and words-before we think or say them. He knows when we sit and stand and lie. He goes before us and behind us and places His hand upon us-in our living rooms and office cubicles and grocery lines. He knows us-both the good and the bad. He thinks of us more often than there are grains of sand on all of His beaches. If we take the 'wings of the morning' and dwell in the 'uttermost parts of the sea,' even there His hand will lead us and His right hand will hold us. If we choose the wrong major or take the wrong job or make a poor decision with long-term consequences, His hand still leads us and His right hand holds us. If we miss seemingly golden opportunities, the brightest and best, if we shoot for the moon and never get airborne, His hand still leads us and his right hand holds us.

I love the story of Paul, the apostle. He was a natural leader, brilliant, fluent in multiple languages. He rose quickly through the ranks until, well, you know the Damascus Road experience. When he began to follow Christ he found himself beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned. He responded to various charges made against him in such a way that the rulers found it difficult to justify his arrest. He was so intelligent and so well-spoken that he confounded his accusers and confused the chief priests. During one especially long imprisonment he was brought before King Agrippa, the son of Herod, who had come to Caesarea to pay respects to Festus, the new ruler. You must picture this... Agrippa arrives with all the pomp and circumstance a nation can muster. He is accompanied by Bernice, with whom he shares an incestuous relationship. Into all their finery and luxury steps Paul, straight from his prison cell; probably unshaven, unclean, and unkempt. He has been held without justification and now must stand before yet another ruler. When Agrippa looked at him and gave him permission to speak, do you remember what his very first words were? One translation says, "King Agrippa, I'm a happy man."

Paul's heart was content when his world was completely out of order. He didn't waste time plowing through greener pastures or trying to make sense of his prison cell. He possessed an acute understanding, a strong resolve that his life was held by bigger hands.

His hand leads us and His right hand holds us. Period. End of discussion. No 'what ifs?', 'why nots?' or second-guessing. I-Ic leads us. He strategically orders our steps. He guides our encounters. In joy and sorrow, gain and loss, on Mondays as well as Fridays, He keeps careful watch over His beloved creation.

So the next time you're in a bookstore, take your time and browse. Run your fingers over a book-binding and open it slowly. Go to your favorite author's section (Buechner, Lewis, Gaither), pick up their latest offering, and ponder some of these what ifs... What if I make this purchase? What if I add it to my birthday list? What if I read it and pass it along to someone else?

I think even Corrie would approve.

Janet Paschal