Father Knows Best

When I was growing up, Father Knows Best, was one of my favorite TV shows. I also loved Gilligan's Island, Bewitched and The Brady Bunch, but there was something special about Father Knows Best. The dad, played by Robert Young, was wise and understanding and they were all so well groomed!

Oddly enough, I can still remember the timbre of the announcer's voice at the beginning of the show. What a happy family they portrayed. The two girls' nicknames were "princess" and "kitten." Personally, I wanted to be princess because I thought Kitten was a little goofy looking.

On the show's website, I learned that it's purpose was to change the image of the bumbling, inept husbands and fathers portrayed in the TV shows of the 1950's. It was supposed to influence families and represent the new ideal of what the American family could be. The sponsor of the show...

Guess what brand I started smoking as a teenager?

I can see now that this program and others like it, influenced me to such a degree that it changed my behavior and gave me an example of what a father should be like. I'm not disregarding my own father at all, I adored him. But he wasn't like Robert Young.

2012 has been without a doubt, the most difficult year of my life. If you know me well, then you know I analyze almost everything. It's part of the way I'm wired and as I think about the various influences in my life, I can see a pattern. I sometimes strive for an ideal that's false or unrealistic, and as a result, I end up questioning God.

Incidentally, this was the God of my childhood:

So, although this year was extremely difficult and filled with suffering, I am grateful. The One, true God has been reshaping me. He's changing the way I think and behave. He's been carving away - cutting out the things in me that do not resemble His son. Only one word describes this process...

Ouch!

And yet, I'm still grateful and will continue to submit myself to his steady and gentle hand. This Father, really does know best.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined - and everyone undergoes discipline - then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Hebrews 12:7-8

God Cultivates

The other day I went to the doctor with another unexplained medical problem. She said I could be a case study, and then put me on an antibiotic and a steroid. Steroids and I do not get along well because they make me feel angry.

One time, a long time ago, I punched someone in the face.

The doctor calmly explained that the medicine was necessary but she'd give me the kind that tapered off gradually. And, because I knew how they were going to make me feel, it would be easier to counsel myself.

Not so much.  I feel like this...

This is not a good thing for the people I love, so I'm hiding in my room and staying out of everyone's way. In my quiet time this morning, I stumbled across this verse:

"Listen to me; listen as I plead! Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting it? Does he not finally plant his seeds for dill, cummin, wheat, barley, and spelt, each in its own section of his land? The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. He doesn't thresh all his crops the same way. A heavy sledge is never used on dill; rather it is beaten with a light stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cummin; instead, it is beaten softly with a flail. Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn't keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheels of a cart, but he doesn't pulverize it. The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom." Isaiah 28:23-28

God knows just how much threshing, sledging, beating and pounding we must endure before he plants just the right kind of seeds in our lives. He has the perfect plan for each of us, and the fruit of our lives will nourish others when the time is right.

If you're suffering through difficulty right now, take heart. There's reason and purpose behind it. My Bible explains the passage this way:

"The farmer uses special tools to plant and harvest tender herbs so he will not destroy them. He takes into account how fragile they are. In the same way God takes all our individual circumstances and weaknesses into account and deals with each of us sensitively. We should follow his example when we deal with others. Different people require different treatment. Be sensitive to the needs of those around you and the special treatment they may need."

I'm thankful for the wise counsel in the Bible. I will wait patiently for his harvest and promise not to punch or pulverize anyone else today.

Spiritual Breakthroughs

So, my fast - or partial fast - is finally over. Every time I do it, I'm shocked at how much my body craves certain things and how often those cravings come. This was a sugar fast, so I gave up all sugar except for one teaspoon a day in my coffee, and one slice of cake on Thursday to celebrate my daughter turning Sweet 16.

My morning time spent with God is sacred for sure... and sweet - sugar in my coffee makes it so. I've been legalistic in the past during times of fasting, and I was determined not to be a party pooper on this day of celebration.

                                       I didn't eat the marshmallow centerpieces though!

As I mentioned in my Five Finger Fasting post, I was fasting and praying for five specific family groups. I can't even tell you how God worked in those families, but He never ceases to amaze me with his faithfulness. At least two people had much needed spiritual breakthroughs (mine included). I'm not sure of the others because they didn't know I was fasting for them, but I know God will reveal it to me if He so chooses.

The first day, when the sugar cravings kicked in, I swear I was praying for people every 20 minutes. By the end of the ten days, the prayer promptings came less frequently, but I'm pretty sure there was nothing left for me to say by that time.

A normal fast would be not eating anything for a specific period of time - usually 24 hours. That is way too easy for me though, so I chose the sugar because it's the hardest thing for me to give up.

In his excellent book, The Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says this:

"More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface. If pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately."

If you've never tried it, I challenge you to try the discipline of fasting and see what God has in store for you.

"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Acts 13:2