Author Archives: Nannette

About Nannette

Wife to The Sweetheart, Mom to the Fantastic Six, Nana to six of the cutest littles on the planet, Author, The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. UPCI ministers.

Reaching for the Little Ones

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What is YOUR experience with His outstretched hand?

Reaching for the Little Ones…

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14 NIV

Alford Usher Soord (1868-1915) was a British painter whose most famous work is a depiction of The Parable Of The Lost Sheep, a sheep stranded halfway down a steep cliff and the shepherd hanging perilously over the edge, risking his own life to save it. The painting was exhibited in 1898 in the Royal Academy and by 1916, over 300,000 reproductions of it had been sold in England and America.

Soord has captured the great lengths the Savior will go to reach “the little ones”. He doesn’t want anyone to perish! In the painting, it looks as if He is in danger, His feet could slip and both of them would perish. Who would go out on a limb, literally, to save another?

Jesus did.

Calvary, the work of the Cross, doesn’t show Jesus just risking His life; it shows us that Jesus GAVE His life. He did it for each one of us, reaching across the chasm of time and eternity to even save those that no one else would dare try to redeem.

The most fascinating scene from this story is that he left the 99 on the hill just to go look for the one that was lost. Some would say that He was careless, or that He was showing preference.

[Tweet “But the 99 were already safe; they didn’t need a Savior! “]

They also did not need coddling; pampering, babying or spoiling…they were safe with the Shepherd.

But the little one was lost; in desperate need of rescue before he plunged to his eternal death.

So Jesus went searching until He found him and brought him back into the fold.

How do we feel when there we see another hanging on for dear life? Do we grumble and complain that we aren’t getting fed, we need

more programs,

more Bible studies,

more preaching,

more singing,

more things for the children,

and on and on and on…

[Tweet “Do we feel neglected when the church is out reaching the lost and we feel that we need attention?”]

Friends…we truly have this in the Church. I met a congregation who literally said they liked their small family church and wanted to keep it that way.

“If Jesus wants them to be saved He will send them here, we don’t have to go out looking for them.”

But Jesus did.

He risked His life for ONE. He gave His life for ONE.

YOU were that ONE that He reached down to save.

I was that ONE.

Now, will we do the same?

That time I made him get rid of his change…

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For years, The Sweetheart carried change in his right pocket. Not just a couple of quarters for a Coke. Not a dime or two to dash into the telephone booth. (Yes, we can remember those!) He carried a large handful of change every day.

I was frustrated that after 35 years of marriage my beloved was still carrying a pocket full of change. I could hear him coming a mile away and recognize him in a room even if I was blindfolded. He jingled when he walked and it was distinct. It always sounded the same; on the downbeat, a jingle, on the upbeat it was more like a breath before the next clanging of copper and silver. (Do they still even use copper in our pennies?)

As time and methods have evolved down through the years, we no longer need so many coins. A bottle of pop, or soda, usually costs more than a couple of quarters, and most all vending machines take paper money now.

If you see a phone booth on the corner it probably belongs to Superman, not AT & T. While living overseas we didn’t even need those gold and silver euros for parking; we paid with our phones!

So one day, after hearing me gripe for years about “getting with the times”, he did it. He emptied his pockets for the very last time and added the last of his coins to his savings basket.

He no longer jingled; he could now sneak up on others if he was so inclined.

I couldn’t hear him coming down a hallway.

What had I done? I had begged for him to change, I had teased and bugged him until he had given in. Now I wanted the jingle back. There were even a few times we NEEDED the change!

I wanted it back because it was a part of him. I insisted HE change to please me but when I finally got what I had asked for I discovered it wasn’t what I wanted at all.

Why do we think we ALWAYS know what is best for someone else? We are constantly trying to change them, to mold them into what WE want them to be.

God didn’t make us all the same and that is a wonderful thing. I have habits and annoyances that drive The Sweetheart up the wall but he loves me for who I am and realizes he cannot change me after all of these years.

Me? I keep trying. Ugh.

How many times have we been guilty of things like this in the spiritual?

We pray, think we have all of the answers, even go so far as to tell God what we want done, how things should be adapted according to our desires.

I think that sometimes God sits back, folds His arms and says, “Okay, have it your way.”

“And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” Psalm 106:15

Then we are left with the results. There is no jingle or happiness in our lives because we have tried to manipulate the Almighty into doing what WE think is best. Instead, we should be trusting the One who sees down the road.

He is the Master conductor. We can trust Him and His ways. He does all things for our good, looking ahead to make sure every piece of the puzzle will fit. He sees that we are not only taken care of but that we thrive.

What kind of change are you pushing for?

Maybe you are trying to force it, wanting too much, too fast, or trying to bargain with God in order to get your way.

“The LORD Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.'” Isaiah 14:24.

Remember that pocket change. You might get what you ask for but you won’t like the end result.

Let that handful of silver stay in your pocket until God says, “It’s time.”

Tears

5 Replies

Randa is back! @randomchance08 is clearly one of my favorite writers. She is witty, humorous, and yet can get in your heart with a knife but not make it hurt. She lifts up others, encourages and strengthens the Body of Christ through her spoken and written words. Be blessed.

Funny thing about strong people crying.

When you are usually the one to hold back your own unshed tears in order to be there for and strengthen others, it feels foreign and almost shameful to weep. Almost as if you need permission from someone else to allow the floodgates to open.

This is why faces are hidden and hands cover quivering mouths in front of others.

This is why the profound crying is usually done in the dark hours and tears are deposited into mute pillows. When the body and spirit relax enough to become transparent and vulnerable and the longings and disappointments are exposed. When desperate prayers are finally whispered in secret to the only One who knows and understands and sees all.

Dear warrior, just because tears do not ensue immediately does not mean that you are unfeeling.

It is just that sometimes the weeping comes from a place so deep down inside that it takes a little while for the ground to break and the tears to come forth.

It takes time for the little child to finally climb upward through the thickets of self–imposed maturity, expectations and responsibilities, the layers and layers of armor that surround a throbbing, bruised heart. It is a struggle to come to the place where he can finally look up and open his arms with undisguised helplessness and say, “Father, this is where I am. This is where I hurt. I am imperfect. I am a wild failure. Sometimes I don’t even know what I need, or what this longing inside even is, but You do.”

Human tradition dictates that appearing in the presence of royalty entails days and days of preparation, wearing one’s finest garments, scrubbed sparkling clean, and being as near to perfect as possible. Poise and elegance are the standards. If the king is to extend his scepter, he must be pleased with what he sees.

Not so in the presence of the King of Kings.

His heart is moved to see a ragged, tattered soul appear in His throne room, running with abandon toward Him with arms outstretched, screaming, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me! I need you now!”

He loves to see tears snaking down a dirt–spattered face as one of His children dash headlong toward His feet, sometimes tumbling and falling in haste to reach Him.

There is no requirement for perfection in this atmosphere.

No need to hold up a veneer of smiling face and human strength.

[Tweet “His gaze cuts through pretense and sees beyond to the broken parts. “]

His greatest delight is in knowing the need of the child for his Father, and pouring out His healing love into a wounded spirit who recognizes that no other place and no one else but his Father can fill the void inside.

And so the tears slide down uninhibited. The echoes of the ancient prophet Zephaniah whisper through the air, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Self is forsaken.

Spirit communes with spirit as barriers slowly crumble into dust.

An exhausted, hiccuping child is held close and rocked in the arms of a Father as He croons a love song, and an aching heart is quieted.

Randa Chance is a writer, speaker and pastor’s wife at the Sanctuary of San Antonio. She lives in San Antonio, TX with her husband, Shane, and their children. Her new book, Of Cabbages and Kings, can be purchased here. It is as delightful as and charming as Randa herself. I adore her.

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Author Archives: Nannette

About Nannette