(Week 28) Hope: My Lighthouse

(Week 28) Hope: My Lighthouse

Story behind the painting:

I had originally titled this blog post, “Compound Words: Lighthouses and Honeymoons.”

“Why?”

By definition, “a compound word is the combination of 2 (or more- but leaving OR MORE  out for obvious reasons regarding marriage:) words that function as a single unit of meaning.”  Therefore, Marriage is like a compound word.

Can you see it?

Jay and I went to Hilton Head almost 23 years ago for our honeymoon.  Hilton Head had been a special place to him growing up.  I had never been and he wanted to share something beautiful with his new bride.  He wanted to make a new memory in a familiar place with his forever girl.

He did!

Hilton Head is now “our” place. The iconic “LIGHTHOUSE” is our beacon, our reminder of how God brings together the “different” and unifies them in marriage.  We were 2 people combined at “I DO” that now function as a single unit of meaning:)  When the world gets crazy and hazy around us, we remember our laser focus, our single unit of meaning as a married couple, is to glorify God, to be a “lighthouse” of hope for our children and the world around us, spotlighting Christ alone.

Although the painting is a little early, seeing that our anniversary is September 4th, it is my present to “my” Jay,

“I am by beloved’s and my beloved is mine…”(Song of Solomon 6:3)

23 years of jaw-dropping joy ushering in the overwhelming, ecstatic anticipation that the best is always yet to come.  It’s just TOO MUCH, in the best “TOO MUCH” sorta way!

Jay, I LOVE YOU BEYOND WORDS!

Happy 23rd Anniversary!

Take-away Treasure:

The media is saturated with chaos, pain and suffering.  My personal world, the one consisting of those I can actually see, hear and touch, has been rocked by suicides, freak accidents, mean diseases, dark depressions, senseless betrayals, nasty selfishness etc…  AND YET I HAVE HOPE!  I did not give you that long litany of woes out of self-pity. I say all of that to give you the gift of “me too.”  If you or any of those you love are experiencing any of those heartbreaks, please know that you are not alone and you are loved, by this girl, but more importantly by a good, good Heavenly Father!

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 New Living Translation (NLT)

God Offers Comfort to All
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

 and when I said I have HOPE,  it was not a “religious platitude.”  I cling to his Word like the oxygen I breathe.

“Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Please do not get me wrong.  I am not slapping a Bible verse on a bullet hole.  It is more like living on a HOLY SPIRIT ventilator.

PAUSE-Think about it.

When are people put on ventilators?

People are usually placed on ventilators due to difficulty in breathing well on their own.  The body is able to rest while on the ventilator; thus healing can take place.

Hooked up to the ventilator, HOLY SPIRIT, HE breathes HIS WORD into me.  My body is able to rest and healing begins.

If we forgo our HOLY HOOK UP, we are forced to look to our left and right for glimmers of hope.  God help us! Our nation and the world at large is disastrous.  I do not say that out of cynicism or from the downward spiral train.  I say it matter of factly.

I also,matter of factly, say,

Psalm 23-The Passion Translation

More on the “LIGHTHOUSE” metaphor:

Lighthouses: FAQ

What is a lighthouse?

It is a tower with a bright light at the top.

The “C”hurch acts as a lighthouse, as She shines the bright light of Christ by loving God and loving people.

“…If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine…” See Matt. 5 (MSG)

What is the purpose of a lighthouse?

Its purpose is to serve as a navigation aid and to warn of danger.

The “C”hurch aids a lost and lonely world in navigating treacherous waters and warns them.

“My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.”  James 5:19-20 (MSG)

Do all lighthouses look alike?

The short answer is NO.  Lighthouses are positioned to be visible but the shapes vary.

Just like an individual church is intended to be full of diverse members; the “C”hurch is intended to be made up of many different houses, all shapes, sizes, sounds and shades!

 Originally lighthouses were made out of whatever was available.

God calls us to be AVAILABLE; HE provides the able.

Lighthouses were designed to fit the local environment.

The “C”hurch is not made to coddle believers, insulating and isolating, behind closed doors and lofty steeples. She is designed to reach out to the local environment, in the world but not of the world, called to reach the whole world with the love of Christ. 

…Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part…                                 (see 1 Cor 12:19-31 MSG)

“…voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”                                                    1 Cor. 9:19-23 MSG

Now it’s time to look inside:

How are we doing Church?

This world is in desperate need of hope and as followers of Christ, we carry the hope of the world within us, “for the kingdom of God is inside you.” (Luke 17:21 PHILLIPS)

We know who and Whose we are.

We know why we are here.

We are unique and unified, glory-bound.

What are we waiting for?