By His Choice

"By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the 

message of truth so that we would 

be the firstfruits of His creatures."

James 1:18

In my reading this morning, I barely made it past the first part of this verse. 

"BY HIS OWN CHOICE"

Am I the only person who sometimes feels as if God HAS to do something? Do you, like me, remind Him of what is His job and what His word says as if He is somehow obligated to answer? As I read the first part of this verse I realized how often I think God works for me. Yes, He has given me promises in His word. Yes, He is faithful. Yes, His word does not change. However, He owes me absolutely nothing. Yet, He chooses to be in a relationship with me. 

This is what is true for all of us. Nobody owes us anything. The relationships we have come down to someone making a choice. Our parents had to make the choice to be our parents. Our friendships exist because we make a choice to be a friend. Our marriages exist because we choose to be married to our spouse. These are choices that are not just one time decisions. They have to be made daily. I often fail. Miserably. I'm not the best parent, friend, or spouse. I am selfish so I choose myself over the needs of others. These are some of the thoughts I have as I read the words, "By His own choice."

God is not me. When He makes a choice, He does not waiver. He chose to give me a new birth. One that adopted me into His family. Just as a child is adopted here on earth, it happens because someone loves that child so much, they can't imagine them not being a part of their family. They would not be complete without that person in their lives and will do whatever is necessary to ensure the adoption process is complete. God felt the same about us. 

Not only did He choose us, but He chose us as His firstfruits.  When I search the definition of this word, I find, "the first agricultural produce of a season, especially when given as an offering to God." God planted a seed for us (Jesus). We are the "produce" of that seed. Just as He chose us, we have the choice to be an offering to Him. We choose this in how we live our lives. Because choosing relationships requires sacrifice of us. We often must choose to lay aside our own desires, opinions, and needs in order to fulfill the needs of others. To be a parent, we have to put the best interests of our children first. To be a good friend, we must be considerate to someone else. Perhaps our opinion on a subject is hurtful to a friend and we have to let that issue go in order to maintain the friendship. We recognize the person is more valuable and important than whatever matter on which we disagree. When it comes to marriage, the choices are numerous! We have to choose to overlook offense. Then we must choose to show love to our spouse even as we are wounded and hurting. It doesn't mean we don't address issues that need to be addressed, but we have to remember to address them in love, just as God does when dealing with us regarding our issues. 

If we want the best parenting, friendship, and marriage possible, there are choices we must make.  What choices will you make today to improve the relationships in your life? What bitterness will you let go in order to heal a relationship? What apology do you need to make? What sacrifice do you need to make in order to make a relationship whole? It could be your time or perhaps your pride. Don't wait for someone to prod you into making things right. Follow God's example, "By His own choice..."

What Was Meant to Heal

"The people spoke against God and Moses: "Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!" Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. 

The people then came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that He will take the snakes away from us." And Moses interceded for the people. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake (image) and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover." So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered."

Numbers 21:4-9

I read the above verses this morning and several things occurred to me as I read. First is how we, like the Israelites, complain about how God provides for us. They were not hungry or starving. They simply did not LIKE the provision available. For us, it could be we have a car, but complain about how we don't like it or would like something else. Perhaps it is our home and we would like something bigger or in a different neighborhood. Or maybe it's our spouse. I'll just leave that one alone! 

I know from personal experience there are many times God has provided me with what I need, yet I complain to Him because it is not exactly what I want. I wonder how many times my complaining has opened the door for "snakes" to enter my life. How many times has my discontent led to a poison entering my life? 

Another part of this story that stood out to me is how the Israelites requested the snakes be taken away, but they weren't! God did not remove the snakes from their lives. However, He did provide a way for them to be healed when they were bitten. Life works this way sometimes. There are consequences for our choices and our actions and while God cannot change those consequences, He can bring healing in the middle of them. Many of the choices I made in my past led to painful conditions. While I did plead for God to remove them, I knew that was not possible. What I did find was that in the midst of the pain, God showed me a way of healing. I simply had to maintain my focus on Him, rather than the cause of the pain. 

I can't help but wonder if any of the Israelites later looked to the bronze snake as the source of their healing rather than recognize it was the Maker who gave them the healing. There is no record of this happening that I could find, but when I think of how we are so easily led astray, I imagine it must have happened. Instead of realizing how our creator has given us all we need for healing, we instead turn to medications and all kinds of therapies for healing. Rather than trust in the tools God has given us, we trust in the wisdom, or "bronze snakes" of man.  Consider this symbol commonly used to represent the medical profession: 

I find it interesting all these years later, many still turn to the bronze snake for physical healing. While there is a time and place for seeking medical attention, we must be careful to never forget the one who provides the wisdom and the one who has already given us all we need to survive in the nature He created. While the bronze snake was created to heal, it was the live snakes causing the damage and pain in the first place. What is your first response when you are in need of healing? Do you turn to your Creator or to something created by man? Never forget to seek Him first! 

Saying Goodbye

A couple weeks ago I received a message from my cousin saying I probably would want to call my Grandma because she wasn't feeling too well. Honestly, I didn't want to think about this reality. I knew a phone call wouldn't be enough for me so as soon as my schedule would allow, I made the 3 1/2 hour drive to say my goodbye. Not everyone believed this was "it" for her, but I didn't want to take the chance and not see her one more time. 

It's a very surreal experience to make a trip to see someone knowing it will be the last time you see them this side of eternity. I was able to stay with Grandma most of the day. I wish I could say there were some ground breaking conversation and final words of wisdom imparted to me, but Grandma really didn't have much to say. I laughed as she offered everyone the spam she had in her kitchen cabinet. I don't think I ever remember seeing her when she wasn't offering someone something to eat. Not that she would necessarily prepare the food, but she would always tell you where the food was located. As a mother of nine children, I guess it was hard to get over someone always wanting food. 

Grandma was the strongest, most stubborn and opinionated woman I've ever known. She never hesitated to tell you exactly what she thought about something and she never did it with very much tact or sugar coating. If she thought you were overweight, she would tell you. She would also tell you if you were too skinny. If your hair was too long, she would tell you to cut it and then when you did, she would tell you how much better it looked long. When you walked into her store after not visiting for months, she would smile big and was happy to see you. This was most true if you happened to have a baby in tow. She lit up holding a baby. I've had conversations with family wondering how many babies she's held at the same spot at the end of the table in the eating area by the kitchen of her little country store. 

Speaking of her store, there's not a memory I have that her store didn't exist. She moved into it's current location in the early 70's (by my guess). My whole life I knew Grandma as a self-employed business owner. My aunt told me Grandma worked at a Levi's factory and in her free time sold Avon. It was the income she made from Avon she saved to purchase the inventory for her first store.  She did things her own way. She made her own decisions and God help whoever tried to disagree or argue with her. She loved to fish more than anyone I've ever known so it made sense she sold live minnows and raised worms in beds outside the store. My daughters referred to her as Grandma with the fish. 

It was in this store that I had my first job at the age of 14. It was not a very fun time of my life and Grandma and Mom decided it would be good for me to get out of the house and help Grandma every day after school. During those hours I learned how to run the cash register, but mostly how to clean. I dusted more shelves and washed more dishes than I can even begin to remember.  My gosh! The dust and dishes never ended! To this day, the smell of her dish soap makes me remember all the hours at her sink. While working the cash register she insisted all the bills be turned the same direction, to never put the money away until you had counted out the person's change (so they couldn't try to tell you they'd given you a larger bill than they really did), and to always place someone's change in their hand, never on the counter. During the summer I worked there and helped with the bushels and bushels of vegetables she grew in her own garden. I still quiver thinking of the huge silk worms we would find in the corn. And oh the mess that was made during the canning process of green beans, tomatoes, corn, and more. But it didn't matter because Grandma made sure I cleaned it up. I learned how to "properly" wring out a mop and how a string mop was the only appropriate way to mop a floor. I was taught how to stock the drink box by putting the new drinks towards the back and don't ever leave the door open longer than necessary because you were letting out all the cold air and she had to pay for that air. She never hesitated to tell customers this too.

Thinking back over what I know of her life, Grandma had seen many tragedies and experienced a great deal of heartbreak. But through it all, she was resilient and strong. Perhaps it is because of the Cherokee blood in her veins. She comes from a line of warriors. I understand why she didn't put up with any nonsense. She didn't have time or patience for it. She taught me that it's okay to just be yourself. She taught me to be a strong woman. Not only was she self-employed my whole life, but my mom was also. I like to think I'm the third generation of self-employed women. They taught me to work for myself, but to understand working for yourself is hard work. You are the one to get up early because you are the one responsible. It's your name on the "building." She taught me the love of family, even when they make decisions and do things with which you may not agree.

Last Friday the call came I didn't want to hear. Grandma had passed. Her 94 years (just a few weeks short of 95) had come to an end. As hard as it is to say goodbye to the leader and matriarch of your family, it's also a time of rejoicing. Her descendants at the time of her death number at 104. My current number at almost 40 is 2. There's some perspective. 104 lives on this planet can be attributed to her existence. Because she was here, I am here. Because she was who she was, I am in part who I am. I can't use a string mop without thinking of her. 

Today she will be laid to rest next to my mom. I'm told during her final weeks, Grandma was overheard talking to my mom in her sleep. She was telling her how she would be seeing her soon. This brings such peace. As much as it hurt to lose my mom, I can't imagine what it was like for Grandma to lose her daughter. The last time I saw Grandma, I told her I hoped she felt better soon. Her response was, "It's okay, this won't last forever." I told her, "Mom said the same thing." She replied, "Yes, she did. And God gave me many more years than she had." With last Sunday being Mother's Day, it brought so much comfort to know Grandma was now with the daughter she hadn't seen in almost 17 years. I pray they are in heaven sitting at Jesus' feet. 

I also have a feeling she is hanging with some of the disciples...teaching them the right way to fish.

To Pimp A Culture

When I type "Pimp" into my Google search engine, the photo above is my result. The first definition is the one I'm most familiar with because of the work I do with women who have been sex trafficked. To them, and to me, "Pimp" is one of the worst four-letter words in the English language. And yet, it's a word our culture not only uses freely, but also celebrates. 

Last night, I watched as an artist was awarded for an album with the title "To Pimp a Butterfly." I will add here that I have not heard this album. I did look up some of the song lyrics and can say they are not lyrics I would want myself, or anyone I care about to hear. This post is not a personal attack on this artist, but more on our society that has embraced things that are evil and called them good. Not just good, but awarded them as being the best at the moment. 

The conflict is that not everyone even recognizes the meaning of the word "Pimp." Many simply think of it in terms of the second definition listed as a verb in the image above. It's why when it's time to return to school, stores advertise ways to "pimp" your backpack. We have television shows highlighting how to "pimp" different things in your life. And yet, for many women, this definition is far from their truth of the word. 

Let's compare this to another word, "Fag". 

This is a word commonly used not too long ago. Once the word became associated with being a derogatory term, most people stopped using the term. I can't imagine an award being given to an album containing this term. I can't fathom walking into a store and seeing this word displayed on advertising. Yet, for the word "Pimp" it's okay. A word associated with abuse and slavery, is celebrated. How does this happen? 

I blame this on our ignorance of things we do not want to acknowledge or admit about our culture and world. We don't want to know about the millions of women around the world being manipulated and controlled by others. Wait, not just "others." These women are owned by PIMPS. If you have ever sat with a women as she's detailed her experience with a pimp, you can never hear the word without cringing. When you see her bruises and scars given by her pimp, you can't think of the word as being a good thing. When you hear media glorifying pimps and little boys talking about how they want to grow up to be a pimp, you can't help but want to cry. And yell. And write blog posts. 

Here are just a few facts about sex trafficking: 

• The average age of a woman entering prostitution is 12-14 years old. Most are runaways and research shows most are approached by a PIMP within 24-48 hours of running away.
• Trafficking primarily involves exploitation which comes in many forms, including: forcing victims into prostitution, subjecting victims to slavery or involuntary servitude and compelling victims to commit sex acts for the purpose of creating pornography.
• There are approximately 20 to 30 MILLION (read that again...MILLION) slaves in the world today. Translation: Pimps are slave owners. 
• California harbors 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas on the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Oh, the irony! The Grammy's were held last night in Los Angeles! 

These are only four quick facts about trafficking. And this isn't happening just in some other country that is highly impoverished. This is happening in YOUR neighborhood. This is happening to YOUR children. This is happening to YOUR loved ones. One of the most commonly heard phrases I've heard from women coming out of being trafficked is, "I never thought this would happen to me." No little girl thinks, "When I grow up, I want to be a sex slave." But then that little girl meets a pimp. He promises love, money, fame, family, security, or whatever else is missing in the girls life. So she believes him. And then finds out it's a lie. Because that is what evil does. It lies. 

 A pimp is NOT a thing to be honored. A pimp is NOT something to be celebrated. A pimp is NOT a career goal. People, don't believe the lie.

If you'd like to learn more about sex trafficking or how to help FIGHT this evil, please visit www.JusticeMinistries.org. You can also donate to help us in this war at the same website. 

**Statistics from www.DoSomething.org**