Not Beet-ing Down Doors
Why did the tomato blush?
He saw the salad dressing!
Thank you for laughing. I appreciate it.
I learned that joke in college in an Econ class. My professor started each class by having a student share a corny joke. His technique worked. When he asked us questions (you know, about the material), we were more willing to engage with him. Someone shared that joke one day and I have loved it ever since.
Do you know what I also love? Candy cane beets. Sadly, they don’t taste like candy. And they don’t taste like Christmas. But! They don’t taste earthy either. They’re delightful. And so pretty.
Have you ever been introduced to something and it became a simple joy?
Kid stories have become a simple joy. I know they’re not all that interesting - really I do. And yet, for some reason, when Silas says something like ‘close the door so I can go to sleep,’ I am cracking up and telling Jeff (and now you, dear reader) what he said.
Simple joys, by nature, are not overly complicated and have an air of ease about them, like the laugh of a friend or the taste of morning coffee.
But what’s behind simple joys? Usually, a lot of work.
The stripes of a candy cane beet can only be admired after the soil has been tilled, the seed has been planted, and you have waited.
Silly kid stories only come after you’ve changed hundreds of diapers, prepared hundreds of meals, and spent thousands of hours making sure the kid doesn’t find a way to maim him or herself.
The laugh of a friend only comes by making time for relationships (side note - see Dr. Al Mohler’s The Briefing episode from Friday about: The Price We Pay for Being Less Social / ‘In Short, People are Exhausting’: The Relationship Deficit of the Digital Age. My general disclaimer applies, I don’t agree with everything Al Mohler has to say, but I do appreciate how much he loves Jesus.)
And morning coffee only comes after coffee farmers labored to grow the beans, supply chain people transported the beans, and someone introduced water to coffee grounds to make the liquid-magic.
Indeed, for the past few weeks at church, Jeff has been preaching about persistence, aka hard work, and joy. In Acts 13, Barnabas’s cousin, John Mark, abandoned the mission. Paul and Barnabas continued to go to Pisidian Antioch without John Mark, processing the pain and disappointment while hiking difficult and dangerous terrain. In the midst of processing the heartache that comes with abandonment, upon arriving at Pisidian Antioch, the people asked Paul to give them an encouraging word. Paul didn’t skip a beat. He talked all about the living Christ. But alas, this made some people unhappy, and so Paul and Barnabas were driven out of Pisidian Antioch. And what happens after being driven out?
“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 13:52
They moved on to Iconium, where,
“the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”
Acts 14:2-3
So people were mad, and they still chose to spend a long time there. We call that persistence. What’s the effect of persistence?
One, it draws you closer to God.
Two, you rejoice when you see the Lord open doors and move in your midst!
In our corner of the world, for the past few weeks, someone has been coming to church who gleefully praises Jesus throughout worship and gives words of encouragement (not flattery) to the rest of us. It has been a I-can’t-put-words-to-it joy to hear her sing.
Not only that, but Jeff was invited to go on a missions trip to India a few weeks ago and he signed up to go. We are really excited for it! We’re excited to see how the Lord will move. Jeff will be helping out a ministry in Chennai that leads sports camps to spread the Gospel to children. Just last night he went to a ‘Bollywood Dance’ fundraiser event for the trip.
Moreover, this Friday, Jeff will be at UCSD at a staff fair to promote an Alpha course he’ll be leading in October. This is a huge answer to prayer. He tried to get on college campuses before, but with different COVID variants, the events were always canceled. It makes sense, but it was disappointing all the same.
But wait, there’s more. Jeff was invited to be a guest speaker last minute at an event for a discipleship training school. Normally, people don’t get excited to write two talks/sermons in one week, but Jeff was excited for the opportunity. And he came back encouraged by all the volunteers and staff he met at the event.
And…we have hired our first intern! His family will be moving into the church parsonage at the end of this week and he’ll be starting on September 1. I may or may not have Charlie Brown danced to the song ‘To God All Praise and Glory’ when Jeff was done interviewing and calling references. (See Out Of The Desert for the backstory.)
God is at work ya’ll! Keep praying. Keep praising. Keep going. This joy of this season has only come by knocking on God’s door persistently, Luke 11 style.
And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Luke 11:5-8
