Peace or Pirates

I think there are a set of rules for blogs.  I don’t know any of them, but I figure that at the very least, people who write “Christian” blogs don’t write about their friend’s mistakes.   They are holy people who confess their own sins knowing that the Lord is watching their behavior and reading their blog entries.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James5:16                                                                                                                                                                                    

But, I am convinced that sharing my friend’s mistakes helps develop their character. Where is the fun in exposing myself as a twit if I can’t have company? At this point, I want to introduce you to my dear friend, Lydia.
 
I love Lydia deeply.  She is a wonderful human being and a desert friend.  Do you have a desert friend?  Someone who has seen you through a crisis, whose heart is knitted to yours?  No matter when you last spoke, you can still pick up where you left off with no complications?  That is my Lydia.

Lydia has been through more trials than I in the past three and half years, which is saying a lot.  Her extended family is a collection of dysfunctional individuals who try to force her into the role of ringmaster.  Though she turned down their job offer, she has followed the Lord into the valley of the shadow which has meant following the circus and cleaning up.  She has fulfilled every task Jesus laid at her feet.  It has been breathtaking to watch. 

Faithfully, she has cared for an incapacitated relative, ailing parents and her own family.   She has spent more time in hospitals than any of my other friends combined.  Over two years she has endured three major medical procedures, one month bed rest, lost two parents, five cup sizes, one herniated disc and half of her sanity.  There was a  partridge in a pear tree somewhere, but I suspect he was eaten.  

My profound affection for Lydia might be why we were both shocked when I started screaming at her.  To be fair, I did warn her I was going to yell and she didn't leave me a lot of options.  I received her email two seconds before I called her mobile.  “An email,” I shrieked.  “You are sending me information like that in an email?  And why didn’t you tell me sooner?  I was at your house at least three times in the past two weeks.  What are you doing, taking risks like that?  You know better. I am really angry at you!”  The conversation went something like that, you could ask her yourself, but then I would have to tell her about this blog post.

Let’s wait a bit.

My friend scared me.  Her email stated, two weeks prior, she noticed she was losing her vision.  Dark spots presenting in her visual field weren’t leaving.  She began chatting with the Lord about the problem.  Immediately she thought, “I bet this is the sign of a detached retina.  I bet that is exactly what I have, just like my Aunt.  She had this at my age.”  Talk about a rapid response.  Within hours, after prayer and some searching online, my friend had a pretty good idea what was happening to her eyes.  But it was what she she did next that alarmed me.

She did nothing.

I need to stress that my girlfriend’s response was so out of character it was astonishing.  She is one of the most godly, caring, conscientious people I know.  She had been through a season of consulting doctors almost daily for about 3 months; there was no good reason why she neglected to tell someone what was happening.   No reason, except the glaring fact that her life had been so stressful for so long that she didn’t want to cope with one more thing.  She was at the end of her rope.  As a result, she stepped square into denial.  

Denial is defined as a. A refusal to accept or believe something, or b. Psychology An unconscious defense mechanism characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings (Webster's Dictionary).  Lydia isn’t the first person to use denial as a coping mechanism.  In fact, I have a fabulous story of my own involving denial and behaviors so daft they resulted in surgery and permanent muscle damage.  Remind me to tell you about it one day... but not now… we have more important people to discuss at the moment...

After two weeks, my friend finally went to the doctor.  Her unofficial diagnosis was confirmed.  The retina was detached and needed immediate attention.  You need not be a doctor to understand the word ‘detached,’ when used as an adjective, is a bad thing.  Try placing 'detached' in front of any body part and listen to how it sounds.  The picture it paints is never pleasant.  The treatment for a detached retina is not as enjoyable as it sounds either.  My darling friend had to undergo needles being inserted into her eyeball, then endure laser sessions that left her weeping.  It was awful.  When she reached the end of her ordeal, the blessing was two-fold: no permanent damage and a legitimate reason to dress like a pirate.

Wounding hundreds, damning many, denial is a deadly foe.  Strangely, denial is at the bottom of many of the prayer requests I receive.  I will ask, “When did it start to become a problem?”  Or, “how long have you been fighting this?”  Many times the answer will involve an inexcusable delay between the conviction of sin and action needed to resolve the problem.  Time that could be used constructively is instead handed to the enemy of our soul.  With delight, he sows fear, muddying the waters with excuses and justifications.  A simple problem rapidly becomes a Gordian knot that requires the sword of the Spirit.  It becomes a monster in the mind of its owner, demanding allegiance or annihilation.
 
At Christmas, we celebrate the coming of Jesus.  He came to open [our] eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that [we] may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in [him].’ Acts 26:18   And so Dear Heart, while I am shining the spotlight on my girlfriend, I wanted to ask you a question.  Do you have anything marring your vision today?  Are there any dark spots clouding your eyes?  Has the Holy Spirit convicted you of a sin that needs your attention?  Are you trying to cover up a situation that needs to be uncovered? 

 

Why walk in denial at Christmas?  Why not celebrate the fact that light has pierced the darkness?  Pirates wear eye patches, carry parrots and display poor dental hygiene.  But primarily, they come to rob and steal.  Sound familiar?  When Jesus left glory and condescended to enter the human race, He came bearing gifts.  He came because He loves you.  He knows your frame and does not despise your weakness.  This Christmas come to Him and receive the gift of forgiveness and the presence of Emmanuel. 

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.