Rocky Religion

Okay, I confess - I'm a Rocky fan. I have been ever since the first one came out. It may be poor acting and I've caught a lot of flack because I cry every time he runs up those steps and when he hollers, "Yo! Adrian!" Anyway - I talked my sweet husband into taking me. The acting is no better and there's still alot of "b'lieve in yourself" but there was one particular line that caught my ear - Rocky said, "It isn't how hard you hit, it's how hard you get hit and still move forward." That philosophy pretty much summed up the way this year has started out. I knew we had been hit personally and in our ministry but I must have been "punchy" for a good part of last year and sometimes even wondered if I was still standing. But, by the grace of God, I am. And only by His grace can I keep moving forward. Somehow, when I take an honest look at the "hits", the pain they have left behind has become pretty dull (and not because I've had my senses knocked silly!). It really is true that His grace is sufficient. And, like Anne Graham Lotz says in Just Give Me Jesus, He truly is impartially merciful. He has poured out His mercy so much just this year, even when I've been hard-headed. I'll bet He has poured His mercy out on you already, too. Just go to your corner (for you who are not Rocky fans, that's a boxing term to take a break and does not refer to being in time-out!), take a breath and just look at all of His goodness! I guarantee that if you look with eyes that desire to see, you will!

What a delight it was to wake up and find such an unexpected treat. Snow in the desert! It seemed fitting that at the end of 2006 we would be surprised and amazed. The entire year seemed to be full of difficult and unusual situations with a few joyous moments thrown in. I think 2006 was by far the hardest year for me as a pastor's wife. Even when I called other pastor's wives for advice, they would say, "I've never dealt with that before. I don't know what to tell you." I thought I was numb by November. Then December came. Nope! Not numb. You see, we started last Christmas Eve with the death of our head usher, a very dear and gentle man. We ended 2006 with the death of a young wife and mother the day before Christmas Eve. We dealt with more deaths in 2006 than in any other year, from suicide and sickness. We watched marriages and relationships fall apart. Well, "fall apart" doesn't quite express what happened. Disintegrate would be a better word. I had to sit back and watch as people dealt with cancer. My hands were tied as my brand new granddaughter spent her first four days in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. So many things last year out of my control.

And then the snow came! Yes, something still out of my control but as I watched the flakes fall from the sky and settle in drifts along our fence, Those tiny snowflakes and the red and yellow finches flitting to the feeder against a canvas of massive dark clouds overhead, reminded me again that God, who is much bigger than I am, is still sitting on His throne. Nothing of the last year has escaped His attention.

Snow in the desert was a sign of hope for me; a hope that 2007 would be the year I recognize even more fully the sovereignty of God, the year I seek His face, the year I surrender joyfully to His plan for my life. It is the year I hope to let go of my control, to more honestly trust Him with each and every area of my life and each and every circumstance that I, as a pastor's wife, face.

You know what the kicker is? He has already given me opportunities to learn these lessons. Another marriage is in trouble. There is everything from court dates to in-law visits to babies due. And that's just for January.

Pray for me that I let loose of the reins and let Him reign. Pray for me that I will trust Him more and teach other women to trust Him. Pray for me that I will turn them to Jesus and cause them to be dependent on Him, not on me. Pray for me that 2007 would be the year I lose control!!!