Preparation for Hard Times~Warplanes

Each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night. Song of Songs 3:8

I have two thoughts this morning about Chapter 9 of Meeting God in Quiet Places: The Cotswold Parables by F. LaGard Smith, which is titled "Preparation: Warplanes." One thought is about a book I taught when I was teaching at MTSU for a year. Another teacher recommended it, so I didn't really know the book until I had already given it out as one the students would read that semester. Obviously naive, I wondered how bad it could be. Well, for me, it turned out to be pretty bad. The title of the book was Welcome to Hard Times. The "hard times" part of the title was the name of a town in the old West that had built up out of absolutely nothing. One day a bully came along and completely destroyed the town. That was the shocker for me...as I prefer books with happy endings.

  Another thought is closer to the analogy that LaGard has made with warplanes. Kelly, my granddaughter, is married to Eric, a Harrier pilot. He just got back from a tour in Afganistan. His life on the job is training in his Harrier jet with his squadron. You're probably wondering: What does this have to do with my spiritual life?

In this parable, LaGard talks about his walks into the beautiful Cotswold hills, where he can look down on life below, almost Godlike. But it seems that the hills and valleys of this area are perfect for practicing wartime manuevers for the Royal Air Force. So one day, when he was deep in  reverie, war planes came swooping down at him, which was not only jarring, but shook his body and nerves to the bone. It felt like an invasion!

 Life is like that, isn't it? Our lives resemble a war zone, because life is about conflict. You may be going along very well, when suddenly--out of nowhere--comes bad news! From peace and security, you're thrown into catastrophe! The bad news may be unbelievably bad...your husband has cancer, your teenager is pregnant, your child is very sick and may die. Or even less life-threatening news, but still disastrous--you've lost your job, or your child failed a year in school...and so on and so on. From a position of control and security, you suddenly feel adrift. Like a Harrier jet, catastrophe just swooped down and shattered your life into bits and pieces! And there is no escape. 

Remember how Job lost everything? Flocks and herds, servants, and even his sons and daughters...one piece of bad news after another. What had he done to deserve it? Well...as it turns out...nothing! It can happen to any of us: death and disease, alienation, fear, loneliness, and many other kinds of disaster are part of this world. And since you're in it, you may experience more than your share of bad news. 

And yet, you may have managed to get along with all your problems, with nothing being really catastrophic. You may simply experience sneak attacks of depression or loneliness or anger. And just when you thought you were doing so well! Here I want to quote LaGard directly: "Nothing is more terrifying than those spiritual intruders--those secret thoughts, forbidden relationships, and fleshly desires that drag us down. Those moments of weakness that attack us just at the point when we think we are strong. Even those times when we get so tired of fighting off temptation that we are tempted to let the intruders win, hoping in vain that we can find peace in compromise." 

I know that Eric would never allow foreign intruders into our territory. He knows who he is:  a Marine who understands why he's fighting. He knows that he's a Christian fighting an Islamic threat to the security of our country. And it makes me feel safer and more secure knowing that he's on our side. But I'm really talking now about your own personal invaders. Will you fight, or will you compromise to have some peace? Tomorrow I'll give you some ways to deal with those spiritual invaders that are destroying your peace and happiness.

We're going to celebrate Michael's 9th birthday tonight. I've got several things to do before I go to their house: wrap his presents, make some muffins, and chose something to wear. I hope all of you have a very good weekend! 

Blessings...Mimi