Posted by Lisa Burkhardt Worley on June 12, 2010
Some time ago, I admired the paint job in a friend’s bathroom. Her husband said he had textured and painted the walls himself and that he would be happy to do the same for us. I told him that his offer was wonderful, but that I would feel bad if he did all that labor at our house for free. He insisted. His wife said she’d help me tear the existing wallpaper down and added, the process can be “therapeutic!”
A few months later, we began the project, which was only supposed to take a few hours. As it turned out, instead of being therapeutic, tearing down the wallpaper almost required therapy! The wallpaper was supposed to pull down in large sheets; however it ripped off in one-two inch pieces. I commented, “Now I know why I never took this project on by myself.” While it took countless hours to see the entire bathroom wall clean and free of any covering, there were small victories when we would see a section cleared away. At that point, we knew we were making progress.
While toiling away, peeling away piece by piece of wallpaper, I thought “this is similar to the way sanctification works.” God takes one piece of our spiritual makeup at a time, tearing away the old and making us pure and holy like him in that area. I recently read a devotion that stated, “Spiritual formation takes time.” Believing in Jesus is the first step, but becoming like Christ takes a lifetime! In Philippians 1:6 Paul states, that he is confident that, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It is a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly process.
Fortunately, redoing the guest bathroom did not take a lifetime, but it was a beautiful sight when all the wallpaper was down and the walls were ready to texture and paint. Don’t you know we are a beautiful sight to God when we’ve made a commitment to be obedient to him and our walls are clean; free of any old coverings? Where is God at work in your life today? The process may be tedious but trust that the end result will be worth the effort it took to get there.
Posted by Lisa Burkhardt Worley on May 24, 2010
My father-in-law went to be with the Lord last Sunday after a three year battle with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. God’s timing was perfect. The family was called back to say its goodbyes and we arrived less than twelve hours before he passed. We were all with George when he took his final breath at 4:35 a.m. and as we looked at the lifeless shell remaining, I kept thinking about the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
George experienced the hope that faith in Jesus Christ gives us. He had left his earthly tent behind and his spirit was now present with the Lord and other family members who had gone before him. It was a comforting thought as we would miss him in this life. There was a peacefulness surrounding him as he made that journey, leaving the burdens of dementia behind so he could be restored in heaven.
Psalm 90 teaches us to “number our days” so that we “may gain a heart of wisdom.” We must all live each day with the Lord guiding our steps so that when it is time to fold our earthly tents, there will be no regrets. Our tents are fragile. God gives us no guarantees for a long life on this earth, just a guarantee for a place with him in heaven, if we believe. What we do while in the body has eternal consequences, not just for us but for those around us.
What are you doing while residing in your earthly tent? Is your tent full of blessings and gifts to be handed out or is it dirty and cluttered, piled up with worldly things? Is your tent pure and holy or are you hiding secrets in your tent? Is there love for others in your tent or do you harbor resentment and discontent? The good news is through the power of Christ, you don’t have to clean your tent yourself. All you have to do is ask Jesus to do it for you.
Posted by Lisa Burkhardt Worley on April 24, 2010
My husband and I watched the NFL Draft over the past couple of days. Since he’s an Iowa alum, he was interested in seeing which Hawkeyes would be drafted. Because I followed the Texas Longhorns for years, I was curious to see which Longhorns would go to the NFL. In particular, because there was so much speculation concerning quarterback Colt McCoy, I was wondering where he would end up. I was impressed with McCoy over his college career, not only because of his quarterback skills but also because of his amazing, and very public faith in Christ.
The first round came and went. Colt McCoy was not drafted. That was not unexpected. Many of the draft analysts figured he would be drafted in the second round. The second round came and went. Colt McCoy was not drafted. I asked my husband, “Is it possible he won’t be drafted in the third round?” Finally, in the third round, the Cleveland Browns called his name after what seemed like an eternity. After the announcement, McCoy was asked to react to the news and he said something like, “I am where I’m supposed to be.” Another team like San Francisco, New England or Dallas might present a flashier option but McCoy was satisfied with moving to Cleveland, not so flashy necessarily, in the heart of the Midwest.
I thought, “How many times have we moved to a place and wondered why we were there?” Do we always say, I am where I’m supposed to be? I remember when I moved from San Antonio to Flower Mound, Texas in 2005. At first I was saying, “I am where I’m supposed to be” because our family was now together seven days a week. My husband had lived in Dallas four days a week prior to our move. However, adapting to the new place turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Friends were harder to make, I didn’t have my career anymore and I needed direction from God. Instead of “I am where I’m supposed to be,” it turned into “Why am I here?” But eventually things turned around and I realize “I am where I’m supposed to be.” Why didn’t I trust that back then?
Do we trust God in all the circumstances of our life? Do we say, “There is a reason for this?” Do we believe, even during the tough times of our lives, that God has us right where he wants us? Romans 8:28 encourages us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I know this is true in my own life. Even when things did not make sense, after a period of time, I was able to look back and see the hand of God and understand more completely why the situation happened. If only we could trust God in the midst of our trials and say, “I am where I’m supposed to be.”
Posted by Lisa Burkhardt Worley on February 28, 2010
This week a friend of mine came up to give me an update on another friend who was going through a difficult stretch. I said, “Why don’t we call her up and you and I will go pray with her tomorrow over this situation?” As it turned out, my friend and I could not come up with a time that worked for both of us so we ended up taking separate paths. She said she’d call her to tell her she was thinking about her. I said I’d drop her an e-mail.
The next morning, I had a meeting at church with one of our pastors, but realized I had gotten something red all over my hands that required immediate attention. I went to the closest bathroom, which happened to have the door open, and washed my hands. While cleaning up, I heard a familiar voice and turned around to see the friend who was going through the trial; the same one we wanted to pray with! She happened to be at the church the exact time I was and happened to see me in the bathroom. I started to tell my friend about how we wanted to come pray with her, and how it did not work out, when I stopped in mid-sentence and said, “but here you are!” I realized at that moment this was a God appointment. While I was unable to go to her house to pray over her, God brought her to me. My eyes began to well up and I said, “Could we pray for your situation right now?” So there in the women’s bathroom, with the door wide open, my friend and I held hands and prayed for victory in this trial and that the truth would prevail.
There is a verse from Proverbs 16:9 which fits so well here, “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” I know the Lord directed my steps and I wonder now if he even put that red stuff all over my hands so he could use me that morning! I still don’t know where it came from!
Interestingly enough, my meeting with the pastor was postponed. I showed up at the office and found out she was not able to come in that morning. It became even clearer to me that I was at the church for my God assignment, to pray for my friend, who that day needed to feel support from the body of Christ. I love the way the Lord leads us, don’t you? We just have to ask him to make us aware of the God appointments in our life so we don’t miss them!
Posted by Lisa Burkhardt Worley on February 1, 2010
Last week I was praying to have a Urinary Tract Infection. I know that sounds a bit odd, but after a questionable test result at the urologist, an infection was the least worrisome of all the possibilities for my symptom. Unfortunately, there was no infection and I was sent to the next step, a cat scan to look at my pelvis. The scan was supposed to be a ten minute process (I could handle that!), with just a couple of pictures and it was, at first. After the machine scanned me a couple of times, I was done and was sent out to the waiting room to wait for my cat scan film, which I did not realize they sent with me, then the technician came back out to the waiting room and presented the bad news. She told me the Radiologist would like to take some more pictures. What? I had bravely made it through the first round and now I had to change back into the lovely clothes they provide and do the whole process again? In addition, I needed to undergo an iodine IV for a contrast cat scan.
As I lay on the table again, I will admit I started to get a little upset because this second round was a surprise and I hate surprises! However, it was at that point the Lord reminded me of Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I began to repeat that verse over and over in my head, as the IV was placed in my arm, as the iodine was shot into my body, and as I took several more breath holds while the machine did its work. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me….I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…” Before I knew it, the process was once again over, and I was back in the waiting room again.
Interestingly enough, the focus verse of our pastor’s sermon on Sunday was Philippians 4:13. It was a confirmation that no matter how difficult our circumstances are, we can make it through anything this world tosses at us with the power of Christ running through us. Today as I await the cat scan results and as panic tries to slip in the back door, I am slamming the door shut on worry as I repeat Philippians 4:13 again to myself and choose to believe it. It is at that point, the peace begins to cover me and I know I can get through this, no matter what the outcome.
Posted by Lisa Burkhardt Worley on June 17, 2009
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Tearing Away the Old
