These Verses, From a Most Personal Perspective

Pivotal people, pivotal places, and pivotal portions of Scripture…each commands a place of  priority in the life of a pilgrim.

Preparation to give a devotional for our organization’s biannual Worldwide Day of Prayer, provoked personal reflection on the dramatic impact of a pivotal portion of Scripture, These Verses from Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have taught you.  And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

These Verses from Jesus permeate the core my spiritual DNA. These Verses shape the course of my entire life. Three personal cameos illuminate their significance:

Cameo #1: As a third grade student, at a mission’s conference in our small country church, I listened for the first time to a woman speak personally about her life serving God in Africa. That night, as a nine-year-old little girl, I believed that God wanted me to be a missionary - my embryonic encounter with These Verses.

Cameo #2: At Mississippi State University, I encountered a group of students who had a smile on their face, a song in their heart, and a spring in their step. These students also heard These Verses, and they marched to the beat of different drum. I joined their ranks, and responded to the clarion call: Come Help Change the World.  

Cameo #3: Larry’s proposal to me one November night on a swing in my parents’ yard left no doubt, Will you go with me in helping to reach the world for Christ?  

These Verses transported me to live in four countries with four cultures, and four languages.  

These Verses carried me to live behind The Iron Curtain and to see the fall of that Iron Curtain.   These verses carried me to minister in 20 countries, with 40 languages across eleven time zones - for His Kingdom and the growth of His church.

Within the context of These Verses, I experienced life as I gave birth to our son in a communist hospital; I experienced death as I stood beside my dear friend and co-laborer at the grave of her fourteen-year-old daughter, the victim of a terrorist’s bomb.

These Verses ushered me to sit among presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors, and generals in elegant settings where they heard of the King of Kings; and These Verses took me to sit beside a street urchin in a dirty Romanian train station to tell him of the love of Jesus.  

These Verses led me to take my place both in an orderly line at a lavish buffet, and to take my place in a ration line to buy meat and bread.

Practically speaking, These Verses resulted in                                                                         Grinding meat in my kitchen to make hamburgers with meat purchased on the local black market Grinding peanuts to provide my family with peanut butter                                                     Grinding eggshells to come up with Vitamin D needed in my pregnancy T

These Verses necessitated                                                                                                        stitches in Polish,                                                                                                                                          broken arms in German,                                                                                                              MRI           MRI in Hungarian.

These Verses gave me  a front row seat to witness the power of The Gospel at work in                   Dorm rooms                                                                                                                                   Hospital rooms                                                                                                                             Classrooms                                                                                                                               Auditoriums                                                                                                                           Playgrounds                                                                                                                                   Sports arenas                                                                                                                                     Park benches                                                                                                                           Vegetable stands                                                                                                                         Refugee camps                                                                                                                                   Over the Internet                                                                                                                                     In parliaments

I observed the power of These Verses at work when the temperature was so hot I could hardly breathe, and so cold my breath froze as it entered my lungs.

I watched the supernatural power of These Verses overtake an entire city; I watched the supernatural power of These Verses overtake a single soul.

And,                                                                                                                                                   Under the banner of These Verses, I have discovered the greatness of God. He Who said, And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age has overwhelmingly kept His Commitment. Furthermore,                                                                                                                                           In the context of trekking to the ends of the earth with These Verses to change the world, I have seen These Verses change me.

Living with eternal intentionality: What verses has God used in your life to make you the person you are today?

Dandi Did It Again

Such a delightful highlight approaches - the time of day when I go into my cocoon! Blissfully, I crawl under my crisp clean blue sheets. The overstuffed pillows stand stacked and fluffed behind me. The diffuser puffs sweet lavender oil into the air. Now for the moment I’ve anticipated - I open the cover to my wartime novel to see where in the world my newest friends find themselves. Drama in real life, love in the midst of war, I pick up where I last left off with hero and heroine.

With Love, Wherever You Are by Dandi Daley Mackall is a jewel of a read. Frank and Helen Mackall serve as doctor and nurse in the European theatre of World War II. Marriage weds their hearts; geography separates their lives. Following a whirlwind romance and wedding, deployment tears their togetherness asunder. Keeping their relationship alive depends on military leaves granted in the midst of combat; rendezvous occur in the most unusual places. As doctor and nurse, they ache for their patients; as newlyweds, they ache for each other. Will their fiery, fresh, fragile, beginning survive? 

Once upon a time (but this is true) I briefly met Frank and Helen Daley. Long before I knew their story, I knew their love for life, their love for their daughter, and most importantly, their love for Jesus. Their infectious smiles remained etched in my mind as I read page after page of their unconventional wartime romance.

Author and daughter Dandi Daley Mackall says, “This novel is a work of fiction, based on the stories and letters of Helen and Frank.” She found a trunk with letters, labored hard, and created for us a story worth the telling.

Known for exceptional writing, Dandi is the award-winning author of nearly 500 books for children and adults. Her novel My Boyfriends’ Dogs is now a Hallmark movie.

As Paul Sweeney said, "You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." I understand this feeling, for my copy of With Love, Wherever You Are now sits completed and closed on my bedside table. Sigh

If you decide to treat yourself to a superb read, you can order on Amazon. Parenthetically, this would make a delightful Mother's Day gift. 

Thank you, Dandi. You did it again!

Living with eternal intentionality: What is your favorite read these days?

Go On a What?

A walk? “Would you like to go on a walk together?” As the church service ended, Walt and Pat Stuart approached us and extended the invitation; Larry and I eagerly accepted.

On this brilliant fall Sunday afternoon, the four of us set out.  Newly introduced, we relished the opportunity to get better acquainted. Ours was no ordinary walk - this was a Wanderweg.

Jogs, sprints, and marathons each have their place, but the European Wanderweg holds a category all its own. I speak of walking for the sheer joy walking; steady, rambling walking for the delight of the company you keep. (I miss it sorely.)

Our Wanderweg with Walt and Pat consumed the entire afternoon. Through the orchards, around the cows, near the sheep, we walked. Breathtaking, pastoral scenes, resplendent with fall foliage, unfolded before us in magnificent display.

Whether walking in pairs or walking single file, we just kept talking – ours was a rolling meandering dialog, just like our rolling meandering terrain. Various personal stories moved with us as we steadily moved forward – stories of families, dreams for our future, and passion for our common Christ-calling.  Conversation, contemplation, even commiseration composed the fabric of discussion.

We stopped at a Gasthaus for rich brown coffee and authentic Black Forest torte. This pausa marked our midpoint; the Wanderweg took us back home. Our foursome set out in the warmth of sunshine; we returned at a chilly dusk.

Reflections stayed with me from our classic Wanderweg, which started with an intentional invitation.

Peaceful - the experience was overwhelmingly bathed in peace

Purposeful - the focus was relational, getting to know each other

Pace - the one-step at-a-time trek moved us forward with deliberation, but this was not a race against the clock

Pauses - the pauses were as significant as the progress; we stopped at appropriate intervals to reflect, to ruminate

And, it is no wonder...

I still pause

when I read Genesis 5:24. Enoch walked with God.

Enoch. Walked. With. God.

That must have been quite the Wanderweg.