An Allegory

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

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Once upon a time there was a woman named Misery who lived in the land of Worry. Her name was appropriately fitting, for she was a woman full of woes and worries.

One evening, she had a visitor come knocking at her door. It was her friend Merry from the land of Rejoicing. Merry bubbled and encouraged, much to the dismay of Misery. This overly-cheerful friend never seemed to join in with Misery’s complaining and fretting and fearful predictions of doom and gloom. While Misery loved a bit of company, part of her wished her friend would reciprocate her worries when she came over to visit, yet another part of her found a modicum of peace in the rejoicing of her friend.

The next morning Misery woke up wanting some peace. So she set her heart to apply Merry’s joy-filled attitude. She headed off to the market that day determined to find something in her pitiful life to rejoice over. 

On her way down the street she passed her neighbor, Gentleness. Gentleness was always so kind and Merry noticed that in return, people were kind to Gentleness as well. Bill collectors weren’t as aggressive and the neighbor who was mad about the dog, calmed down quickly. Misery decided that she herself would benefit from dishing out some gentle behaviors to others. So she began to treat her family and people she met more gently, which in turn made her more gentle on herself.

As days went by with Misery trying to put into practice the habits of rejoicing and gentleness, she found herself not quite so miserable, with less worries clouding up her mind.

A couple of weeks later she heard the church bells ringing in town. Those sounds made her rejoice a bit more. She thought to herself, “Maybe more peace and joy can be found in my religion. I have been slack about that and I have sort of given up on The God Who Sees Me.” So she drug out her dusty Holy Book to read the words of her Creator.  As the warm, afternoon sun was setting, she read away the last hour of light and felt comforted. It seemed as if the God Who Hears was sitting right beside her talking to her, and she knew that he discerned the prayers of her heart. He felt near, and real.

She loved that feeling of nearness to the Holy One so much that she began a habit of spending time reading the Holy Book in the afternoon setting sun each day. As she read she found herself wanting to talk with Him. So she did! This conversation she knew was called prayer, but it seemed less like a religious activity and more like opening up her heart talking to a friend. And her heart filled with more contentment. It seemed that as she was filling up with positive thoughts of Her Beloved, those nagging thoughts she had been having didn’t have room to fit into her mind so much. 

Her heart seemed lighter. She had more freedom of mind to think about important things and to be grateful! Misery found that the darkness that had surrounded her turned into glimpses of light when she expressed her gratefulness to Her Heavenly Father. She decided to start writing down a few things she was grateful for each and every day.

But one day, a horrible thing happened! In the aftermath Misery was thrown back into her old darkness! There was nothing good she could see to write down – nothing to be grateful over. There was no rejoicing. She was afraid. That fear boiled up in her as anger and she spewed hateful, fearful, accusing, unkind words at those she loved the most. And when she did that she even hated herself and could not manage to show gentleness to anyone, even herself. The afternoon sun did not lure her to her normal warm spot under the shade tree that day. She did not even miss reading the Holy Book and hearing from her Father. She had no inclination to hear from Him or to speak her prayers to Him. Her heart felt cold and alone. All her thoughts were consumed with fear, self-pity, anxiety, and worry over how this horrible thing could ever be made right. It seemed impossible to her!

Falling back into her past habits of miserable thoughts, her days and weeks began to feel desperate again. One day through the gloom she heard the church bells ringing again and had the thought “Thank you Father for giving me at least that one bit of joy in this horrible day.” As she thought that, it occurred to her that she was grateful for one small thing again! She was surprised that her bitterness waned a bit with these thoughts of rejoicing and gratefulness. 

So she said to herself, maybe I can choose to think one good thought each day. Maybe that will give me a glimmer of hope. So that afternoon at her usual time when she used to read the Holy Book and talk to the Father, she had a good thought. She thought briefly about her previous happy times in the sun with Her Beloved. With that thought she decided to go out to Her place in the waning sunlight and make herself read His Holy Book again. 

As she sat down and opened the Book, her eyes fell upon these words: 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:8-9)

Misery was surprised! Her Beloved was talking to her about Her thoughts! Could her thoughts and behaviors bring peace to her despair? The Holy Book said it could. And it must! What had brought her to this place? A thought of rejoicing over the bells! A thought of the warm happy times in the sun. Then a thought to come talk with her Beloved Creator! Yes! Thoughts could make a difference! 

Misery went into her home and wrote these words upon a parchment and hung it on her wall where she could see it each day. 

True. Noble. Right. Pure. Lovely. Admirable. Excellent. Praiseworthy. 

These were the only thoughts she would allow herself to think. Yes! She would choose to drive out those thoughts of death and despair, the lies and fears, and even the hateful or jealous attitudes toward her neighbors. Misery made a Pledge to herself and prayed a brief prayer asking her Father to give her strength to live out this commitment. 

At just that moment, her neighbor Gentleness knocked on her door.

She answered the door with joy and invited her in. “Oh Gentleness, I have been in such a state of worry, but I heard the church bells ring and was grateful for at least that. I met with My Beloved and His Holy Book reminded me how to think aright! I want to do that. But I fear I will fail.”

Gentleness replied, “Friend, I understand. My Middle name is Anxious!”

Misery was shocked! Could her gentle friend have even a tiny anxious bone in her body? So she asked, “You? But how? You always exude the gentle joy of Our Heavenly Father.”

Gentleness responded, “O, but the answer to that is a long story. I must tell it over a course of days not minutes, it is the story of my life walking with My Beloved.”

“Would you come every week and tell me more of your story?” Misery asked. “I would love to know it and learn from you and find out how I too can live at Peace.”

“Of course,” said Gentleness. “You can be my little learner, my disciple, and I will guide you with all I know so that you too can choose Peace and the Holy Way. Then you can change your name from Misery.”

“I would like that said Misery. “My middle name is Blessing, and I have always wanted to be called by that name, but it never quite fit my woeful life.”

From that time forward the worrisome Miss Misery became known as Blessing Upon Blessing because she walked with her Beloved Creator and learned from her friend how to live life fully, fighting off the worry in her daily battles that had previously controlled her life.

The End

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

Like a good Southern girl, I named my daughter after her great grandmothers. And, like a good Southern momma, I stubbornly decided she would be called by both names. I know. I know. But where would the world be without those wonderful double name traditions. I mean, who doesn’t love a Sarah Beth or an Anna Grace or a Betty Lou? Those names just roll off the tongue like sorghum, don’t they? (Insert eye roll emoji here.)

What I didn’t realize is the frustration those double names would cause my girl as she moved on to college and the professional world. When she first started taking college courses online in high school, she realized those double names made it really difficult for her to engage in her virtual class discussion. Her name took far too long to type in when she wanted to answer a question. So Mary Catherine became Catie. That name soon followed her as she started classes on campus. It was on her first college student ID.

A similar thing happened when she started working as a barista at a local coffee shop. She couldn’t realistically fit her entire name on her nametag, so she shortened it to MC. Then you had the whole standardized test and college application complications where she was only recognized by her first name. So, on campus she was Catie, at work she was MC, and in any official capacity, she was Mary.

Now she’s headed off to graduate school at a new university and is considering going by Cate. You can imagine the type of identity crisis she’s had over the past four years or so. Thankfully, as her momma, I still stubbornly call her by her double name. Not because I’m trying to be difficult, but because that name has meaning to me. It is the name I thoughtfully and prayerfully gave her before she even came into the world. So no matter what everyone else calls her, she is Mary Catherine because that’s the name chosen just for her.

Recently, I was reading through Revelation. It’s not a book I tend to get settled in because, to be honest, the content absolutely boggles my mind and overwhelms my soul. As John promised through Revelation 1:3 I have been blessed by reading Revelation, but I’ve also been perplexed by it. I come back to it reluctantly throughout the year. I read through and pray and ponder and ask the Lord to give me some insight. This time around I got stuck on this idea of names.

In Revelation 2:17 the Spirit reveals to John these words for the Church at Pergamum, “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Similarly, Isaiah 62:2 says, “The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.” And back in Revelation 20 we read about the book of life and in it are the names of those who belong to Christ. I couldn’t get over this idea of a new name. I not only was a new creation, but I had a new name. I had a new identity. An identity conferred to me by my Abba. And I think that name is the one written in the Lamb’s book. So naturally, this piqued my curiosity and I kept asking the Lord in private moments of intimate conversation, so what’s my new name?

A few weeks after I asked that question, I was reading through 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God.”

I sat before the King with those verses and the Spirit whispered, “You are no longer called by these names because you are now called by MY NAME.” I sat and wept at that truth. My old name was Unrighteous. My old name was Unholy. My old name was Condemned. My old name was Separated. My old name was my identity as a sinner. But that is no longer my name. Because of Jesus. Because of the Name above all Names, my sin no longer defines me. Because my old name is now washed away in the blood of Christ. In Christ, my new name is Righteous. My new name is Holy. My new name is Redeemed. My new name is Restored.

Too many times even those who are in Christ tend to define themselves by their old names. By their sin, but if you are in Christ you are no longer called by that name. You have been given a new name. And as I have pondered and prayed over the powerful and beautiful truth that it only matters that I am called by the Name of Christ. That new name could be Rescued. Restored. Redeemed. It doesn’t matter the specifics as long as I know the One who gave me the New Name, and I know that I am no longer defined by who I was, but Whose I am. I am His. He is mine. I am called by a New Name. A name the Lord Himself has given me. Jesus. Jesus. Precious Jesus. That is the only Name I need to know.  

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV

“You’re following in your Mama’s footsteps aren’t you?” 

I have heard it half a dozen times in my lifetime. I’d often nod my head, acknowledging the speaker was correct in his or her assumption. Truth be told though, I never really understood exactly what that meant. It sounded good. Ask near anyone who genuinely knows her and they will tell you that my Mama is a pretty good one to follow. She is gracious and wise. She is a peace-maker and brims over with hospitality. So why wouldn’t I want to follow in her footsteps. I just never fully understood the meaning behind it, so I would agree. In many regards I have unknowingly followed in her footsteps and as I tend to to do, I just accepted it as such and moved on. In my mind we wear almost the same size shoe, so it didn’t seem odd to me that I was stepping into her shoes, after all they fit just fine. Clearly I had confused two expressions, “having big shoes to fill” and “following in someone’s footsteps.” 

To follow in someone’s footsteps means, To pursue something that someone else (often a family member) has already done. 

Having big shoes to fill roughly means that it’s going to be hard for you to do the job as well as they did it.

For most of my life, well all of it until now, I reckon I did not fully understand what I was agreeing or not agreeing to in regards to shoes and footsteps of others. That was until recently anyway.

We had made our way to our annual beach vacation trip. The previous year had not yielded such a luxury, so this year was an especially anticipated event. I counted down the days and would decide “How many more sleeps until the beach.” I would say in my head “Two weeks from today, where will I be?” The answer was always the beach, no matter if it was two weeks, two days or tomorrow. I was ready. More than ready. I had been depleted for quite some time, and the waves and the wind, the constant of the always-the-same, never-the-same gulf leaves me filled up and ready to push through. I have been known to sit and to soak and to hear the King speak through His creation. I have often said, “A rainy day at the beach is better than a sunny day at home.” I am not sure if that rings true for everyone, but it does me. 

As the thunder began to rumble off in the distance and the sky darken, I knew we would have to head indoors soon. It had been a successful day for me, one filled with books, and snacks, sun-kissed shoulders, and a breeze that drowns out the noise of the world better than anything else I know. My feet looked like they’d been dusted with caster sugar.

My Sweetheart had worked some while we vacationed, catching up on things neglected at home; then he made his way down to the seaside. He isn’t filled by it like I am, but he does enjoy a lazy afternoon listening to music, people watching, and most of all watching the sky. It was the same place, sky watching, several years ago that ushered in a career change for him from artist to meteorologist. 

As the sky darkened and he nudged me I knew it was time for our party to return indoors. We gathered  up our belongings, and began the arduous task of take down. 

Loaded down with a burden of camp chairs, trash, all manner of sandy toys we made our way up the beach. We moved single file, our party of ten, and I was directly behind my husband. As he walked, his large size 14 sandal-clad foot made exaggerated depressions into the sand. Without realizing it I was following in his footsteps. Then I began to actually step in the places he has stepped. The walk was so much easier when I would place my foot just where he had been. The sand already packed and solid made for easier stepping. His stride is larger than mine and that proved tricky but the burden I carried was much more tolerable when I followed in his footsteps. Many times after, as we made our way up, I noted that following in his steps was always less of a hardship than going my own way. I likened that to my walk with the Lord. Sure there are times when following Christ can feel awkward, when His stride doesn’t match mine, but I can follow in His footsteps knowing, He already knows the way, He has already made a way, and in fact He is the Way. 

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 NIV