Tag Archives: Isaiah

ANGRY MEN

12 Mar

Angry Man Tattoos

“And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.”      Isaiah 12:1 (KJV)

When my oldest son came home from prison a year ago he sported full arm and leg tattoos.  I knew that all tattoos have a story behind them, but I could not understand what all the faces, combined and linked together with tubes, meant.  I asked my son to explain it all to me; he said that they were angry men linked together by a lifeline.

I found myself studying the tattoos as we watched TV at night.  I didn’t see angry men, I saw something very different in each face.  I saw the artist’s inner turmoil, stirred by years in prison, coming out on a living canvas.

Some faces showed fear, some faces showed pain, some faces showed sorrow, some rage – all hopelessness.  One appeared to be a demon swallowing a child, its eyes stitched closed; childhood lost.

The tubes between seemed to be the tubes of nourishment that kept them all alive and also the chains of incarceration that prevented them from finding freedom and hope.  Years of addictions and bad choices added faces to the lines, banding them together as brothers through their lifeline tubes gave them some small amount of security.  They depended on each other not to sever the tubes that kept them all alive.  All manifested fear of possible disconnection in different ways.

When I look at the tattoos I see the inmates in prison, struggling to survive without losing their identity.  I see the artist’s renditions of the faces surrounding him every day.  I see the emotions he feels himself, flowing from his needle.  Hopelessness.  Aloneness.  Unwantedness.

The sad thing is, these emotions aren’t only an attribute of inmates, but are found in grocery stores, movie theaters, classrooms and in our own children.  The pressures of everyday life are overwhelming people to such proportions that they lose hope, fall to despair and give up on life.

How sad that we, the body of Christ, for fear of ridicule and rejection, keep back the very solution to their problems.  We hide the light given freely to us through our love of Christ.  We crimp off the true lifeline that would bring them peace, joy and hope.

What if we just took a chance?  What if we took a moment to offer prayer to someone in despair?  What if we wrapped our arms around the homeless and shared the gospel along with a hot meal and a warm jacket?  What if we comfort a crying child while the mother regains composure, and then offer to help by prayer and child care and taking them to church.

What if we stepped past our own insecurities and showed the love of Jesus to a hurting world, mentoring another as we do?  What if we could bring hope to just one?  The whole world could be changed – one person at a time.

——

By Linda J. Humes

Written 7-14-2013

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EDEN

8 Oct

Cat in sink

“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.”  Isaiah 50:4

It’s late.  Everyone is finally off to their own rooms, preparing to sleep; some are already successful.  I head for my quiet spot, the master bathroom.  It’s very small, built for usefulness, not flair.  With the door closed, as it will (which is almost), all the lights on and the exhaust fan rattling out the household noises that remain, it is my only refuge.  There I read and write and pray and listen for God.

Before too long a paw reaches under the door and pulls it open enough for one (or more) of my cats to come in.  At first they are content to lap at the water dripping from the faucet, soon curling up in the oval shaped sink, lightly dozing.  Most of the time they wait patiently for me to finish, but on occasion they will try tenaciously to get onto my lap for hugging and petting, sending books and Bibles, pens and paper flying.  Giving in is the best defense, fighting back by trying to chase them off creates a greater distraction than taking a few minutes to love on them.  They so desperately want to please, having no idea that they are in the least bit annoying.  Soon I set them back down, retrieve my papers and books and go back to praying and listening – and hoping once again to be anointed and used by God.

There are times when I’ve wished I could remain there for days at a time, but responsibility calls.  I have spent many wonderful hours there, in communion, not wanting to leave.  Fatigue and worry escape me there – as does time, sometimes putting my night’s sleep at risk.

It’s just a bathroom, with its own white noise and its own bright light, generally shared with several purring cats, waiting contently in the sink – but to me it becomes Eden.  A place where I go to seek the face of God and talk with Him in the cool of the evening.  It’s there that I remember to thank God for the little things that He does to show me His love.

I thank Him, that even in the inner city, without a natural setting to run to, I have a bathroom, big enough to hold one small bookcase and lots of pens and paper.  I thank Him that I have cats who remind me to always take time for a hug and a kind word.  And I thank Him for the understanding that no matter where I am, God will be there to meet me.

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THE MOUSE IN THE POPCORN PAN

31 Mar

By Linda J. Humes

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2 (KJV)

mouseBy Linda J. Humes

During World War II my Grandparents supported themselves by owning and running a popcorn stand. They lived near a military base and on the weekends the soldiers would come to town to watch movies in an outdoor theatre. My Grandparents strategically set up their stand near the entrance to the theatre and sold the buttery delight to the hungry soldiers.

All my life I can remember a pan of popcorn in the oven. It became a family tradition. If you visited Grandma’s or Mom’s house and had a snack attack, you grabbed a bowl and raided the oven. Popcorn became more than a staple or a snack, it was comfort food.

When I started my family and raised my boys the popcorn pan was always there. When you have a gas stove, as we have, the popcorn stays warm and crispy from the heat of the pilot light – what a delight!

A few months ago I grabbed my bowl and headed for the oven – I could already taste the treat that awaited. I opened the door and to my surprise – a mouse was sitting squarely in the middle of my popcorn pan, stuffing his little self. I closed the door.

Wow. My first thought went to “I wonder how long he’s been doing that” and then quickly convinced myself that this HAD to be the first time – and it certainly was going to be the last. Convincing myself of this was the only way I could get my stomach to settle back down.

“What did you learn,” God asked. Convicted. That mouse wanted that popcorn so bad that he went past a large pilot light flame, up through the heating holes, across a hot oven floor, and into the pan. He went past the dog bowls and cat bowls, with food in them. He went past the bowl of scraps for the chicken coop. He knew what he wanted and he went past the fire and across the heat to get there. He desired the sweet savor that awaited. Oh, my Lord.

How often have I backed away instead of pressing into God because of a “fire” that stood in my path? How many times have I cut my Bible study or prayer time short because of the heat of daily life driving me to complete arduous tasks that have no eternal value? How many times have I been in the middle of a trial and screamed out “God, it’s too hard!”

My, my. A little mouse in a popcorn pan put me to shame. My true desire is to always run to the arms of God when storms rise – but my human side says “take shelter.” Then when I shake off that immediate fear, I turn back. I keep promising myself that the “next time” I’ll head straight in toward Jesus – no matter what. I can taste the sweet savor now. Delightful.

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