Happy Birthday to Me!

So here I am, 90 years old, and feeling sort of all right, and wondering if I should feel different somehow, or what. My mother lived to be 102, and died in her own bed, and with her total mind, and I wonder if I will match her. Aside from forgetting a name, or  where I left something, my mind seems to be clicking along fairly well, except when my daughter needs to help me with finding my way in and out of my computer.

There are things I wish I could still do. When we lived in Minnesota I recorded text books for the blind, and I’d love to still be doing that. I wish I could still sing, but COPD and oxygen 24/7 have disabled my vocal cords. And three knee replacements along with not enough exercise (my bad choice) have limited me somewhat, but I have canes and an electric scooter. And I have two daughters here who take me wherever I need to go. I do have a car myself, but why should I want to cause my kids any stress? I’m happy. And GOD IS SO GOOD! My children had a wonderful dad. I miss him. But I’ve had four wonderful sons, and two precious daughters, and best of all I have my Savior, Jesus Christ, to love me and guide me. Who could ask for more?

 — Norma Stockton

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

Who's In Charge?

Had I been there last week, on the white board I would have written, "LONELINESS." That's because I couldn't go anywhere or see many folks. But I did pray a lot. With out giving God the favor of my advice, since He  has already covered that pretty well Himself. He has told us how to pray.     

First, to acknowledge Him, and where He is and who He is…Our Father  in heaven...whose name is to be praised. Things are pretty much in a mess down here, and we're all pretty much aware of it. And we want His kingdom to come, and for His will to be done down here just as it is done in heaven!

But just pause a bit! We must not think for one second that God is sitting up there wringing His hands and worrying about what evil people will do next! In my 89 years, one thing I have learned very well and very sure, and that is that GOD IS ALWAYS in charge of EVERYTHING! So then why this and why that? We don't know. But we DO know that NOTHING happens unless God allows it. God didn't make Eve take that apple off the tree or make Adam eat it. But He was sorry that they made that choice, and all of our choices have consequences. And God, being God, knows who, and when, and why, and how it will all work out to be part of His perfect plan.

TRUST HIM!

—Norma Stockton

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

A Pause

Well, I finally got my first Covid shot! Aside from being almost 90, I can check many of the comorbidity boxes, so I guess it was time. And it signals the possibility that these past miserable months may really be coming to an end.

My daughter, with whom I live, is a NICU nurse at INSPIRA, and because of my extreme vulnerability and her exposure to new mamas who might be ill, she shipped me off to Ohio to stay with my son. I love all my sons and daughters, but I was there for months, and my life came to a virtual halt. I’m sure that many of you experienced the same things I did: I won’t bother to list them.

When I came back to New Jersey, some of my dear friends did come to visit me; they on the outside, and me on the inside mostly, and I was so glad to see them, and to talk to others on the phone. But of course because of my vulnerability I didn’t go ANYWHERE. And without my really being aware of it, it began to get to me.

I am really not a negative person; my children have often tired of my”Pollyanna” approach to things, but I recognized that I had little interest in going anywhere or doing anything. I realized that it must be depression!

One result of being as old as the hills is that I rarely pray results, except, of course, when asked to. I figure that God is not sitting up there waiting for me to give Him instructions. I pray for people. But I knew I needed something. He is my Father, He loves me. He knows me. To the best of my ability, I know Him. He didn’t want me like this.

So I looked inside myself, searching for the empty spot where something was missing. And it was so clear; it was JOY! I had no joy! I’ve had three knee replacements, so I can’t kneel, but God knows all about that, and He heard me anyway when I said, “God, give me JOY!” Because He did! Right then! I could FEEL His presence so strongly! And I remembered what I know clearly, that joy does not depend upon circumstances; it depends upon a relationship, with our God, who loves us even beyond our own understanding.

The Lord says I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and protect you.  So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey Him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure.  Psalm 32, v.8, 11

—Norma Stockton

Noisy Cows and Goats

Long ago, after the Jews had gotten out of Egypt, there was a woman named Hannah who begged God for a son. God blessed her, and she did have a son, and this was Samuel. Hannah promised God that she would dedicate Samuel to Him. After he was weaned, she took him to the temple and left him with Eli, who was a judge over Israel for 40 years. Samuel helped Eli with his work, and was very close to God.

But the people saw that all the surrounding nations had kings, and they decided they wanted a king, too. So God showed Eli the man He should appoint as king, and that was Saul, the first king of Israel.

Now, when the people were traveling from Egypt, one of the countries they passed, Amalek, treated them poorly, and God told Saul to take his army and destroy every Amalekite and everything in their country. After this war, Samuel went out to meet Saul as they returned from battle. But Saul had gone to the town of Carmel to build a monument to himself! And God spoke to Samuel and told him that He was sorry He had ever made Saul king, because Saul had not been loyal to Him and refused to obey God’s command! Samuel was very upset and the next morning went to meet Saul. Saul was very proud of himself, and bragged about how he had obeyed the Lord’s command! But Samuel demanded,

“Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?!

And Saul answered, “It’s true the army spared the best of the livestock, but they are going to sacrifice them to your God! We destroyed everything else! And I brought back King Agag!”

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord;

                                   your burnt offerings and sacrifices

                                  or your obedience to His voice!

                                  Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,

                                  and submission is better than offering

                                                      the fat of rams

                                  Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,

                                       and stubbornness as bad

                                      as worshiping idols.

                                 So because you have rejected the

                                       command of the Lord,

                                He has rejected you as king.”  

Well…how does this apply to me? I’m not a king. I don’t have a Samuel to tell me what God wants me to do.

No, but I have far more than Samuel ever had. I have Jesus Christ, who sent me the Holy Spirit! And I have my blessed Bible, which provides me with all the instruction I will ever need! MY problem is this: when I KNOW what God wants me to do, will I find a reason to do it a little differently? Or a little later? Or with the wrong attitude? Or with any one of a number of changes that are more appealing to ME?

Obedience, I sometimes find, is as hard for me as it is for my precious little great-grandsons.

—Norma Stockton

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

The Year Twenty Twenty, So Far!

And such a year, which began early with a gift from China: a very contagious plague! No thank-you note for this one! I live with my daughter Joyce, who is a NICU nurse at Inspira. NICU nurses do not only take care of babies in the NICU. They also go to deliveries, interact with parents, doctors and other nurses and are very exposed to whatever is going around. So she was of course concerned with what she might bring home to me, because I check every box in the list of who is most susceptible; I’m over-weight; I have a pace-maker; I have COPD with 24/7 oxygen (a real pain in the neck). And I am 89. My kids decided that I would be safer if I went out to Ohio to stay with my single son for at least a few weeks. So I did, and was there from early March until late May. I dearly love all my kids, and I loved being with him, but I really missed my life here in Pittsgrove, and all my friends at church. And I found that being quarantined became depressing.

In the Our Daily Bread devotional book, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, author Dennis J. Dehaan wrote of an old legend that tells of an angel who was sent by God to inform Satan that all his methods to defeat Christians would be taken from him. The devil pleaded to keep just one. “Let me retain depression,” he begged. The angel, thinking this a small request, agreed. “Good!” Satan exclaimed. He laughed and said, “In that one gift, I have secured all.”

So he got me, and I surely struggled with this destructive emotion. I found so many things I wanted to do, that I couldn’t do. I saw things that others did, but because of my quarantine status, they were closed to me. I was not happy.  I certainly agreed that as far as Covid-19 was concerned, the cure very truly could be worse than the disease.

But God (two of my favorite words in the Bible) didn’t leave me there. I asked Him to make me, and others in my condition, too, strongly feel His love and guidance for us all. And His Spirit kept reminding me to stop feeling sorry for myself and to think of and pray for others who might well be in a far worse state than mine!

I am still mostly quarantined. But I’ve laid it all at Jesus’ feet, as He told me to do. I trust my Savior. I only want His plan for me.  And that does not include being captured by depression. That is not my natural disposition at all! But I found that even Pollyanna types like me may sometimes need an attitude adjustment. I did, and I got one!

— Norma Stockton

 *Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

House Hunting

When I got my Real Estate license in New Jersey, I must admit that my primary drive was that I LOVE to look at other people’s houses! But through all twelve times we moved state to state, I never got to look at or choose the next house we were going to buy and move into. My husband did it, every time! I had a houseful of children, and while he went ahead to his new job or promotion, I stayed behind to get our old house sold and our children’s schooling arranged and did all those other things that needed attention. He sent lots of pictures and did lots of description, but he was the one in the new state, and he did the house hunting. It wasn’t easy; one of the later moves included two horses! As it turned out, I loved every home he picked out!

But you know what? Every one of us who loves Jesus is going to have that experience, too. Here’s what He said about that final move we will all be taking:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:1-3

Won’t that be wonderful? We won’t have to pack anything; we already have our tickets, and our passport will be stamped. And I think we will absolutely love the neighborhood!

—Norma Stockton

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

If a Sparrow Falls...

I know I can’t be the only one. There have to be others who feel like me. Because all of us to one degree or another have been living through the same mess, day after day after week after month. And sometimes it seems like it will never end.

Since I am 89 years young, and check every box in the list of who’s most vulnerable, my daughter with whom I live, and who also is a hospital nurse, sent me out to Ohio to my son, to guard against the possibility of my accidentally picking up the virus from her. That was February. I came home the end of May, blessedly healthy.

I love my son dearly, but I also love my life. And I really don’t have much of it any more. And I know, I know, I shouldn’t complain. But I’ve so much missed my life. And so have lots of you. And that’s why I sometimes feel the way I feel.

But you know what? The wonderful other side of this coin is the way all this has drawn me closer and closer to God.

That is because there are things that I know.

I know that God knows each one of us intimately!

I know that God loves us beyond measure.

I know that God is completely and forever in charge of this world.

Lots of folks think that God is usually busy somewhere else and really doesn’t spend much time watching us.

WRONG.

God knows how many hairs are on your head and knows when one falls out! God knows when a single bird falls from the sky! Nothing occurs anywhere without God’s permission. And for us who love Him, everything that happens is for our eventual good. EVERYTHING.

So I realize that this life that I have loved and am living, even with all the changes, is God’s will for me right now. When I am called to remember this, I feel such a deep peace.  I am not a worrier. I just don’t worry. Because I know, without any doubt, that God is running everything. Everything. He is just. He hates sin. He is the one who raises up rulers, and replaces them with others. When we are not satisfied with God’s timing, we need to remember that God does not live in time! What does this mean? I don’t know. But if He sees each sparrow that falls, how can we doubt that He is completely aware of each moment of our lives, and loves us, and wants for us only that which will bring us closer to Him?

So I need to get over my bad self, and remember who God is, and who I am.

Thank you, my precious Savior, for loving me even when I didn’t love You. I love You now. I will love You always.

—Norma Stockton

*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

A short time ago, a well- respected church leader wrote an article about worship and how it is handled in many of today’s churches. And he mainly doesn’t very much like it. These are some of the things he didn’t like, and how he would fix everything were he given the opportunity, and other practices he misses that we rarely do any more. Several of us then commented on this, and I intend here to look a bit into my 88 years, and reflect on this subject.

He doesn’t approve of large screens in churches. He doesn’t like the words of the worship songs portrayed on the screens; he longs for the old hymns, and for hymnals held in our hands, where we can read the music. He remembers fondly how people dressed respectfully in their “Sunday best” to come to church. This was not just an expression of what he preferred; he felt strongly that in times past we focused more strongly on God than we do now. I disagree, but I think I now understand a little better. So this was my experience over the years.

My earliest church was in Vincentown, where the name of my great-great-grandfather, William Branin, is part of the stained glass window in the little Baptist church. I suppose he paid for it. There were hymnals and an organ and a choir. I was sometimes embarrassed by my dearly loved grandmother, because she often shed tears when she sang those old hymns. I was young and clueless. Our church at home in Philadelphia was larger, but much the same. It was that time, the 30’s and early 40’s.

Big change came in the 70’s, with the Jesus movement, which was when I was really saved, and I loved it! All my teen-aged children were saved then too, and I loved the songs and the guitars and the Bible and everything that was different from the stiff way things had been. Of course I now realize that my attitude was really fed by my new relationship with Jesus. Nevertheless, I loved the new music and took loads of children to the first Creation festival and even slept in a tent for the first time (and the last!).

By then we had built a house on LBI; my husband was then a ‘head-hunter’;  I had loved the island all my life, and he could work anywhere, so we picked Ship Bottom, where my parents had our summer home. Heaven on earth. When I was young, we had to search for our shoes in September to go back to school. And I never again could really feel at home in a strictly traditional church.

When I read the aforementioned article, my first reaction was that it was just an example of legalism. The idea of dressing up for church; the need to go back to what someone sees as the old tried and true ways of worship: with hymnals and no large screens.  

Even though I was in my 50’s, my Christianity was truly born in a Bible study I was invited to attend on LBI in the early Jesus movement of the 60’s. I flourished in this new life; I loved the whole atmosphere. But now I wonder if some of what I see as legalism might not have simply originated in what was common in the time of THEIR life when THEY first met Jesus, when life was more structured, and when their Christian honeymoon period was very different from mine. Who can blame them for thinking that we might be doing it all wrong?

When God opens my mind to a new idea, there’s ALWAYS a lesson! In this case, does God want me to remember that He dearly loves ALL of us? Does He want me to be slower to judge?

I suspect that He does.

—Norma Stockton

A Birthday Party

There was no cake with candles;

There was no shiny toy,

Not anything that one might bring

To celebrate a boy.

But there were cows and chickens

And one white wooly sheep,

All standing there so quietly

To guard a baby’s sleep.

A Savior in a manger;

He didn’t have a bed,

He had a straw-filled feed trough

Just as the angel said.

A baby King! To change the world

And take all sin away!

No wonder, then, the angels sang

The glory of that day!

The party filled with wondrous joy,

So very blessed to share

This night with one small donkey

Who carried Mary there.

—Norma Stockton

Extrapolation

Before I married, I was the engineering clerk for thirty young light oil engineers in R&D at Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia. There were no computers then, and my job was to create charts and graphs for use in their presentations. They would give me their raw data, and I would plot it on a graph, which would then be photographed for a slide. Sometimes past data determined yet unseen future results, and I could plot the curve I had and then extend it to approximate the future testing probability on my graph. This, as you probably know, is called extrapolation.

 In life, we often use this same method in determining the best course for our present decisions. We all should know that decisions we make today may influence what happens to us next year. But sadly, not everyone gets it.  And then we end up in circumstances we never would have chosen and don’t know how to fix.  And the people in this boat for whom I hurt the most are loving, well-meaning young parents, who do not seem to apply the principle of extrapolation in their authority issues with their little ones.

 Absolutely basic is the necessity to establish authority from a very early age.  Households where the children are in charge are very unhappy places, which I personally avoid at all costs, not having earned the right to do bodily harm. The image of inmates running the asylum comes to mind. These poor children have never accepted, indeed, have never been taught, that their parents are the absolute authority in their home, and that there will be consequences for disobedience. Perhaps their parents hate to crush their little spirits. Perhaps they hate to hear their little ones cry.  Perhaps they think it’s cute when little Joey punches his Daddy.

Let’s extrapolate. How about a ten-year-old who has never had his wishes denied, rolling around the floor in a tantrum in a large department store (I’ve seen it!)  and screaming at his mother? How about a girl who knows that all she has to do is to cry to get what she wants? And how about a teenager who actually physically attacks one of his parents? I know that there can be psychological problems and other factors which can adversely affect a child’s behavior, but the roots of even some of this can be found in early training. Sometimes the parent him/herself has grown up rejecting authority , and is having to learn it as an adult. A child who grows up without respect for or recognition of authority will fight it in every relationship, and believe me, the world is a hard, tough teacher. It is so much easier, and infinitely kinder, to instill this in a little child.

So how to start? Moms, Dads, be aware of the small, seemingly insignificant things you do and say!

                        “Do you want to go to bed now?” 

                        “Shall we get dressed now?”

                        “What shall I fix you for dinner?”

And on and on. Of course we should give our children appropriate choices - but not ones where they can say “no.”  These matters may seem unimportant to us, but they are not so to the child. He learns one of two things: that his wishes supersede everything else, or, hopefully, that doing what Mommy and Daddy want is safer and much more fun. And there is something far, far more important.

As Christian parents, the thing we desire above all else is that our children know and love God. TELLING THEM ABOUT JESUS IS NOT ENOUGH! If a child hates authority, why would he want to love a God who is going to tell him what to do? Why would he want to follow Jesus, when he is very sure that he himself knows what is best for him? When he has no respect for any earthly authority, why should he believe in any other?

God created family. God created authority. A child who is raised with full acceptance of the strong, loving authority of his parents will so much more easily accept the concept of a Heavenly Father who loves him beyond understanding and a Savior who loves him in spite of his failings, and died for him. As parents, the very best thing you will ever do for your tiny baby is to determine in all circumstances to model God for him or her, and to show consistently a loving authority in your home.  Extrapolate every decision, and with God’s help and direction the result will be a child who feels loved and feels safe, who understands authority and consequences, and is ready to open his heart to the One who loves him best. 

—Norma Stockton

Fear

I really hate to admit it, but some forty years ago I was actually chased by a rabbit! Well … at least I thought I was, and I was terrified!

What happened was, our family included several animals, including a frustrated female dog who was never going to have her own puppies, and who was clearly unhappy about it. So one Saturday, she found a nest of baby bunnies, and stole one, and lovingly brought it in to show me.

Needless to say I was not thrilled, so I wrapped the bunny in a towel, and took it back out to turn it loose. My dear husband and at least one son were at the back of our property where the woods started, and I assumed that our Lady-dog had found the bunny there, so I started for wood-edge to turn it loose.

I gave said bunny to my husband and started back to the house. Almost immediately I heard shouts behind me; I looked back, and there was that miserable rabbit running straight for me! I don’t know what I was thinking – the possibility of rabid rabbits must have crossed my mind – but I shrieked, and took off across that grass like the hounds of hell were after me! And then that bunny passed me at great speed and dived under a flowering bush, where his home, now-obviously, was!

Meanwhile my child and my previously loving husband were back at the woods, rolling on the ground and screaming with laughter! So delighted that I was able to amuse those wretches.

But you know, fear really can wipe every other emotion from our minds, even groundless fears like my reaction to a frightened little bunny.

We all know that there are very different kinds of fear. Some of them are good, and meant to protect us from dangerous or harmful situations. But many are more our reaction to a circumstance where we don’t know what to do, or when we expect very negative things to overwhelm us, and we see no way to cope. And we sometimes forget in the moment that we have that ever-present friend in times of trouble, our Jesus, who knew all along what we would be facing, and always stands ready to give us his own strength and wisdom, and urges us to lean on him. He told us that in this world we will have trouble, and oh my goodness, do we ever know how true that is!

One thing I know very well: that the longer I have followed Jesus, the less and less I have been attacked by fear. That is surely because in my many years I have seen over and over how God has worked in every hard time in my life, and so I trust Him, and, I guess, I EXPECT God to  come through for me. And He always does.

         I will praise the Lord at all times.

                  I will constantly speak his praises.

         I will boast only in the  Lord;

                  Let all who are helpless take heart.

         Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;

                  Let us exalt his name together.

         I prayed to the Lord and he answered me.

                  He freed me from all my fears.

         Taste and see that the Lord is good;

                  Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him.

                           Psalm 34.

—Norma Stockton

How Big?

My sweet almost-5 Carter found two dead bugs on a window- sill. He brought them to me.

“Look, Mom-Mom! Look at their little legs! Aren’t they cute? Awwwww … They’re so cute, Mom-Mom!”

I’m not too fond of bugs, dead or alive, but he loved them, and wanted to keep them, so I of course allowed him to keep them on my window- sill. He was happy.

“They’re all dead! Will they go to heaven?” I sincerely hoped not, but I allowed as how they were made by God and God would decide. That satisfied him, and he came back several times to see them.

But I was left thinking about the fact that God had indeed made them, and had given them life as only He is able to do. Their tiny legs (so cute to Carter), and their beautifully designed under-wings, and their unique digestive system, and their tiny, tiny eyes  ----  all this for a lifespan of just a few days, to end up a treasure on a little boy’s window- sill.

And then I thought about the eggs they developed from, and how all of God’s creatures grew from eggs. And I was again overwhelmed by the Mind that designed the eggs and wrote within them all of the instructions on how to grow and what to be. I thought about our DNA and our brains and how there are parts of our bodies, and our brains, which we still don’t understand.

I have long loved thinking about what fun it must have been for Jesus to pick colors for all the birds, and for all the flowers, and animals, and everything else on this glorious earth He made for us to enjoy.

And I thought about that question, “How big is your God?”

Our God, who spoke into being all the intricacies of our human bodies, and the three stomachs a cow needs, and the way our earth moves around the sun; how can we belittle Him?

How can we ever doubt him, or think we can ever have a problem too big for Him to handle? Here we are, mere created creatures who because of His love for us have been given the fantastic privilege of being able to talk, actually TALK, to the Being who designed and created not only us but so much more than we can even begin to understand!

O Christians, trust Him! He is so completely, totally able! I know that sometimes the answers don’t come when we think they should, and may not be the answers we wanted, but God is there, seeing everything, forgiving everything and loving you more than you have ever been loved.

HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?

—Norma Stockton

Grace

My birthday (88th!) fell last weekend, and we had our two little boys for an overnight (my great-grandsons). They are four and six, so of course the conversation evolved to how unbelievably OLD I am, and from there to dying, and how does that happen, and when, and what happens next … most of this from the four-year-old. I managed to explain that when I die I will go to heaven and be with Jesus, and no, I wouldn’t come back, and that EVERYONE who loves Jesus goes to heaven. He wanted to know if he would go there too, and we assured him that if he loved Jesus he certainly would, and he would see us again and get big hugs! And then he asked, “But how will I know how to find you?”

His Grammy Joyce and I made it very clear that God would tell us he was coming, and we would be right there to meet him!

Little ones are so dear. They have so many questions, and they need answers that will satisfy them and reassure them that their world is good, and safe, no matter what problems they live with. Especially they need to know that Jesus loves them wholeheartedly. I didn’t give this to my children.

When I was a young mother, I didn’t believe in child evangelism. I thought that it was unfair to warp their young minds. I cannot erase from my mind the night that my eldest asked me, as I kissed her goodnight, to tell her if Jesus was God. And I answered, “That’s something you’ll have to decide when you’re older.” And she said, “But I want you to TELL me!” And I said no.

I thought I was so right. I thought I was so wise. I was so proud of myself for handling her question in just the right way. And as years passed, and all of us, me, my husband and three younger children all came to Christ’s saving grace, the nights were many when I wept bitter tears over this searing memory, and prayed that this beloved daughter would, too, come to belief in Christ as her Savior.

God was so fantastically good. He never forgot this dear child and had long since forgiven her wayward mother. He wrapped her in his loving arms, and one night her brother brought her to Jesus. And all my prayers were answered. I didn’t deserve such grace, but then, none us us ever ‘deserve’ God’s grace, His undeserved favor. But He loves us, beyond our understanding.

So, you can surely well imagine the absolute joy I feel now when I see young parents leading their children into the sure knowledge of God’s love for them, and explaining Communion, and telling them about their Savior.

I thank God every hour for His love, and for His kindness, and for the way He created a plan for us to share His presence forever. I thank Him for loving me, and for understanding me, and for leading me into truth.

And yes, little four-year-old … I will be waiting for you when God calls you home, years and years and years from now.

—Norma Stockton

I DIDN’T DO IT!!!!

Were you ever blamed for something you didn’t do?

My brother (nineteen months older) hardly ever originated the misbehavior we got into, but he usually went right along with whatever I thought up. That was my job; I was more inventive. Of course my Mom knew all about me, and punishment usually fell with more force upon me! But I had a bad habit with which I handled these situations. I always knew what would happen if I got caught, and I weighed my options; if it wasn’t worth it, I didn’t do it! And if I thought it might be worth it, IF I got caught, it was full steam ahead.

So, I clearly remember a time when my brother actually talked ME into something. We rode our bikes down Germantown Avenue, which we definitely were not allowed to do (we were young), because he wanted to look at a balsa model in a toy store. I wasn’t interested, but I went along anyway. But who did we see, and who saw us and would report us to our mother, but a nosey neighbor! That evening did not promise to be pleasant.

Mom was waiting for us when we got home. The reason we were down there never came up, but she immediately pinned me to the wall with that look, and sent us to our rooms. My brother, the rat, did not confess or mention toy stores, and since my mother’s focus was on who instigated the crime, she somewhat naturally landed on me. And I was the one who lost the use of my bike for a week, during which time I did not speak to my brother.

I know it doesn’t even compare, but I often ponder the life-changing sacrifice Jesus made for us. He knew what crucifixion was; it was horrible, but not uncommon. But complete separation from God? Separation from the very part of Himself which He treasured most? To the place where He cried out to His Father, “Why have you deserted me?!” How could He have known in advance how awful that would be? And then, unbelievable and even incomprehensible to us, this God/man who had NEVER sinned was accounted guilty of every human sin, past, present and future! He bore that burden in His heart and on His shoulders, for us. For us. Because God loves us that much. And because Jesus agreed to pay for us. And did, for agonizing hours on the cross. Until He was finally, finally able to say, “It is finished.”

How can we ever consider this lightly? How can we not shudder as we try, unsuccessfully, to imagine what that must have been like! If we have ever borne the blame for another’s action, we must know that we are no closer to any understanding of the tremendous part Jesus played in God’s plan to bring us, purified, into His presence, justified and worthy to spend eternity with our God and Savior. We can only bow in grateful praise to God for caring for us enough, and wanting our companionship enough, to sacrifice the perfect Lamb, His Son, for us, unworthy as we are in our own sinful nature. And for us never to die! Oh, unless Jesus comes back first, our bodies will surely die, but we won’t need them any more! When Jesus rose again on Easter morning, He conquered death for us! Our souls will not die! We will be ushered into the presence of God, to live there in new, strong bodies, forever!

 HALLELUIA!                                                                                                                    

—Norma Stockton

Learning

It’s always helpful to be reminded of things I don’t know, don’t fully understand or have perhaps forgotten.

Like the other night when I was talking to my son in Ohio, and I was observing that no one could lose me in my house; all they’d have to do is follow the oxygen tube, because I’d be right there, connected to the end of it. Of course I reminded him of what a pain in the neck it is, getting tangled around my ankles when I turn around, getting caught on the rocker in my bedroom, switching to my portable everywhere I go! And that sometimes I am so tempted to leave it in the car when I’m just running in to a store briefly. I don’t do that; it’s just a measure of my frustration.

At which point he reminded me that when brain cells don’t get enough oxygen, they die. And then he told me something I didn’t know: I’ve been on 02 for years, but only at night; it’s just the last few years that it’s been 24/7. The NEW thing he told me was this: that before that, my kids saw that I was GRADUALLY getting less sharp, but when I went full time, I snapped right back to my normal self! No wonder my daughter is so mindful that I don’t forget to return it to my nose. (Very helpful to live with a nurse; I need every one of those brain cells!) And this explains why it was my daughters, not my doctor, who decided I needed to start using it.

The very positive result of this conversation with my son is that I really will stop whining and take care of myself as best I can, and recognize the FACT that if my heart doesn’t get enough oxygen it might very well quit, sooner than it otherwise might! After beating faithfully for nigh onto ninety years, it certainly behooves me to treat it gently!

Then there is the story of the wooden puppet who wanted to be a real boy, Pinocchio, who had a cricket companion who was kind of his conscience and who constantly urged the puppet to do the right and safe and truthful thing, with varying success. We, too, sometimes need to be pointed in the right direction and encouraged to live well. But we, as believers, do not need a Jiminy Cricket to guide us. We are hugely blessed by God; we have a person, an actual part of God Himself living within us, ever ready to guide us, to give us understanding, to teach us, to remind us of all Jesus said. When Jesus was explaining to his disciples, just before his crucifixion, what would soon follow, he told them that when he was no longer with them, his Father would send them a helper, who would empower them and explain everything they needed to know, and especially remind them of everything he had taught them. What a wonderful gift! And that very same Holy Spirit actually lives inside us, eager to guide us in all we do! Read the Gospel of John, Chapters 14 &15. It’s fascinating to read all that Jesus says the Holy Spirit will do!

The problem with Pinocchio was that he didn’t always follow Jiminy’s advice! The little puppet had a lot of trouble telling the truth, and so every time he lied, his nose grew! Before long, his nose was quite a size! We’re fortunate that we don’t have the same result when we ignore or refuse the guidance of our Holy Spirit! We know very well that our powerful sin nature is still with us, and every day we make choices: whom will we follow? Sometimes we just get lazy, or self-centered, putting our own comfort before the needs of anyone else. We just neglect to do the thing that God has prodded us to do --- sometimes as simple as making that phone call or caring for someone who needs a little help. We just ignore the promptings of the Spirit.

And sometimes God sends us a human person, who tells us what we needed to hear. We need to listen.

So I pray that you and I, each of us, find sure peace in the joy of following God’s direction always. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die, to save us!  And as this Christmas season fades into the new year, do join me in determining to make every decision, every thought, every action one that will bring glory to our wonderful Father!

Norma Stockton

A Time of Change

If you were there, I don’t need to tell you what a great sermon Pastor Greg preached last Sunday. God has given it all to him it: warmth, humility, love, understanding, and even a touch of whimsy. But yesterday, especially, I was strongly reminded of my earliest knowledge of Samson, and how it separated me from any interest in God.

I grew up in church; Sunday school, Young Peoples, choir, the whole bit. But no one there ever told me the truth about the Bible’s “men of God.” They were, all of them, described as near-perfect people. And we were encouraged to be perfect, too. This was a long time ago, in the 30’s and 40’s, but I’m not sure things have changed that much in some churches. What it did to me was to present an unreachable goal, totally divergent from reality, peopled with folks with whom I could not identify at all, and a God who would never care about a young girl who was often angry, sometimes dishonest, and surely far from perfect. I didn’t know any better. But I was baptized anyway, because all my friends at church had already taken that step, and I went on for years believing that I was a Christian, without changing anything at all. I wasn’t Jewish, so I MUST be a Christian, mustn’t I? My parents were, and my grandmother (embarrassingly!) REALLY was, so what else could I be?

Years later, of course, in my forties, I really did come to know the real God and my beloved Savior Jesus, and read the Bible cover to cover, and discovered the full truth about those men of God. It was a definite “ahHA! Moment, and taught me how God loves us in spite of our imperfection, even beyond our comprehension! I could suddenly see how God used sinful people, even in their disobedience, to further His immutable plan. So much started to make sense.

But this isn’t just about Greg presenting Samson in all his humanity and bad choices. The fantastic truth is that God blesses us every day with His Holy Spirit guidance and with the opportunity to be ourselves a part of His plan for us, by making our own right choices. I had never heard so clearly how Samson’s bad choices can easily be our own bad choices, leading to pain and misery. Our clothing styles may have changed many times, but people have not changed at all, in any way. Greg’s message last Sunday made this truth inescapably clear, and he spoke it with love and compassion. If you weren’t there, you should really go online and hear it!

The point of all this is this: we as a church are right now in a season of change, when we welcome Pastor Greg as our new Senior Pastor. It can’t be the easiest time for him; it certainly wouldn’t be for me were I in his shoes. But just this once, let me remind you of my 87 years, and give you some good advice: if Greg were Billy Graham himself he would still need your love and support and appreciation right now. I hope he doesn’t mind my featuring him today, but his sermon last Sunday was one of the best I have ever heard. Ever. It touched me deeply. If this is an example of the future, I am really excited!

—Norma Stockton

What Was I Thinking?!

When I was still in high school, a dear friend asked me if I would do something for her. Very hush-hush. So after school we went down to Linton’s for coffee, and she told me what it was.

She was a fun part of our crazy crowd, but she wasn’t in most of our classes. She was a twin, but due to birth events she wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, and we all helped her any time we could. We loved her. I was always available to tutor, to explain anything I could, to anyone.

I was flabbergasted when she told me what it was. Her twin brother had been accepted at Temple University, but, much to her mother’s disappointment, she had failed the entrance exam. She had been given a chance to take it again, and what they wanted me to do was to take the exam for her and get her into Temple. I was amazed.

But after considerable discussion about the mechanics and the feasibility of it, I agreed to do it. My only obvious problem was dumbing myself down enough that Temple wouldn’t know the difference, (Ha. So stupid.) I thought I was helping. (So dumb.)

So, on the day, I cut school and presented myself at Temple on Broad Street in Philadelphia and took the test. I felt great that I was helping my friend. In fact, I went home that day and proudly told my mother that I had finally done something GOOD with my brain. She said, “YOU DID WHAT??!!??”

My mother was a Special Ed teacher in a special high school in West Philadelphia, and assured me in no uncertain terms that I was in big trouble, that Temple would know immediately, and how could I THINK of doing such a thing?? “It was for friendship,” I wept, and got ready for the ax to fall.

Sure enough, Temple right away called Germantown High School, and they easily tracked me down, since I had cut school that day, and before I could even get my wits together I was in the Vice Principal’s office confessing my sad tale.

Next step: my friend and I and our two mothers were summoned to school, I guess to decide what to do with us. Her mother to my mother: “We need to get our stories straight!” My mother to her (icily) “There are no ‘stories!’ ”

My dear friend didn’t go to college, anywhere. I did.

Over the years, as an adult, I have often puzzled over what my state of mind could have been to allow me to make such a foolish and dishonest decision. But I have come to the only possible conclusion --- I didn’t have Jesus. The Holy Spirit, I know, would have guided me away. Like the folks in the book of Judges, I was doing what seemed right in my own eyes. And I was wrong.

Jesus knew that the disciples (and all of his followers in future) would need help and guidance in their lives after He was gone, and so He promised them the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, ”If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

                                                                                                      John 14:15-17

I am so grateful for my mother. She was strict, and surely covered all the “don’ts” that she could think of, but she obviously missed this one. But without her love and guidance heaven only knows what I would have gotten into. I am so very thankful for God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. How on earth could I possibly live without Him?

--Norma Stockton

Just call me “Ma Clampett"!

A few months ago, my son in San Antonio called to tell me that someone in Texas was trying to find me. It was a ‘land agent’, and said son had given him my contact information, and sure enough, in a day or two I got a phone call.

Seems that many years ago a cousin had left my darling mother-in-law about 36 acres near a town in South Texas, and she had done nothing about it. Some years later, after Dad had died and they sold their drug store, she decided that she was never going to leave Fort Worth, so she sold the land. But this being Texas, she retained half of the mineral rights.

Many more years passed, and she died, and 15 years ago her only child and sole heir (my husband) died, too. So that left me.

Last year, enter a drilling and development company, who planned to drill there for natural gas. But they had to establish who owned the mineral rights before they could start. As the lawyers explained, standard rights are 1/8 of the profit, and the current owner and I would split that, which means that I would get 1/16, if and when they ever find anything. Whoopee.

They told me it wouldn’t amount to a great deal --- they called it ‘mailbox money’ --- but who minds getting extra money in their mailbox? Of which, incidentally, I have so far seen none.

My kids have had great fun with my prospect of riches (very funny!) and with comparison to the movie Clampetts, and yadida yadida yadida.   I myself have had fun thinking about what I would do with it if it DID amount to anything. Which it probably won’t.

But it’s all made me think a great deal about a future event of which I AM sure, and where I’ll receive far more than six and a quarter percent! My Father in heaven has promised me permanent residence in a city of gold, where I will meet my Savior Jesus face to face, and where there will be no more tears, no more pain -- where I will be able to walk and even run and not be weary nor faint – where I will meet again so many people I love who have gone before me, and where I will praise my God forever!

I was 87 a few days ago, so I’ll get there before most of you. Don’t be sorry when I die. Just think of where I am, and know for sure that when you reach my age, you, too, will be happy to be going home.

--Norma Stockton

Horizontal Help

In MY DAILY BREAD a few days ago, Marvin Williams tells of an eight-year-old, Carmine McDaniel, who on a very hot day wanted to make sure that his neighborhood mail carrier stayed cool and had plenty to drink. So he left a cooler with a sports drink and water bottles on his front step. The family security camera caught the mail carrier’s reaction: “Oh man, water and Gatorade. Thank God; thank you!”

Carmine’s mom says, “Carmine feels that it’s his ‘duty’ to supply the mailman with a cool beverage even if we’re not home.”

This is more than the story of a very thoughtful little boy. It is instead a beautiful example of a truth that Williams writes farther down the page: God often sends vertical help through horizontal means. And these ‘horizontal means’ are often others, sometimes folks we don’t even know.

Last week my daughter Joyce, with whom I live, was in California celebrating Easter with her son and his fiancé, and I was home alone caring for our lovely dog. But one day I looked out my window and there was happy Matilda sniffing every bush across the road! With my recent knee surgery, I was completely unable to go looking for her, and I went to the back door and called her, with absolutely no hope that she would respond! But just then a young man in a little green car slowed down and yelled that the dog was around the corner, and what was her name? He opened his car door and called her, and ever eager to make a new friend she actually came, spotted the treat in my hand and ran home. A little boy who likes to come and play with her had left the gate unfastened. Not to be outdone, she got out again two days later when someone ELSE left the gate open, so I went and got my coat. And then up the street came two of my young friends (and Matilda’s!) with happy Matilda by the collar, calling out, “We’ve got your dog!” (The boys, not Matilda.)

These were not coincidences. (I don’t believe in coincidences.) And it wasn’t just a matter of saving me a little trouble. They were circumstances which I truly couldn’t have handled. God sent me solutions which I badly needed right in time. As He always does.

Sometimes it works differently, over a long period of time, when we don’t understand what’s going on and sometimes feel deserted. I’ve written about our despair when our son, a devoted Christian, was in prison for someone else’s embezelment of millions of dollars in his company business set aside for the IRS. It took eighteen months for them to straighten it out, and I kept telling myself and my son that God WAS in it, and that it would be OK,  every day reminding myself that it was true. Today my son would tell you that he had definitely needed to make some changes in himself, and that God knew it would take a lifetime on his own, so God took the shorter eighteen-month path, and it worked! Another different but related truth: it may have been meant for evil, but God turned it to good.

I have learned to be patient. It’s not easy. But I know that God is present in everything that I experience, and it’s fun to look for what in the world God is doing NOW. But usually it’s little things, that I might ordinarily brush off. Except it’s easy to spot God’s hand if you know to look. And it certainly saves a lot of worrying once you firmly plant this idea in your mind and heart: that God is involved in everything you do; that God sends you help in any number of ways; that God loves it when you recognize that truth and thank Him, even for the little things.

--Norma Stockton

A Big Black Bird

Have you ever seen God reach down and change a circumstance in a way so unnatural that you were sure you were feeling His very presence?

My grandparents lived in Vincentown, and my brother and I spent many happy hours roaming around town; Great-uncle Ed had a candy store! And Great-aunt Helen lived down on the corner (now a funeral home) and she had a plum tree in her yard! Everyone in town knew who we were, so we were pretty free to go anywhere.

But we had a favorite place to play, seldom visited for fear of getting seen by someone who would tell our grandmother! I don’t know if it’s still there, because I haven’t been in Vincentown for years, but Stokes had a tomato canning facility right on the other side of the road out of town closest to ‘home’, and it was great fun. The canning season was over; no one was there, and there were wonderful things to play with. We were not allowed to cross that road, so, being inventive kids, we found a way to go under it! There was a creek, and a bridge, and under the bridge were narrow concrete walkways on our side. We would go around our barn and down into the meadow, and then cross under the bridge with our backs to the wall and come out right near the cannery. Of course, we never hurt or destroyed anything, or went inside, but there were long racks covered with metal rollers made for moving cases of cans, which worked just as well with us in a box! And we played hide and seek and counted cars going by and climbed on things and just had fun.

And that’s where we were one afternoon, without having any concept of how much time had passed. The day was pretty well gone and I was hiding inside a crate, and my brother couldn’t find me. He looked in all the familiar places, but I had found a new one. I was getting tired of waiting for him to discover me when suddenly, with a noisy rush of wings, a HUGE black bird flew right in front of my hiding place, TWICE! It was likely a turkey hawk or some such, but it scared me to death! I started to cry, and finally looked outside and saw that it was gone, and I raced to my brother crying, and said, “I want to go HOME!” We RAN, to the bridge and under the bridge and up through the meadow and into the house. And there were my grandparents and my mother and a FIREMAN! My mother was in tears, and no one was mad at us, and they seemed like they were really glad to see us!

Of course, what had happened was that we had been gone a very long time, and no one in town had seen us, and the fireman was there because they were getting ready to drag the creek for our bodies! We only knew the full scope of things much later, but we had to confess where we had been and how we sometimes got there, and our horrified loved ones absolutely forbade us to EVER go there again. Which we obeyed.

My mother told me, when I was older, how she had prayed for God to send us home. She didn’t know then that He did it with the frightening presence of a big black bird.

I still can see that bird swooping so close to me. I had nightmares for a long time. But I never gave God credit until much later, after I had found Christ and fully understood the reality of His love and power and presence.

I wonder how many, many times God intervenes in our lives to save us, or redirect us, or cause us to see or do something we might otherwise have missed, perhaps not with the drama of a huge, frightening black bird, but always in love, with a strong hand and a good purpose. What a wonderful, wonderful God we have!

--Norma Stockton