I’m a great one for coming up with good ideas …. Follow through … not so much.

I was reminded of this when I saw the bottle of Vitamin D on my kitchen counter. My blood work says I am a bit deficient, so rather than boost my intake of whatever healthy foods would help, I opted for the Costco-sized bottle of Vitamin D.




Now granted, I have a history of difficulty swallowing pills, having had to gag them down in my younger years, and then almost put myself in a hypnotic state in my later ones. But this pill has to be the smallest little gel cap ever made, and yet … there they all sit––minus a couple––on the kitchen counter.

I wish this were the only area where my good intentions lapsed, but I have quite a list going. Not something to be proud of.

Consistency is definitely a strength. Those athletes who can play well consistently have much more successful careers. Employees and students who consistently produce their best work garner much respect. And individuals who consistently follow through on their promises can be trusted.

We are called to be consistent in our spiritual life as well.

First of all, Jesus is the epitome of consistent: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). And since our goal is to become more and more like Jesus every day, consistency should be number one.

Notice the ways we are to told to be consistent. The emphasis is mine.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:58).

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Philippians 1:27).

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Yes, those might be little pills on my counter, but they are a huge reminder.

I know the accepted adage is “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” a warning that there is danger coming. But these past few weeks of fires have shown me that the antithetical statement is also true: “Where there’s fire, there’s smoke.”

This year, no fire (so far) has threatened my hometown, but we have been affected by the smoke caused by those throughout the state. In fact, places as far away as Hawaii and Japan have experienced the smoke caused by the fires in the U.S. West. And  smoke is insidiously dangerous.

So even though many of us may not be caught in the direct path of a fire, we are still vulnerable to the unhealthy conditions that arise from it.

There are other “fires” raging around us, our nation, and the world, and each is producing its own lethal smoke. And just as we need to take precautions to keep ourselves safe and healthy from the smoke produced by the fires, so do we have to be vigilant and proactive to keep ourselves from risk in these other areas.

For instance, the “smoke” from the coronavirus is creating stress, anxiety, and depression; the “smoke” from someone’s anger has stimulated unrest and distrust, just to name a couple.

To keep ourselves healthy in these situations, sometimes we need to seek counseling or financial assistance. At times we need to remove ourselves from situations while at other times we need to be proactive and get involved.

Of course, our first response in these “smoky” situations should always be to turn to God who is our sustainer.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  I Peter 5:7

However, there is a flip-side to these scenarios which is also true: Smoke from someone's kindness can produce hope, and the smoke of a selfless act can save a life.

God has put us and others here to be his hands and feet on earth. There are physical, mental, and emotional things we can do for ourselves and others, and that others can do for us, during these difficult times.

So we would be wise to remember that the “smoke” from any of our actions and words (positive or negative) creates a ripple effect, impacting those around us and possibly people we may not even know.

I would like to leave you with a song by Matthew West. It came out in 2014, but once again, it has a message for today.

One huge advantage of avoiding TV this past month was that I had more time to listen to music, and, once again, I have found a new favorite. It is “There was Jesus” written by Zach Williams, Jonathan Smith and Casey Beathard and sung by Zach and Dolly Parton.

Though it was released in October of last year and written as a “reflection of Zach’s journey,” I think the song can also speak to all of us, as this year many of us have found ourselves walking down roads we never dreamed of walking.

I hope it speaks to you as it did to me.

I needed that.

Once I realized that I was fighting battles that weren’t mine to fight, I decided to take a month off to retreat and  regroup. I watched minimal news and viewed even less social media. I tried to avoid talking about politics and the coronavirus. I spent more time resting, reading, writing, walking, and praying. I am happy to report the following results.




I am refreshed. Just like an unexpected summer rain takes away the heat and pollution and tiredness that builds up, so too my respite has washed away my weariness and my energy has been restored.

I feel renewed and ready to resume my activities with a new spirit, and I have a visual reminder of this new lease on life. A creature of habit and routine, I really don’t like change. Consequently, for all twelve years that I have lived in my home, every wall in my house has remained the nondescript mocha it was when I moved in. That is until about a month ago. The lock-down left me with some time on my hands, and too much time staring at those walls. So I finally heeded the urgings of others and took a chance. I painted two rooms in bold colors. The dry walls soaked up the new paint, and the rooms took on a whole new freshness and look. I feel the same way.

Finally, I was able to reset. During my years as a teacher at Clovis West High School, I ran the clock for all the girls basketball games. Sometimes, I would get so involved in the action of the game, I would forget to start or stop the clock on time. As a result (usually because a coach noticed and complained), play would stop, and the ref would come over and have me reset the clock to the correct time. Then play would resume.

This was what I had needed to do as well. I had become so distracted by all the voices around me that I wasn’t listening to the only voice that was important. I needed to reconnect with my God and refocus on what He wanted me to hear. And funnily enough, in a world with so many conflicting voices and opinions, His command was so straightforward and simple and had never changed:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 30-31)

Oh, how different our world and relationships would be, if we just focused on these two things.

Around the eighth grade, my father began to teach me tennis. I loved athletics and high school was just around the corner. Basketball was a given as my father had been a basketball coach. Volleyball was fun and in the fall. That left the spring without a sport, so my father thought tennis would fill the void.

I fell in love with the sport immediately. However, that didn’t mean I was any good at it. In fact, my freshman year, I can remember hitting one good shot all season. I played mixed doubles, and we were playing at Roosevelt High School, and I had a backhand crosscourt approach shot. That was it –– for the entire year. My father put me in tennis lessons that summer.

The lessons paid off as I found myself in the #1 singles slot my sophomore year. The season started in February and all was going well. Then around mid March, the strings in my racket broke. I took my racket to my parents and asked to have it restrung. They said “no” and gave me another racket to use. This “new” racket was old and cheap, and I wanted nothing to do with it. After all, I was now #1 and awesome and thought I deserved a little respect. I did what any self-respecting fifteen-year-old would do. I pitched a fit. My parents were unmoved.

I had no choice but to play with the racket. I did have a choice, though, about my attitude, so I chose the best option––play the victimized martyr and keep complaining. For three weeks I took this tack and then I realized that my birthday was just around the corner.  Though I still grumbled a bit to show my discontent, I had resigned myself to the racket, so now it was now time to play the good child.

My birthday arrived. In fact, it was a surprise sixteenth birthday party with my entire tennis team. Lots of food, lots of fun, plenty of gifts. One gift I remember in particular. A long, rectangular box which held –– two brand new Billie Jean King rackets, strung to perfection. I was speechless.

My family was not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. I know because we ate liver and onions––a lot. So when I saw those two state of the art rackets, I knew they had required a bit of sacrifice to buy. To put it mildly, I felt stupid. My parents' “no” was simply because they had already purchased something far better than what I had wanted––what I thought I had to have to be happy.

That little scene comes back to haunt me every time I pull my fifteen-year-old attitude with God. When I stomp my foot and thrust out my lower lip because He has not given me something I want, and have to have, right now, when all the while He has something much better waiting for me.

The problem with demands is that we make them from an incomplete perspective. We absolutely believe that we know best what will make us happy and fulfilled, and that not getting that (item, person, job, etc) will conversely make us unhappy and unfulfilled.

I am sure, occasionally, God has given in to my childish, selfish tantrums and let me have what I wanted just to appease me, (or I have just bulldozed my will through the situation) and now I often look back and wonder what I had actually given up to have my own way. I will never know, but hopefully, I have learned that God’s gifts far surpass my demands. And at this Easter time, I am eternally thankful, that Jesus willingly submitted his will to his Father's so that I could have the greatest of gifts.

First published April 1, 2015