A month or so ago we held our first annual staff retreat at the Crocker family home on the shores of beautiful Lake Anna. We had a great time: wonderful food and close fellowship—not to mention just plain fun. I particularly enjoyed watching the children fish and John’s boat tour of the lake—including a trip all the way to the nuclear reactor that is cooled by the lake’s water.
My favorite part of the weekend, though, happened on Friday night. After a super-sub-sandwich-supper (the best sub I have ever eaten) and a couple hours of card games like Apples to Apples and Split (made all the more fun by the children’s participation) — at Jennifer’s suggestion, we all headed down to the dock to look at the stars. She promised that, without the glare of the city, we’d see the stars as we had never seen them before.
So, we all laid on our backs on the floating dock, looked up, and Jennifer was right. Even without the help of gravity, my jaw dropped at the breath-taking beauty of the cosmos above. Distant suns, planets—even the star clouds of our Milky Way galaxy—shown clear and bright. It was almost like looking through the Hubble telescope itself! At first the dock was full of statements like, “Look at that!” or “Where’s the big dipper?” But soon all that could be heard was the lapping of the water on the shore as a holy hush descended around us. We stayed there for a long time just taking in the grandeur of God’s stellar creation.
I must confess—those star-gazing moments made the weekend a literal “retreat” for me—because they helped me to relax and rest by reminding me that God is infinitely greater than my burdens or problems—greater than the calamities and crises we hear about on the nightly news. God is great! Verses like these flooded my mind:

“The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
“O Lord God Almighty, who is like You? You are mighty, O Lord, and Your faithfulness surrounds You.” (Psalm 89:8)
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, Almighty! The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
“How great are God’s signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:3)

Are you dealing problems that seem mountain-sized? Perhaps you experience anxiety when you compare the size of your bank account to the height of the pile of bills on your desk or you worry about a doctor’s diagnosis. Maybe your career or your relationships are a constant source of stress.
Listen—take my advice. Get far enough away from the glare of your woes to see God more clearly. Go some place where you can be reminded that God is great—and that He loves you—loves you enough to work in all things for your good.
I recommend the dock at the Crocker’s house—but you needn’t drive that far. Any quiet place will do.

Keep the SON in your eyes!

This week I got the following note from a Redland member after the first sermon in our study of the book of Daniel, “How to Survive and Thrive Amidst the Babylons of Life”. I share it with you in the hopes that it will help you in your own commitment to be a “Daniel.”

“I’d just had one of the worst weeks at work and it came at the end of two of the worst months. On Sunday, I was really feeling like I was heading for my own personal Babylon and things were looking hopeless. When I left work on Friday, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a job on Monday. My boss had really been after me the past few months, seemingly blaming me for everything wrong in the company. He has criticized every move I made. Things have deteriorated so far at work that I have been looking around for another job—a place to jump to if the worst should happen. That’s how stressful it has been at work and it is starting to affect my home life, my social life and my spiritual life.

The last thing my boss said to me on Friday was that he wanted to talk to me Monday morning and that he wanted a complete review of everything I have been doing. ‘Complete,’ he said. I have seen those reviews before and they usually end with someone being let go. I was sweating all weekend about this, trying to plan what I would say and do. I wrote up a four-page defense of my actions. I was plotting and planning my attacks and counter attacks and the whole time trying to smile and act normal. I was a mess and I was coming apart. On Sunday, I was dreading going to church. I hadn’t slept well after being forced to work Saturday. Everything was just plodding along until it came time for the sermon. As I listened, I felt something begin to stir in me. I felt a tug at my heart and a feeling that I needed to pay attention…that this was for me. As we looked at Daniel and his calling I could sense there was something I was supposed to take away. I realized that my faith was under fire, not my character. I realized that I needed to ‘make a stand’ and not give in to fear and doubt. I understood anew that I serve a mighty, living God Who has a plan for me—a real plan, one that I can choose to be a part of or choose to be on the sidelines. I went home a different person. Monday morning I got up out of bed and said to myself several times to be sure I heard it, ‘I will make my stand here’ and then I drove to work—drove into Babylon.

I have to say I was amazed at the peace I felt and the confidence I had. I saw my boss in the hallway and before he could say anything I smiled, told him hello, and asked when we could meet. I think I caught him off guard, as if he was hoping I wouldn’t bring it up. He said he would call me when he was ready. He never called. Later that day I saw him in a few meetings and he was as nice as I have ever seen him. He was even on my side during some debates about policy changes. I was amazed and I felt a little excited to see God at work. To top it all off, during the managers meeting he stood up and announced to the group that he has decided to end his  mandatory weekend work rule starting in October! Where did that come from? See, this is not my battle, it is God’s and I enjoyed watching Him influence and maneuver the people around me all for His purposes, His pleasure, His will. I remembered how God had called Daniel into Babylon and how he would never leave and I wondered if God was calling me to stay and make a stand. This will take a lot of prayer and a special word for me to feel His leading here, but I make myself willing…willing to do His will, just like we talked about on Sunday.”

How’s your personal “Babylon” going? Are you just surviving—or like this individual—have you started to actually thrive?

Keep the SON in your eyes!