Episode II: The Israelites Strike Back

Howdy! So I've been reading in the Old Testament recently. In the book of Judges I found something that at first confused me greatly, then caused me to weep, as one can only be moved to from realizing the depth, necessity and gravity of grace. Check out Judges 2:11. “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Ba’alim.” Do you know how many times this sentence, or a variation thereof is used in Judges? I’ll put it this way: the book is twenty chapters long. In the first ten chapters alone, you can find the children of Israel doing evil in the sight of the Lord a total of SEVEN. TIMES. After the second one, you start to see this: “The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord. AGAIN.” 

THIS was God’s reaction (2:16-17): “Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet, they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a-whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord, but they did not so.” Yes, God’s wrath was hot against Israel, too, but not only did He WANT them back, BUT SENT SOMEONE TO RETRIEVE THEM TO HIM. KNOWING THEY WOULD TURN AWAY AGAIN. THIS PROCESS REPEATS A. LOT.

Now this is a time we should all be glad we’re not God. Because in case you can't tell from my pummeling the caps lock, this was my reaction:

"GOD SEND JUDGES. YOU NO STAY JUDGED. SMASH!"

I sat, utterly perplexed at how thick, how UNBELIEVABLY stupid the Israelites must have been. Why not just leave them and start fresh somewhere else?! God, why bother saving these people over and over and over and OVER again?! They don’t deserve it! They turn their backs to you every cotton-pickin’ chance they get, forgetting all the amazing things You've done for them and brought them through! The answer landed on me like a high-diving sumo wrestler.

Because He promised He would. Genesis 22:18: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” That’s why God loves, cares for, and delivers the children of Israel when they deliberately forget Him. Because one man, Abraham, did right in the eyes of God thousands of years before them, the Israelites are blessed. 

Wow. 

That’s about when the plank fell out of my eye. How often in my life could God say of me, “Kathleen did evil in my sight. AGAIN!” How many times have I turned my back? And how many times has He sent someone into my life to remind me of who He is and of His immeasurable mercy, especially because I didn't deserve it? No matter how hard I fall, or how much I fail. All because He promised He would, thousands of years before me, through Jesus. He knows I’ll keep falling and failing, but He’s always there to forgive me and deliver me when I cry to Him, just like the children of Israel.

And He always, always wants me back.

Episode I: A New Hope

I will be honest with you. It was strongly suggested by a dear friend to write to a larger audience than just myself, so today I sit designing/writing a blog and I feel like this:

Now that THAT’S out of the way, hello! My name is Kathleen. I’m pretty good in the kitchen, I love to read, I love to make people laugh, and I prefer to be barefoot. I love Star Trek, baseball, animals, babies, laughter, opera, video games, and most of all, Jesus.

Every day, we have hundreds of chances to see Him at work in this world, in our lives, in His creation. Sometimes it’s in big, beautifully fantastic ways (how can you stand on a mountain or by the ocean and not see His hand?). Other times His presence is the still, small voice after the fires, the storms, the earthquakes in our lives. I’m going to take the troubles I face, even the minor annoyances of life (cold showers, laundry, car breakdowns) and learn to see His plan, His goodness. I’m going to try to see them from an attitude of gratitude and trust that in all these things, His grace is sufficient for me.

I love words, and as such I tend to fall in love with them and use too many; I’ll try to keep my entries short (about 500 words). I don't want these words to be mine, anyway, I want to share with you what God is sharing with me. I’m in a time of transition in my life. I’m learning to see the Master’s hand at work in my life, and in the lives of others. I’m learning to fully trust in/have total dependency on my Rock. I’m on a journey, learning to be joyful and grateful in ALL things.

I’m learning to see the forest of blessings through the trees (BLOG TITLE MOMENT!); and I’m inviting you to come with me! I’ll show you the things I find difficult to deal with, what I learn and see through them. Hopefully you'll share with me, too, and we'll  have some good times. I am goofy through and through, after all.

As a good friend of mine once said, “Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road… Allons! whoever you are come travel with me! Traveling with me you find what never tires.” (Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road)

(P.S. For the record, dear Star Wars peeps who see the post title and gasp, I know Episode IV is A New Hope. I was going for something there. : )