The Wing Man

You admire the beautiful butterfly and wait for it to take off into graceful flight, but it doesn't. It just sits there. You look closer and discover the reason why: a broken wing. Grief enters your heart as you realize that any attempt you make to fix its delicate wing will probably make things worse. This is a butterfly in need of redemption. A creature that is unable to buy back the ability to function as it was created to function. Many times when we look into the mirror, we are looking at a creature with a redemption wish. We long to restore power, reawaken what is dead, regain health, revenge wrongs, relieve pain and redo mistakes made. We scratch our heads in confusion, and since we have not yet found the Idiots Guide to Redemption in the overloaded self-help section at Barnes and Noble, we continue to make pitiful jabs in the dark at this fiery dragon called Brokenness. We take up the armaments of anger, defensiveness, helplessness, addictions, ambition, pride, materialism, aggression and selfishness to try to fix our broken wing or at least to preserve the good one we have left. But over time our weapons only break more wings. What to do? Redemption is not just an event; it is a journey. It is a journey about understanding love, taken on the back of a man that was beaten for our failings, and crucified for our disobediences. A man that knows about brokenness. A God and Creator that is able to restore our broken wings and redeem the designs of our lives so we can fly heavenwards again when we allow Him to be our wing man. 

Photo credit: http://www.sfexaminer.com/imager/monarch-butterfly/b/original/2639877/4b1f/butterfly.jpg

The Mirage

As I looked down the long, tarred stretch of highway, the glimmering pools of water that lay before me on the road were undeniable. This was Death Valley, one of the least likely places on the planet to offer multiple pools of water. The puddles glistened and danced before my eyes, almost daring me to question their existence. I could have easily been a believer in their authenticity, but I knew that these aqua apparitions were only mirages. Mirages are incredibly tricky things. Our eyes tell us their existence is real, our thirst fuels our belief in them and our hope rapidly embraces them. How many dying desert travelers bless the oasis mirage, only to curse it once they realize it is a lie? We don’t have to be lost in the desert to experience mirages. In fact, they pop up all around us. One of them is the mirage of perfectionism. We each tend to subscribe to a mental image of what the ideal body, house, car, job, social circle and bank account should look like. Sometimes these dreams and goals become mirages to us because we feel we must drink of them or our lives are not satisfied. However, even after we achieve a certain ideal, we find that we still feel empty, unworthy and driven to continue the maddening search for what will satisfy our dehydrated sense of self. Every human is vulnerable to the seductive beckoning of what lies around the bend, but mirage chasing is an exhausting sport. I was entertained by the appearing and disappearing acts of the mirages of water on the road through Death Valley, but when I became thirsty I did not get out of the car and run toward a mirage. Instead I reached for my ordinary plastic water bottle and drank long and deep. May we be wise enough not to lose our lives in the clutch of a sparkling mirage when the life-giving water we crave sits humbly by our side.

Photo credit: http://ckphu.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/water-bottle-pouring.jpg

Best Friends

Maybe you were drawn to me because I was new and exciting, or maybe you have known me since the day you were born. The way that we met does not really matter to me because I know that once we are friends we will probably be friends forever. I am your best friend. I am the one that comforts you when your heart is sad, I am the one that helps you make sense out of your confusions and I am the one that is always there for you when everything else falls away. I know the secrets of your heart and I know that you feel you cannot exist without me. I know the deepest desires and fears that you carry on the inside; in fact, these are the very hooks that I wrap myself onto in order to stay in your life. You tend to take me for granted as best friends do. You assume that I will always be there for you, faithful to catch your falling hopes and to build up your wavering ego, and you are right: I will always be there. There is only one thing that can separate us and it is the only thing that I fear. This enemy of mine has the power to reveal me for who I really am. It has the power to make you see that I am not really your friend, but your worst enemy. I deceive you, I oppress you, I distort your thinking but you are not aware of this until He shines His light onto me. Oh, how I hope you do not turn toward that light! How I hope you do not seek truth because then you would understand that your best friend is a lie. 

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:5

Concealed Weapons

T.W. Drost family in 1978.
(L-R) Wanda Drost, Steven Drost, Daniel Drost, Mark Drost, T.W. Drost

They could hear the thieves on the roof. Dad was gone on a trip and it was only mom, the kids and a household helper. This was El Salvador in the 1970s and it was dangerous. Fear rose into the heart of Sis. Wanda Drost as she saw a rope drop into the patio. She knew the intruders would soon follow. She quickly ordered each person in the house to grab some type of weapon that ended up including a broom, a BB gun and a slingshot. It was in this moment that she heard the Lord speak into her spirit, “Put down your toys!” So she did and instead of wielding makeshift weapons, the family began to lift praises to the Almighty. As the worship went up, they watched as the rope went up with it and the would-be trespassers fled away.

The word of God is the very energy of God in action. The universe was created by the word of the Lord (Psalms 33:6) and on the Great Day of the Lord the primary weapon that will slay the evil is the sword that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord (Revelation 19:21). The spoken word of God is pure power! When life becomes scary we instinctively want to grab our visible, familiar weapons, but every believer carries a weapon, that although invisible to the human eye, is designed to strike at the unseen forces behind our threats. You guessed it, that weapon is the word of God spoken in faith and worship out of a true heart. Today you might feel overwhelmed, frustrated, discouraged and hopeless, but it is time to open your mouth and in a spirit of belief and praise proclaim the truth of the word of God into your situation. The enemy isn’t afraid of that broom you have been whacking him with; it’s time to pull out the concealed weapon God has given you and send the devil packing!

Beautiful

My mom, Ruth Oswald Witmyer, as a young lady

A beaming bride!

“She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;”

Lord Byron

“You look just like your mom!” I have lost track of the number of times people have told me that in my lifetime! Today my mom celebrates her birthday and I think about the indelible design that she has imprinted upon my life. I recall her sitting partially eclipsed behind the tomes of Strong, Nave and Matthew Henry as she rejoiced about a new ‘goodie’ she unearthed in the Scriptures. She didn’t have to preach to me about loving God, she simply did it in front of me. As an adult, when I married and moved away to Mexico, people would ask her how it felt to have her only child move so far away and her response was always, “I would rather she live 2,500 miles away from me and be in the will of God, than to live next door to me and be out of it.” Only a mother who loves God first can talk like that.

 I learned everything from my mom. Of course, I didn’t realize I was learning; I was just absorbing as children do. She introduced me to the fascinating worlds of languages, cultures, books, nature, poetry and storytelling. She taught me my first Spanish words. I can still remember the amazement on the face of my elementary school teacher because I could recite the Greek alphabet (don’t ask me to do that now!) Yep, that was my mom’s doing. She made Bible stories more addictive than a soap opera ever could be (noooo, don’t stop there!), and she could get a bunch of teenagers enthused about etymology (now that’s pretty amazing!). My mom has always had eyes that see the beauty, uniqueness and creativity that God has placed in the world and she genuinely delights in His designs. Her beauty is not just in a pretty face, but also in a soul that deeply appreciates all that is divinely lovely. When people tell me I look like my mom, I hope they are right; my mom is a truly beautiful person.

The Flame

 

Daddy and I (many years ago!)

With my parents, Herb and Ruth Witmyer.

“You led them… by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.” 

Nehemiah 9:12

 “It isn’t going to go out soon?” This was the question my children asked me concerning the lighting of the Olympic Flame. “No,” I responded, “it will not got out until the end of the games.” Eternal flames, both natural and manmade, have been burning continuously for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Flames attract attention. There is something fascinating and innately symbolic about watching them leap up high into the air, giving off their intense heat and bright light.

Today my father turns 76 years old and I think about the flame of his life. His is a flame that is fueled by dedication to God and a love of righteousness. From my childhood, I have seen him consistently ‘do what is right’ even when no one was looking, when it was hard and when it cost him. In my immaturity, I didn’t always like this, but now I realize that just like the Israelites were guided by a divine pillar of light, so I was being led by a God-given flame. The most marvelous thing about an eternal flame is that no matter what the conditions are, how far you roam or what happens in the world, it keeps on burning just the same because it stays connected to the all-important fuel supply. I like Desmond Tutu’s quote: “Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter- you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.” I am grateful to be guided and warmed my whole life by the love and example of an eternal flame. Happy Birthday Dad! 

Check out my dad's website: www.m4truth.com