Spilled Milk

Whoever said not to cry over spilled milk clearly never spilled it in the trunk of their car the day before a heat wave struck. Yeah, I have. And yeah, it could be worth a few tears. It turns out when you toss your groceries in the trunk of your car, you have to be concerned with more than just putting the bread on top. Whoops. The gallon laid on its side and out leaked the milk on the drive home. Don't worry, I wasn't foolish enough to leave it. After clearing out the groceries I scrubbed and scrubbed and felt pretty good about things. Even when I got in the car that evening life was good. The next day, however, the thermometer read 60 degrees and when I opened the car door, my gag reflex got a pretty good workout.

I couldn't help but see how this relates to our walks with God. Bear with me and I'll explain. You see, I've met so many people that struggle with the guilt, pain and shame of past sins. They lived a rough life before they knew Christ and when they came to know him, he cleaned them up, forgave them and changed their lives. But so many people refuse to live in that forgiveness. They refuse to forgive themselves. You open the trunk of their lives and their past hits them in the face every time they try to move forward.

I also see a lot of spilled milk in marriages. It is so easy to find ammunition in past fights for present ones. Have you ever done this? Have you ever been in the middle of a fight, disagreement or argument and in order to make your point pulled out a list of all the past transgressions your spouse has made? Transgressions you had supposedly worked through and forgiven? I have and friends, it isn't pretty. Spilled milk never is.

Both of these cases are so common in our lives. We either can't forgive ourselves or we can't forgive others completely. Usually it's a little of both is sprinkled throughout our lives. But this is not how God intended us to live. Once we come to him and truly repent of our sins, we are free. Once we recognize our mistakes and seek to fully follow Christ, he cleans up the spilled milk in our lives. Psalm 103 puts it beautifully when it says, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (10-12). God doesn't hold onto our sins. He forgives and forgets. We must learn to do the same.

Please understand that I don't mean that we should skip through life sinning and smiling because we think we're pulling a fast one on God. We need true repentance and a heart that longs to follow him. But if you are actively seeking his face and desiring to walk in the path of his commands, take joy in the knowledge that you are forgiven and set free. Don't walk around with the chains of bondage from past sins. God has forgiven them and so should you.

And because God has done this for us, we need to extend that same courtesy to others. Jesus makes it very clear when he says, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15). So when others spill milk into your life, clean it up and make sure it is truly gone. If you're like me, you probably won't be able to do this on your own, but with God's grace and guidance he will help you to forgive every day, every minute, every second. Make the choice to forgive and ask God for the help to live that out.

Believe God when he tells you that you are forgiven. Believe him when he tells you that you are worthwhile. Believe him when he cleans up your life and changes you. The change won't take place overnight, but you will continue to grow in him each day if you ask him. And believe him when he tells you to forgive others. He extended the courtesy first, who are we to do any different? Work this forgiveness into your life. Daily. Say goodbye to that spilled milk stench you have tried and tried to get rid of on your own. You can't, but God can. And when he does, take a deep breath and breathe in the fresh, sweet, clean air that is forgiveness.

Turkey Calls

Yep. Get excited. Throughout several Ellsey naps, I plan to compose and publish another post. Here's hoping it won't take fifteen days. So the other day, my delightful husband informed me that he was going to take up turkey hunting. Please note that turkey season started about two weeks before he was to leave the country for a year. But in Jason's mind, that was long enough. He took on his new hobby with a vengeance and soon came home with a turkey calling kit. If you've never turkey hunted (don't feel too bad about yourself, it doesn't sound all that cool), the calling devices are pretty strange. Picture a mouth guard that doesn't guard your teeth but fits into the roof of your mouth. You blow in a strange way and the sound of a turkey magically comes forth. Unless you're Jason.

When Jason first blew his turkey call he sounded like an asthmatic child blowing a kazoo. Needless to say, it was hysterical. As entertaining as this was, Jason remained determined and next pulled from his turkey calling kit an audio CD. Yeah. A CD that teaches turkey calls. After a few days of riding to work and practicing his turkey call, all the while enduring thoughtful and loving ridicule from his wife, he apparently began to sound like a turkey. I wouldn't know because I've never heard, nor wanted to hear, a turkey.

I found it pretty impressive that the more Jason heard the sound of a turkey voice and with the right tools, the better he got at projecting that voice himself. How true is this in our walks with Christ? The more we listen to his voice, the better we are at emulating the voice of Christ in our own lives. The more we hear him, the more we act and sound like him. 

It's Easter, so maybe you went to church today. And maybe it was your first time in church in a while. Or perhaps you've been in church your whole life, but never truly known the sound of God's voice. I urge you not to give up. Practice. Put on your turkey calling CD and listen to it in your car. Get out your own set of tools: read God's word and begin to learn what his voice sounds like. Ask God to speak because, I promise you, he longs for you to know his voice. And until you know his voice, imitate those who do. I don't mean this in a fake way. It's easy to put on the Christian show. I'm saying with all your heart, look to those who know God's voice. Look to them and model your life after them. Ask questions, they will be glad to share what they know. Hebrews tells us to "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith (13:7)." As you imitate, you will grow in understanding of the true voice of God.

Just as Jason imitated the turkey pretty terribly at first, so you might struggle with imitating Christ and his followers. It is not easy, but as you work and as you strain to hear his voice, it will become more and more natural with each passing day. And as you hear that voice, as you learn how God deeply and intimately longs to talk with you, I pray that you will respond to what he says. It will not always be easy. Actually, more often than not he will call you out of your comfort zone. But when you truly listen to his voice and he begins to mold your desires to his, your voice and your actions will sound more like Christ each day. "So as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts' (Hebrews 3:7,8)." Open your ears and your hearts. Begin the journey of learning his voice today. And maybe, just maybe, eat some turkey.