Throughout the Bible, we read many names of God: the God who sees, the God who hears, the Almighty God, etc. In Genesis 22 we are told the story of when Abraham was told to go sacrifice his only son, Isaac. He, indeed, did go – but just before the knife slashed, and Angel of the Lord stayed his hand and provided another sacrifice, a ram. Right after this seemingly unnecessary event, God says “NOW I know that you love (fear) me…” This word “know” in Hebrew is related to EXPERIENCE. It’s almost as if God himself is experiencing the struggle with Abraham…

I’ve often wondered about the story of Job. How, after his trials, the Lord replenished his cattle and wealth and children…it seems so sterile. Again, when David was tempted with Bathsheba, God said “I would have given you more wives if you had asked.” It’s as if He doesn’t see the difference.

Perhaps he doesn’t. We so often interpret things from OUR perspectives, but God is the Father of all & lives through eternity. Like an earthly father, He loves all His children the same and death is nothing more than a step into eternity to Him. He sees it all: the whole span. Correctly. It is we who have the limited vision. But, interestingly, I could not find a name for God that meant “God who understands”…

But then came Jesus. He walked where we walked. He spoke as we spoke. He hungered and thirsted as we do, and was tempted as we are. When his best friend died? JESUS WEPT. I now think that is a very poignant verse. Perhaps it was the first time God “got it” – our perspective, that is. Perhaps, for the first time, He felt the distance and separation of death as He was stuck on this side of the veil. It was so overwhelmingly awful He even brought His friend back to life!

I could not find a name for God that means “a God who understands”…until Jesus. The Bible calls Jesus our ADVOCATE and MEDIATOR – one who UNDERSTANDS enough to explain our perspective to the Father. Our God is not now merely a God who sees and hears, but He is also a God who UNDERSTANDS! A God who has walked the road we travel, felt the emotions we feel, a God who has stood at the grave of a friend and WEPT DEEPLY for the time of waiting for reunion. There is no other God who can claim this. Praise be to God who does not stand afar in single perspective judgement, but provides an advocate, an attorney who has BEEN HERE and DONE THIS, and stands ready to eagerly plead our case!

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It began with a coat. The blessings and the jealousies and the betrayals and the separations – all because of a coat. Of many colors. Each color prophesying of Joseph’s eventual leadership over agriculture, husbandry and even people. It became a coat of destiny, of self honor and pride. And he clung to it. Like an idol. And, like all idols, it comforted him, reassured him and puffed him up. Only, His God didn’t allow anything – even a good thing – to take His rightful place, so He intervened. Down, down, down Joseph fell – into the miry well, his beloved coat rent among the mockers. He was half naked and alone – his idol not able to save him.

It wasn’t long before he was in a place of honor – second in command of Potiphar’s house. He’d worked his way from slave to trusted servant. He, once again, had been bestowed a coat of honor. He was head over all of Potiphar’s belongings, save his wife, but she was now before him, tempting him. What would he do? In a moment that allowed no planning, he ran away – abandoning his coat of honor in the hand of a temptress. He rejected the idol he’d clung to in the past, choosing instead an invisible coat of obedience. He, again, was left naked, not knowing his fate.

His obedience to God was rewarded by setting him up to enter Pharaoh’s service – in prison. Joseph’s living God had seemingly abandoned him. For years in prison he remained, until the appointed time. Joseph was eventually summoned before the King and rose to second in command, receiving a coat of honor. Fulfilling the prophesy of his youthful coat of many colors, he ruled over all agriculture, husbandry, and trade in Egypt – not because of an idol, but because of his Lord’s plan.

He first clung to his coat, then abandoned his coat, then (after enduring trials) was bestowed a coat of honor. Throughout his life, the coat was a constant reminder of God’s plan. What is your coat? Is it an idol or an honor?

Yesterday we attended my oldest daughter’s Senior Awards Day. We watched with thankful hearts as they announced her awards – ironically (and perchance purposefully?) seated beside the students with special needs. I smiled as parents bragged on their children, each one touting the secondary school their child would be attending. As with most celebrations, my eyes teared up.

With every academic accomplishment, there’s always a cloud not far that whispers my son’s name. He is not “book smart”. His dyslexia and dysgraphia make school work a living nightmare. What takes most kids 3 minutes will take him at LEAST 20. It is wearisome and it is never ending. Yet, everyday, he gets up to face the torture before him.

As i watched the seniors smiling on the gym floor, I heard it…the questions and statements that always follow. “where is your child going to college? What school is he going to? What is she majoring in?” There isn’t even a thought that perhaps, just maybe, college is not on the radar for some. I remember back to my own high school days, praying for guidance in which college to pursue. Did I even ask God if college should be pursued?? In our acceptance “college is necessary” mentality, has college become (our) God?

We have four children, all talented in different ways. Our oldest has always wanted college, but we made sure to present all the options. Our second (who is smart as a whip) has always stated she will not go – instead, wants to become a realtor instantly. She will do great. She’s always been a hard worker and excellent saleslady. When telling someone once that one of our “bigs” was doing college and the other was not, I got the inevitable quizzical stare. “Military?” she asked. “No” i replied. I couldn’t believe the awkward silence that followed. It was as if I said she thought the world was flat. And then, there it was: “Well my child KNOWS COLLEGE ISN’T AN OPTION”

In our middle class lives, we’ve all heard it. I’ll bet most of us have even SAID it. But have we ever stopped to QUESTION it?

My husband graduated Valedictorian with a 30something on the ACT. I as well graduated with honors and we both worked our tails off while married to complete our Bachelor degrees, then MBA. And, yet…the men on my husband’s factory floor 12 years later were making MORE than him. With no debt. Yes, I’m serious. And I found myself thousands of dollars in debt later pursuing the same things I did BEFORE college (that produced a career that didn’t fulfill me personally). Hmmm….

What is this bill of goods we’ve been sold? Why such a glorification of academia?? I can tell you first hand, I cannot diagnose a failing transmission or fix one. Yet, here I sit in all my degreed “glory”

My mind instantly reflected on Jace. His options, so limited. So unfair. Where is his – or the special students beside me in their wheelchairs – award? For working four times as hard to barely pass??

“I know what you mean…college isn’t an option for my son, either,” I quickly responded. The thought used to sadden me, as if I’d failed as s parent. This same child who is the first to stop and check on people who’ve fallen at the skating rink and plays daily with his Asperger friend, often times giving him grace and saying “It’s ok Mom, it’s just his Aspergers…” this same child is to be pitied??

What have we come to in America when we feel we’ve failed if our children don’t pursue college? The recent college scandal in Hollywood attests that it is not merely a middle class issue….

As Christians, we should take EVERYTHING to the Lord in prayer, no assumptions, no exceptions. What seems wise and best to us could perhaps not be God’s will for us. Let us have the courage to be brave enough to let our children step out in bold faith and pursue what God has gifted them to do.

Yesterday was bittersweet, but only because I cannot see the future. That, as well as my children, belong to Him.

There’s a saying in the deep South: “Get to steppin’ !” It means “Get to work! Start hustling! Get a move on!” We are all familiar with the famous Faith Chapter in Hebrews 11. It lists many of the Old Testament “greats” and their admirable faith. What is interesting, however, is all the faith statements are followed up with ACTION verbs.

“By faith: Able BROUGHT, Noah BUILT, Abraham LEFT, Sarah CONCEIVED, Abraham OFFERED, Isaac BLESSED, Joseph PROPHESIED, Moses parents’ HID, Moses LED, Isrealites MARCHED, Rahab HID, Gideon FOUGHT, David WENT, the Prophets SPOKE…

While faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), it is also DEAD without works (James 2:17). In short, faith without action is just WISHFUL THINKING. Faith – TRUE faith – is always followed by action. The Red Sea did not part until the feet of the Isrealites touched the water. The woman was not healed until she REACHED out and touched his hem. The 5,000 were not fed until they COLLECTED the fish and loaves. Perhaps if we are not seeing the “miracles”, we are not following our faith with action. Let us urge each other on to step out of the boat, and (as they say in the South), “Get to steppin’ !”

The Mimosa is a hardy tree, growing in harsh (sometimes desert like) conditions, yet it produces beautiful, fragrant blooms. We had such a tree in our side yard in middle Tennessee. I remember, even as a young child, recognizing the uniqueness of this strange plant, with it’s fern-like leaves and alien blossoms and wondering just how it got there. But I was also drawn to it. Something about it screamed, “I am strong. I am different. Yet, I am beautiful.”

When choosing a name for this blog site, the name Sweet Mimosa just kept coming to me. After my research, the image of a strong, hardy, beautiful tree that thrives despite the conditions around her rang in my spirit. To then learn that it can survive in almost any soil clinched the name. As Christians, we are in rocky soil. This world is not our home. Yet, the Good Lord, with time and a little water and care, grows us into something beautiful. Walk with me, friends, as we encourage each other on this journey together.