From Rachel's Heart...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
It has been a busy six months for the Piferi five and we have just entered a very busy holiday season. I love the Thanksgiving-Christmas season. I love all of the festivities and music and decorations and shopping!! But, I have to admit, I am entering this holiday season a little weary from all of the changes and work that transitioning your life requires. To be honest, I am quite physically, emotionally, and spiritually fatigued this season. But, I think all of it is making me even more acutely aware of the real importance of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You see, due to the expense of moving and setting up a new house, we won’t be able to afford a big Christmas like we normally do. And due to all of the boxes that still clutter my hallways and rooms, my house won’t be perfectly decorated like it usually is or ready for Christmas parties this year. And, the thought of an imperfect Christmas was really bringing me down. But, I think I realized through all of the imperfections that this Christmas will hold, that it’s not really about a lot of presents under the tree or the perfectly decorated house. It’s really just about my family and friends and truly focusing on the birth of our Savior, even if it’s a little imperfect.
I don’t know what may be burdening you this holiday season, but please know that I am praying for you. For some of you, this may be the first season without a loved one. Or maybe you are facing this holiday season a little financially weary and unable to celebrate the way you typically do. And for others, you may be facing emotional turmoil that makes this season harder than most. But, whatever the reason, please know that you are not alone. And also, when you get overwhelmed with everything or feel like you are having an imperfect Christmas, just remember that Jesus came into the world in a stable and in a setting that many would describe as imperfect.
I pray that you take time to enjoy the true meaning of the season this year. And instead of focusing on all of the decorations and shopping and parties and activities, take time to focus on having a Bethlehem Christmas this year. I think that is what we’ll be having with our imperfectly decorated house and cluttered surroundings. But, I have a feeling that it will be a Christmas that we will remember for a long time.
Monday, November 22, 2010
As Wendy wrote in her blog this morning, we are approaching thanksgiving and it is the perfect time to reflect on what we are thankful for. And, as she has mentioned, the “what” we are thankful for is really the “who.” I have learned in my life that there is absolutely nothing in this world more important than the people in my life.
As I reflect on the people who I am thankful for, I have to start with my husband and children. My husband is the most supportive person in my life. He has made many sacrifices as he has supported me in my dreams and he has such a commitment to me and our children. He is truly selfless, kind, and loving and I am immensely blessed. My children make me laugh every day. I love watching their personalities develop and watching them grow in their skills and selves. And while I know that I’ll make mistakes along the way, I pray that I can help them develop into strong, loving, godly people who will make a difference in this world.
I am also so very grateful for my parents. I think as we age (and have children of our own), we begin to realize how much we appreciate our parents. I see the characteristics of each that I now possess and am so grateful for the loving, structured, and supportive environment that they created when I was young. Nothing seemed out of reach when I was under their care. If I had a goal, they helped me figure out how to achieve it and their subtle confidence in me has made me what I am today. I think oftentimes we take good parents for granted and we shouldn’t, because they are truly a blessing that prepare us, mold us, and build us up to enter the rest of our lives.
Finally, I am so very thankful for the special people who I am not related to, but who have been placed in my life to enrich it, sharpen it, and bless it in unimaginable ways. I have been blessed with several important people along my life. And, as I have stated many times before in my blogs, one of the dearest of those people is my dear ministry partner and friend, Wendy. I am extremely thankful that she has been placed in my life to weather the many storms and joys of life alongside me. It is very precious when the Lord blesses you with someone out of the blue who simply changes your life.
This thanksgiving, think about who you are thankful for. And, I encourage you to not only reflect on those people who are important to you, but also to tell them this holiday season.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Extending grace to ourselves can be very hard. I think that is why today’s passage in Ezra hit me so strongly and why I decided to write a devotion on it for today. You see, I often get impatient or disappointed in myself if I don’t act or do or perform as well as I think I should. And when I am learning a new skill or taking on a new challenge, I can get really easily hurt or disappointed in myself when I have made an error. I guess you could blame it on my perfectionism, but ultimately it seems that I am really bad at extending grace to myself for the growth that is necessary in this journey of life.
One thing I admire in others is when they can make mistakes or do things poorly and then they own it and correct it. They seem to have a peace about who they are and they are humble and earnest enough to want to correct their mistakes and move in the correct direction. And, what you often see in them is this grace that they extend to themselves, they also extend towards others. Its actually quite beautiful and I believe, quite spiritually mature, to understand when someone is earnestly trying to be all they can be for Christ and sometimes, they just stumble in their growth while they’re trying to get there.
In today’s passage in Ezra, you see a group of people who were earnest in their desire to correct their mistake. And you see a man, Ezra, who guided them as they corrected it. It took some time, but they grew in their relationship with the Lord, and God and Ezra extended them grace for this growth journey.
Do you have something in your life that you are trying to change or become? And, are you finding yourself disappointed or frustrated when you don’t change or become that person fast enough? May I pray that you begin to extend grace to yourself as you earnestly grow into the person that God (and you) wants you to be.
Monday, November 15, 2010
I think one of the hardest things in relationships is when someone you love is hurting and you just don’t know what to do to help. Whether it is your child, your spouse, your friend, or fellow believers at your church, it can be so paralyzing when someone you love hurts. What do you do? How much do you say? When do you give them space? When do you jump in and send them a Bible verse? When do you stop talking about it and pray that they find some way through it?
I know that I have played it wrong many times with people I love. Sometimes, I’ve given someone I loved space to work on it with the Lord and it made them feel like I didn’t care. At other times, I’ve kicked it into overdrive and smothered them with Biblical principles in hopes that the perfect verse would ignite their recovery, only to find that I was annoying them with my attempts at encouragement. And still other times, I have said the wrong thing that merely sent them deeper into their despair.
So what do you do?
I attended Women of Faith this weekend in Greensboro and as always, it was amazing. And Patsy Clairmont shared the story of her son’s battle with the H1N1 virus this past year. His prognosis was very poor and he spent many days in a coma as the doctors wondered if he would survive. It was a dire situation. I am sure her friends were paralyzed as they watched someone they loved going through a horrible situation. They were likely so overcome with love and concern for her and wanted nothing more than for her to not hurt. But, there was really nothing they could do in this situation. She was facing the very real possibility of losing her son and that was simply going to hurt, no matter how many times you send the 23rd Psalm to her.
Do you know what she said helped her the most during this time period? She said the thing that helped the most is when Mary Graham, president of Women of Faith, just texted her three simple words: “I love you.” She didn’t send her familiar verses of comfort or try to preach Patsy out of her sadness. She just loved her as she waited for God to work.
I find such strength in those three words. When I am hurting, sometimes all I want is to feel loved. And when others are hurting, as much as I want to help them get through the pain, I have to remember to just love them and pray as God comforts them.
Do you know someone today who is hurting? Just acknowledge their struggle today and tell them you love them, that you are there for them if they need you, but that you will let God work as only He can.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Yesterday, I blogged about God’s love and how my new community demonstrated His love so clearly to me by helping us move. And, for those of you who live in communities like mine, you probably didn’t think helping someone move was that big a deal. But, let me tell you, it was a BIG deal. And, it touched my heart greatly.
I mentioned yesterday that I had a second half of my blog to post today. And, what I want to post today is on the same theme of God’s love shining through people. And, it has to do with something that I have been studying and reflecting on this past week.
Last week, I was drawn to the book of Ruth. It is a short book and I really recommend that you read it today. The story really touched my heart this week and I think it will touch yours as well. It is the story of friendship and love born from tragedy. In the first chapter of Ruth, we are introduced to the family of Elimelech. They are from Bethlehem, but are living temporarily in Moab. He has a wife Naomi, two sons Mahlon and Kilion, and their wives Orpah and Ruth. Elimelech dies and so do his two sons, leaving Naomi, Orpah and Ruth alone in Moab.
Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to go back to their families and remain in Moab as she begins her return to Judah. She is very bitter and she desires for them to find new husbands who would take care of them. You see in verse 14 that they all wept bitterly and Orpah decides to leave Naomi and Ruth. But, while Orpah decides to leave them, the end of that verse says that Ruth clung to her [Naomi]. We see a beautiful outpouring of love from Ruth to Naomi in the first chapter of Ruth:
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely if anything but death separates you and me.’ (v. 16-17).
Ruth was committed to not leaving Naomi. In fact, you could say that her love for and loyalty to Naomi far surpassed that of what was expected or typical. You see, Ruth was a Moabite and they were all living in Moab when Elimelech and his sons died. Ruth could have stayed in Moab with her people when Naomi left. But, Ruth loved Naomi and wanted to care for her during this difficult period.
If you casually read the story, it appears as if Ruth is doing this remarkable thing for bitter Naomi. But, what I find really cool is that her love, loyalty and commitment to Naomi opened the door to Ruth being greatly affected by God. And most notably, Ruth came to a deep knowledge and relationship with God through Naomi. You see, Ruth’s god was not the God of Israel. So in verses 16-17, when Ruth pledges that Naomi’s God and Naomi’s people will become her own, she is being radically changed.
Just when Naomi needed it most, God gave her Ruth. But, if you dig deeper, I think you’ll see that just when Ruth needed it most, God gave her Naomi. Both women gained so much from this beautiful friendship and most notably, both women experienced God’s love through it.
I recommend that you read through the book of Ruth today. And remember that when you are loving your family and friends, you are giving them the opportunity to see God’s love. I have experienced this very story in my own life and I thank God that I have had the opportunity to love like Ruth and be loved. Because, it is through the love described in this story that we experience the very love of God. And, it is through God’s love that our lives can be radically changed.
Ruth’s love for Naomi and her commitment to Naomi was probably seen by many as being very radical. But, I think we should all be open to loving others radically. God loves us radically. We should love others that way too. And in doing so, we are opening ourselves to being radically changed.
If Ruth hadn’t loved like she did, then she wouldn’t have followed Naomi to Bethlehem. She wouldn’t have married Boaz and she wouldn’t have found herself in the genealogy of Jesus Christ as the great grandmother of King David.
Love radically today.
Monday, November 8, 2010
I have to be honest, I’m not sure what to blog about today. And, it’s not because there isn’t anything going on, but rather because my heart is very full and I don’t know what to share first. What I am feeling most of all, however, is how God gloriously reveals himself through other people. In fact, it is through other people that we feel God’s love. And over the last week, I have felt God’s love in a powerful way.
I think this is going to be a two part blog (one today and one tomorrow) because I want to share two separate things I have experienced recently that have really shown me God’s love in people. The first thing I want to share is what I experienced this weekend as we completed our move to our new small town.
Let me start by saying that our new community is like no other place that I have ever lived. And honestly, it feels like I am in a movie at times. You know, one of those movies where this couple leaves the city and all the stress of their big jobs to live on a farm and learns what is important in life. Yeah, I’m living that movie right now. And, we had a very powerful scene in the movie on Saturday when a big group of people showed up to help us move our stuff.
Let me explain….
We have been living in our new community since June and we have been in our new home since September. But, because we were doing some renovations, we hadn’t completely moved all of our stuff. My brother and my husband’s brother and brother-in-law helped us move it into storage in June and now it was time to get it out of storage. And, we decided that this weekend, it was time to complete the move. The problem is, we have A LOT of stuff (that’s a blog for another day) and there was just no way that my husband and I were going to be able to move it ourselves (and we felt bad asking our brothers again!).
And that is when our new church family kicked in. Once word got out that we needed help, we had a house full of helpers. My husband and three guys from the church (Wendy’s husband being one) took a 26 foot truck to get our furniture (it was stored about 3 hours away), packed the truck, and then drove back on Saturday. And, when they arrived with the truck Saturday night, so did about 15 other people. And in about an hour, the truck was completely unloaded and my belongings were completely moved.
It was truly amazing.
I really have no words to describe how much Saturday meant to me. You see, my husband and I have been pretty independent for most of our marriage. And, we have lived in cities that quite frankly, just reinforced that independence and isolation. But, God has brought us to a place that is indescribable in how God’s love shines through His people. There is no such thing as independence and isolation here. People willingly and eagerly are there for you and help, oftentimes before you even have to ask. I have never lived in a place where I felt the presence of God so strongly. In the landscape, in the events, and in the people, my new small hometown exudes God’s love.
I feel very blessed today and so very thankful for the wonderful people who helped us this weekend. God has gloriously revealed himself through the people of my new hometown. And, I am so grateful that God moved us here.
Monday, November 1, 2010
So it seems that Wendy & I are only blogging about once a week. Can I tell you that we have every intention of blogging more than that each week, but things have gotten pretty crazy here at Believe Ministries. I’m not sure if we have mentioned it or not in our blogs, but we are writing our first Bible Study and leading it to two groups at our church. And, we are so enjoying being able to minister to women together in the same place. And, we are writing and writing and writing. It truly has been fabulous to be able to finally do this in the same town.
I sit here this morning really overwhelmed with what I feel God has called us to do. And, I’m going to be honest with you all this morning, this transition from college professor to whatever my title would be now, has been….well, I can’t even come up with a single word. So, let me give you a list of words that this transformation has been. It has been crazy, invigorating, frustrating, scary, exciting, abundant, humbling, stressful, beautiful, and simply amazing.
I seem to talk to a lot of women about finding their purpose. When I teach or speak or just find myself in conversation with others on a cruise ship, I often get into conversations about finding what it is that God wants you to do with your life. And when I share my story of how I left my career to start Believe Ministries with Wendy, I sometimes make it sound simple. I resigned from my university position, sold my beautiful house that I loved a lot, my husband found a new job, we bought a new house, and we moved. But friends, it wasn’t that simple and still isn’t that simple. If I’m being honest, there are days that I struggle, even still today, with the radical change that we made. There are days when doubt creeps in and I wonder, “What the heck did I do?” There are days when I feel lonely because I don’t know people around me here as well as I knew those back home and I think, “This is too hard.” And, there are days when I am frustrated by the size of the closets in my new house and just daydream about the house that I used to have.
But, more than those days, I have days where I enjoy conversation with women about how God has worked in their life and how they want to share it with others. Days where I hear so clearly from the Lord that He has brought me here to give generously to others and work to help others through this life. And the very precious moments when I stand on the deck of my new home and listen to my best friend lovingly, yet sternly, remind me of what God has called us to do.
Change is never easy. Sometimes our life circumstances are changed by someone else and sometimes, we orchestrate the changes. But, either way, change is always difficult. What I have learned through my big life change is that the only way that I am going to get through it is by fixing my eyes on Jesus Christ and remaining in Him (John 15).
I feel very strongly that God called me to leave my career and start Believe Ministries with Wendy. If you have felt God calling you to do something, let me urge you today to do it. And, when the struggles come (because friends, they will come), then fix your eyes on Jesus and nothing else. Surround yourself with godly counsel. And, enjoy the abundant life that God has for you.
