Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Dad's Latest E-mail...

Dear Friends,
I am sending these to a few knowing you will pass it on...
God loves the weak, needy and broken and I hate to love that. When the University of North Carolina was in town a few weeks ago for the tournament I bought a ticket off a scalper and went to their final game against Oklahoma. I did, not because I love UNC, but simply because I assumed it would be my opportunity to watch the kids that would win the national championship. I even stayed after the game to watch them cut down the net and revel in their victory. I took pictures on my Iphone of Roy Williams and his players soaking in the moment. I love winners! I want to be a winner! I want to be Ty Lawson, defying gravity, flying through the air, slamming the ball home while thousands loose all sense of propriety, yelling like... You get the picture. You do because you have painted it too.
Movers came yesterday to take what can be salvaged. They were about as unprofessional as a group of guys could be. One of them found me and asked, "Hey, did you know the top on your roll top desk is loose?" When I walked in they had it on its side, no pad, the roll top part hanging off its track. That desk was my great grandfather's work desk in the courthouse in Marion, Arkansas back in the late 1800's. I didn't get mad this time. For some reason it became the scapegoat for the week and something in me said, "You win." I wasn't defying gravity, gravity was defeating me. I walked away.
Since Genesis 3, one thing is certain: the earth works against, not for us. Life is much more like quicksand than a slip and slide. Living in this world, in this body is hard. That is the story of God's people. It seems, however, that His job is to get us to get this. We still think we can defy gravity. We will, but we can't. One day, someday, but not now. There are forces working against us, but that is ok. You see, when we are weak, He really is strong. He was strong yesterday for me. His arms didn't fail me. I could fall into them again and I can fall into them today. The only question is, "Will I?"
God loves weak and needy people because His people are weak and needy. Listen to Isaiah 30:18, "The Lord longs (I love that word. It is strong, consistent, unable to be quenched desire) to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" His longing love is my gravity! When I bask in it roll top desks don’t matter as much. I can bask in His love because His love rests on the performance of another. His love rests on One who was strong, who did defy gravity for me. That is good news that gets into my soul and brings it life.
The thing that gets me though is that God not only loves the weak, but He uses the weak to shame the strong. He works through our weakness to bring the strong down. I think I will save that reality for tomorrow...
Please pray for:
~ We chose a contractor yesterday! That was a big relief! Thank you for praying.
~ Our case was put into the hands of another adjuster yesterday who is contradicting the information the first adjuster gave us. The first adjuster recommended we claim all our clothes and buy new ones. We have been buying new clothes. This new adjuster said we need to go through all our clothes and see what can be cleaned. We meet Thursday. This has sown real insecurity in Rachel and me in regard to who we can trust and how we are to progress forward. We don’t want to be left holding a large bill! Pray.
~ The emotional part of all this has hit the girls. Pray for Amy Katherine as her schedule is intense with school and final rehearsals for High School Musical II. She got home at 11 last night and will probably experience the same tonight. It opens Thursday. Pray for strength for her especially.
~ We couldn’t reach the real estate agent handling the rental house we have our eye on in Harbor Town. Pray that we will reach them today and secure a place to live. We have the house we are in until Sunday morning.
Thank you for praying and please do not stop!
Much Grace,
The Rieves

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