Under the Influence

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (II Kings 10-12)

"Jehoash (Joash) did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoida the priest instructed him." II Kings 12:2

It was 1979 and Charlie had accepted a transfer to Corinth, Mississippi to be the operation’s manager for a new mill that was being built there. We knew we were supposed to go because we were reading in Acts 18 and the scripture jumped out at us, “Go to Corinth for I have many people there.” God couldn’t be much clearer than that!

Was it hard to leave Wisconsin and family and friends again to go back “down south?” Yes, it was. But looking back, I can see that in our lives there is better and best. This step of faith turned out to be the very best for Charlie and I and our four children. What God had for us in Corinth far surpassed the difficulties of saying goodbye and moving away from our beloved state. He did, indeed “have many people there.”

That became immediately apparent when we attended a church on Sunday morning and liked the preacher so much that we went back the same Sunday night. After the evening service, we went downstairs for a get together. We had no idea that the people we were about to “get together” with would change all of our lives. I was drinking a cup of punch and casually chit chatting with a woman named Lynn. All of a sudden she said, “Have you met Mary and Elaine?” Before I could even answer she disappeared. Soon I spotted her towing two delightful women who both beamed at me with welcoming smiles.

Lynn was right. Mary and Elaine and I instantly connected. It was more than that, it was a knitting of our hearts as all three of us immediately realized that we were kindred spirits in a very deep love for Jesus. Only a week later, I was attending a Monday morning Bible study in Mary’s home, which “happened” to be just a block away from where I lived. Mary taught and Elaine led the singing and I just studied with them and soaked it all up.

Soon Charlie became friends with Sherman, Mary’s husband. They were our southern “Priscilla and Aquilla.” Sherman and Mary loved our children and were spiritual grandparents to them. When Sherman went to be with the Lord six years ago, Charlie was one of the speakers at his “Homegoing Service.” He was so influenced by this Godly man’s life that he named our collie……… Sherman!

When wicked Athaliah became queen of Judah, she immediately destroyed all the royal heirs except for one. While they were being murdered, the daughter of the dead king, Jehoshabeath, rescued little one year old Joash. She secretly hid him in a bedroom with his nurse for six years. (How do you hide a toddler anyway?) Somehow no one knew he existed except Jehoida the Priest who just happened to be married to Jehoshabeath. When Joash was seven, he was made king of Judah after a daring coup in which the throne was rightfully restored to the Davidic heirs. It amazes me that a helpless one year old boy was the sole link that saved the dynasty of David and the very lineage of Jesus Christ. Jehoida the Priest mentored Joash and under his influence Joash “did what was right in the sight of the Lord.” (II Kings 12:2) We are told that he even restored Solomon’s elegant temple to its original condition.

All was good …until Jehoida died. After the death of the High Priest, the true character of King Joash became clear. Joash listened to the ungodly leaders of Judah and turned away from following the Lord. We read that “they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them but they would not listen.” ( II Chronicles 24:18,19)

The sad story of King Joash spirals down into incredible depravity. When Zechariah, the son of Jehoida came to warn Joash about his ungodly choices, he killed him. He stoned the son of the man and woman who had saved his life and mentored him. Incredible!

God is so patient and good to us. He sends us many people over the years. We can listen and learn from them or we can reject them. We think we’ll have them forever, but we don’t.

After two years we moved from Corinth to Connecticut. I had a hole in my heart for months and months after leaving Mary. But, we stayed in touch in many miraculous ways over the years. You’ll hear a lot more about Mary in my blog. But, I have to go because we call each other every Monday morning at nine. We talk and pray. Her wisdom and love for Jesus can be counted on to lead me to the highest road on my joyful journey to heaven.

Happy Memorial Day! As we remember the sacrifices of so many veterans for our beloved country, let’s also be thankful for the Godly Jehoidas who have given their lives to mentor us.

Clinging To God

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (II Kings 4)

“Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet,” II Kings 4:27

“Your blog has been quiet lately?” My friend, Andrea, and I were chatting in my office. She looked at me a bit inquiringly.

I thought, “My blog may be quiet, but my head feels like it is about to pop. So many things are going on in my brain, how can I verbalize them?” I wanted to share but sometimes words can’t express multitudes of emotions.

We sold our motor home down in Illinois last week. It was time, but selling it marked the end of some very special and sentimental times in our lives. I wanted to process that through with the Lord and write about it, but it was too big a part of my life’s journey to do quickly. I leave it with Him.

On the way home we stopped in Madison to pray with a dear friend who was sitting in the hospital beside her dying husband trying to hear what the Lord was telling her. A week later he went to be with Jesus on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. She and her three children are left to ponder what the future will look like without him. How do you process something like that? God knows, I don’t. All I can do right now is weep and weep for my sweet friend, Julie, and her dear children.

Saturday I spoke to a group of women at a lovely Mother – Daughter brunch. The topic was “JOY: Zero Between Jesus and You.” I brought my clothes hamper and spoke to them about how comparison hampers joy.

I wanted to convey to each one how beautiful they are in God’s eyes and how they don’t need to compare themselves to others. They listened and nodded but did the message reach their hearts? Only God knows. But He does know and He cares so much for each one. I can leave it with Him or I can try to, at least. Why am I so emotional about reaching ladies I don’t even know with these truths?

Two weeks ago, my niece and nephew’s dog had to be put to sleep. Barb wrote, “He went to ‘Milkbone Heaven.” Keno was like a child to them and they held him as his life left him. Death, I hate it. Paul said, “The last enemy is death.” Truer words were never spoken.

My daughter who went through breast cancer last year is about to leave for Zambia for three weeks with her husband, their two oldest children and twelve college students. They are leaving the two youngest Rachel – 9, and Joseph – 2, with us. I wrote about this in “Smiling At the Future In the North Woods” in January. Talk about emotions.!

I just saw an advertisement in my Travel magazine that said, “Maybe the road to happiness isn’t a road.” The Proverbs 31 woman “smiles at the future.” I know this and I believe this and that’s what I’m trying to do. But my head still feels too full of the throbbing emotions of life to process coherently right now. The road to happiness isn’t a road that is always marked clearly. Sometimes the trail looks like it goes in many directions and which one do we follow?

Today I read about a woman who knew exactly what to do with her emotions – the Shunammite woman of II Kings 4. This dear lady understood spiritual things. She is called a “notable” woman. She and her husband invited Elisha to eat with them when he traveled through Shunem where they lived. Elisha passed by often and she suggested to her husband that they make a small upper room for him. She put a bed and a table and a chair and a lamp in it. Whenever Elisha came by, he “turned in there.”

Elisha was grateful and wanted to do something for her. He talked to his servant, Gehazi, about it. Gehazi said, “Actually she has no son and her husband is old.” And so, Elisha told her that in a year she would have a son.

The son was born and one day he was working in the field and said to his father, “My head, my head.” The father said, “Carry him to his mother.” I think he knew that she would know what to do. The child died on his mother’s lap. Death again….! She did know what to do. She didn’t talk to anyone about her exploding emotion -filled head. She went to the man of God and clung to him. What happened? Read the story in II Kings 4. It is so powerful!

Once again I see the relevance of the Bible to every situation in life. We may not be able to process all the things happening in our lives. The path ahead may not be clear. The road to happiness may look like it splits off in many directions. But we can follow the example of the woman who lived in Shunem by fleeing to God and clinging to Him.

Andrea and I talked about the summer and what activities to enroll her children and our grandchildren in. Lots of things were rolling around in our heads, but at that moment we needed to get the children registered.

After she left, I thought– When the road to happiness gets emotional and confusing, it is nice to have friends who meet you along the way. Friends who are kind enough to stop in and say, “Your blog seems a little quiet.”

Julie will need to be the Shunammite woman who flees to God day after day after day. But maybe I can follow Andrea’s example and be a friend who cares and stops in along the way.

How To Be An Excellent Leader

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (I Kings 12-14)

“Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

And they spoke to him saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” I Kings 12: 6-7

“Charlie,” I said, “I’d like your advice on a question I’ve been thinking about.”

My husband put down The Wall Street Journal and looked at me with a half smile, “Are you feverish?” he questioned.

“That’s not funny,” I replied, “You know I ask your opinion about lots of things.”

“That’s true.” He continued his bantering, “But asking advice and taking it are two different things.”

I smiled at him still enjoying his teasing after 45 years of marriage. Kicking off my shoes and putting my feet on the coffee table, I pressed on.

“You were in operations for many years. You were a mill manager with lots of people working for you. What is the best advice you could give about leadership? Tell me some things that you tried to do.”

“I Kings 12,” he said without hesitation. “That’s management 101!”

I leaned back on the sofa and smiled to myself because I actually knew that was what he would say. “Tell me, elaborate,” I urged.

“Well, you know the story. King Solomon had died and his son, Rehoboam was about to be the new king. The people of Israel gathered together and asked him to lighten the great tax load that his father had imposed on them during his lavish reign. Rehoboam said, “Give me three days to reply” and he went to the still living elders who had worked with Solomon. He asked these wisest of men how they would advise him to answer the people.

“Yes,” I said, “That’s right where I was reading today.”

“Well,” he continued, “The advice that they gave him can be applied to any leadership position. I read and reread these verses so many times and tried to apply them in my job."

“Be a servant to these people.” "I always found that if I showed those who were working for me that I wanted to help them succeed, they responded well because they knew I cared about them. Little things like helping them get the right resources to do their jobs are very important. Usually if you serve your employees, they will catch the vision and serve others.

“I think the rest of the advice of the elders is key, too. ..”serve them and answer them, and speak good words to them,” I tried to apply this and answer the questions my deputies asked. Taking time to listen and reply to their inquiries helped them to feel valued and respected.

Charlie went on, ““Speaking good words to them” is communication – giving them information about why the team is doing what it is. I always felt that if my employees had the same information that I did, they would probably make the same or even better decisions.

"You know," he said, "I think that a good word from a boss or leader is a great way to encourage people. When my boss said something complimentary or helpful to me, it showed me that he believed in me and in what I was doing. I would go a long way on those words.”

“then they will be your servants forever.” "It is a rare person who will leave a team that values and communicates with them,” he concluded.

“Charlie,” I said, “That’s why being married to you for forty five years seems like about forty five minutes. You do all those things to me – answer, speak, communicate good things! Yes, I'll be your servant forever!”

“Why,” I exclaimed now on a praise roll, “what more could I ask of a husband?”

He reached for his glasses, picked up his Wall Street Journal again and started to laugh. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of something soon. Isn’t this Sunday Mother’s Day?”

That’s a snippet of our life together.

I could go on about how Rehoboam also consulted the young men of the kingdom who told him not to listen to the people but to tax and burden them much more than King Solomon had. Rehoboam foolishly disregarded the advice of the wise men. After three days we are told that

“he answered the people roughly, and rejected the counsel which the elders had given him;

And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; “My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges.” I Kings 12:13-14.

As a result of his foolish choice, I Kings 12 is the turning point of the book of Kings. Rehoboam lost the support of the people as they rejected his leadership and turned to Jeroboam to be their new leader. The united kingdom of Israel became the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah. Remember the old saying, “United we conquer, divided we fall?” Israel had begun its fall.