Practicing Parables

Me and Jesus… We love stories.

I like them at bedtime with snuggles. Or to invite people into a part of my life.

Jesus drove His disciples CRAZY with his simply complex, bringing-heaven-to-earth kinda stories called parables.

Jesus came to save and to redeem. He taught through stories because we just can’t handle the fullness of what He has to offer with all this flesh in the way. It’s hard to even wrap my mind around the verbage “to save and to redeem”, much less His Son's, mine and your place sitting right next to the King of Kings.

Parables are like fun-size candy bars – just a taste of what the Kingdom of heaven is like. (which really only leaving you wanting the King-sized version anyway- or is that just me?)

It’s so good we can’t get it all at once while we’re here. He gave us stories to read and reread, to glean, encounter and be moved a little more by His Spirit each time.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field… Mt 13:44

The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed… Mt 13:31-32

The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast… Mt 13:33

The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard… Mt 20:1-16

The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son… Mt 22:1-14

He came with a love bigger than every combination of every character of every language. Metaphors, similes… shoot, onomatopoeias can’t even capture it all.

Jesus’ parables are the most current event and most relevant Truth to our lives today. And praise the Lord… because the Yahoo headlines that pop up on my computer screen every morning make me cringe.

I’ve gotten a little worn down from looking at everything on earth-level. I’m painfully aware of what the kingdom of earth is like… and I’m tired of claiming residency here. My skin lives here and is just as sin-filled as everyone else’s – sometimes it feels like I have extra sin in my skin.  And then there’s all the innocent little-skinned people who are suffering.

Whether my postal code is in South Africa or America, and whether the sin manifests in our skin as sickness and starvation or greed and gluttony, this isn’t home.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)

So I asked Him yesterday to speak to me in my language. Stories.

And if you know Him, you know He can't resist those kind of prayers. Watch...

Abba, what is the Kingdom of heaven like? 

The Kingdom of heaven is like the way a mother looks at her child.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a young woman who gives her money and time to come wash dishes and peel potatoes for the least of these.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a safe place to take a nap and to be napped on.

The Kingdom of heaven is like bringing water to your family one bucket at a time.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a seat for two.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a young mother and pastor's wife who thinks it's worth checking on every new child, scratch and scrape.

The Kingdom of heaven is like the perfect shape of this perfect face.

The Kingdom of heaven is like the next generation of fathers joining in silly songs and hand games with the girls.

The Kingdom of heaven is like meeting on the sand pile despite culture, language and skin color.

The Kingdom of heaven is like an opportunity to know and love this little boy who just showed up at our church - no one can understand his name and his mom leaves him alone, locked out of his house all day long while she works.

The Kingdom of heaven sounds like this.

We already have the promise that the Kingdom of heaven has overcome the kingdom of earth. We are walking through the skin and sin part now, but we can choose what we look at. Everything changed for me yesterday when I chose to look for the Kingdom of heaven. I couldn't stop finding it.

Ask your Abba... the only One who really gets what Home is like... what the Kingdom of heaven is like in your day today. He speaks your language and loves talking to you. 

Turning Down the Celsius, Turning Up the Snuggle

Winter has arrived! It's COLD!

We wrapped ourselves up in as many layers as we could yesterday and headed out to Mbonisweni, hoping the wintry rain wouldn't deter the children from coming for a nice, warm meal. Weather has a much stronger impact on us here than in the States. We don't have the ability to control climates when we're inside, so once you get cold - you're cold! Typically, on rainy days, people try to stay warm and dry inside or huddled around their cooking fires.

To my delight, however, yesterday was a different story!

The children were not weighed down by their layers, but were bounding with energy and extra, extra snuggly. They piled high on top of each other and were filled with a surprising and beautiful joy.

At one point, I stuck out my hand for a child to hold and, before I could think twice, realized I had one child holding each finger, giggling together about the prize they had won. 

You have to see the most perfect, snuggly day...

I started the day by visiting my family's house. Walked in to my own personal heaven: All three babies snuggly and silly on their winter playground - the bed! I jumped right in.

Tstephiso and Fiona rolling around and wrestling while Fiona practiced saying, "Cheeeese" . So perfect.

First kids at the feeding! They came with every warm article of clothing they had and stacked themselves on top of each other.

Sheryl and Blessing. Every kid was SO SNUGGLY!

As groups of children poured in, they were already singing and playing before they entered the gates of the church yard. Even the children responsible for caring for children.

My little friend Jessica modeling her winter wear as she sneaks over for girl talk.

How many kids can you fit on one church bench? (just the right amount... and there's always room for one more)

Disclaimer: I wasn't the only one who cashed in on snuggly kids and used winter for my own personal advantage.  At one point, I found Stan buried under a mountain of children screaming, "These kids are soooo waaarrrmmmm!!" We don't have central heating people. You gotta do what you gotta do. 

Our visiting friend, Katja took joined the snuggle party too! 

My Tstephiso

I found the Shaw girls huddled in a corner, piled high with children and broken-hearted for the least of these. 

Who needs hands in winter?

It seems like there were more babies taking care of babies than ever before this week.

Modeling winter-wear for the 2011 season. That's Fiona on the far left and Sheryl on the far right. 

I didn't know what to do when I handed this tiny girl two plates and watched her try to feed herself and the baby in her care. 

Because of the cold and rainy weather, we had to feed everyone INSIDE the church. What a beautiful chaos! We lined the little ones up on stage to serve first. 

Playing the pass-the-baby game.

My friend Tersia, the most joyful servant, makes everything look like fun!

And we're back outside for kid-piling and cuddling. Praise the Lord. 

Gloved hand and bare feet. 

Who needs ToysRUs when you can use these dead tree branches? Endless giggles from my most favorite little people. 

And at the end of the afternoon, when we finally told them they HAD to go home, I found them singing, dancing and playing in the road with George - the only family-oriented older man I've encountered in South Africa. The children are drawn to his joy and to that grandpa-love he lavishes freely on them. 

Thank you, Jesus, for joy in every weather.

extreme hope. extreme home.

Extremes. 

Everything seems that way lately. 

Extreme joy in the midst of extreme pain.

Extreme Life overcoming extreme death.

And, currently, extremely cold fingers wrapped around an extremely hot cup of tea. 

It's everywhere.

Extreme differences in the black and white culture groups in South Africa, which I constantly find myself misunderstood and in the middle of.

Even as winter approaches and lush, green South Africa fades to wintry subtly, you can't miss the eye-popping, bright-red poinsettia bushes that remind me of the extremeness of our Creator's masterful scheming.

Right outside my cottage! Who knew they aren't indigenously in foil-covered pots at Christmastime!?!

I've been clinging to this little nugget: 

(unfortunately not the same kind of little nugget you'd like to get your hands on, Lauren!)

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Romans 8:38-39

Paul's convinced. And he did things in extremes too. 

Remember that time he went from Saul to Paul in the most extreme story of conversion ever? (Acts 9)

He lived in every extreme - from murderer to martyr - and at the end of the day, says nothing will separate us from the love of Christ.

Honestly, on some days, in some of the extremes that come after the "nor" part of Paul's Truth-talking, it's hard to see the inseparable love. It's hard to hit all of the extremes at once and understand how the love fits them all.

But...

"...in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all..."

Romans 8:24

I did see it - inseparable love - in all the parts on the day we went to tell Ruth we were building her a new home.

Her grandmother passed away hours before. We had no idea.

She was grieving and, despite what her culture says, decided to let us in on it.

We mourned, we prayed, and stood right in the middle of extreme loss and extreme hope - a promise of Home in God being made tangible by a promise of a home on earth.

Welcome to Hope and Homes right in the middle of extreme everything.