Behind the Veil

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. – I Corinthians 15:51-52

My mother once lamented that after a certain age, “it’s patch-patch-patch.” It does seem sometimes that the moment one problem is dealt with, another one crops up. I no longer wonder what old people do all day – they go to doctors, mostly “specialists.” They take supplements, do physical therapy, and research the latest treatment for whatever is ailing them on any given day. Not fun.

But I’m also spending my time reading, discussing, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture, and my thoughts often turn to the glorious future we (Christ-followers) have been promised. I look forward to having a new body, one without aches, pains, weakness, and sickness, that doesn’t get stressed and struggle to sleep. (Do people even sleep in heaven?)

Speaking of sleep, these thoughts have even entered my dreams.

Recently I dreamt I was walking on a city sidewalk, when suddenly I began to rise into the air. Looking around, I saw other people being raised up, too! It wasn’t a violent whoosh, like being sucked up by a giant vacuum cleaner, or slowly floating, like helium balloons. It was more like going up in an elevator – an invisible elevator.

As I looked around, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face reflected in the windows of one of the buildings. It was someone I hadn’t seen in many years …

It was ME – a twenty-year-old me! I only caught a momentary glimpse, but it was enough to thrill me – That person still exists! When I woke up, I concluded that I had dreamt about the Rapture, and that the moment my feet left the sidewalk, I had already received my new body.

A similar theme popped up in another dream, after learning that one of my high school classmates, Audrey – “Audie” – had passed away.

This time I was coming into a room where our class was gathered. The first person I saw was Audie! Startled, I wondered if the news I had received had been a mistake. Or was this a dream? I was seeing her so clearly that I asked, “This is real, isn’t it?” She just smiled at me mischievously, the way she used to in high school. In fact, she looked just the same as when we were in high school – dark brown hair, rosy cheeks, wearing a bright red t-shirt. She sure didn’t look like a ghost. I hugged her, she hugged me back. She sure didn’t feel like a ghost.

Next to Audie was a very tall, slender, elegant-looking woman, with white (or platinum blonde) hair and a silvery blue, shimmering dress. She had a slight smile on her face, and, like Audie, seemed just to be enjoying watching the party. I wondered why no one else was as excited and amazed as I was to see their classmate. – Was I the only one who saw her?

Then I noticed that the rest of the scene looked like a grainy old black and white movie.

In other words, Audie and her companion were more real than the rest of us.

“I suppose I should ask you what it’s like on the other side …” I thought out loud. The two just looked at each other and smiled, and I knew I wasn’t going to get any information out of them.

I don’t look to dreams for guidance. At best, they confirm what Scripture says. If my interpretation of a dream contradicts the Word of God, that dream should be ignored unless and until God gives me a better interpretation. But to me, these two dreams confirm what the Scripture from I Corinthians says – We will be changed, and when we are in our new bodies, we won’t be shadows or ghosts. We will be solid, living, breathing, hugging. Real – more real than we are now.

Yesterday I turned (gulp!) 72. If I had asked the much younger me what I expected life to be like at 72, I don’t think I would have imagined its being this interesting, exciting, and fun. Still, this body has its limitations, and I’m comforted knowing there are better things to come.

As I was getting out my Bible, I was thinking about how some have called it “God’s love letter to us.” With that in mind, I read from Song of Solomon. As I was reading chapter 4, the words of the Lover to his Beloved: “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves …” The word “veil” caught my attention. What follows is a lavish description of the woman the King’s beloved. Verse 3 repeats the phrase, “behind your veil.” In verse 7 the Lover declares, “All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.”

The Bible calls the Church “the Bride of Christ,” and describes a divine wedding that will take place at the end of the age. On that day the veil will be lifted, and as we behold Him face to face, we will be radiant, flawless.

So, if, like me, you feel like your veil has gotten a little rumpled lately, and the thought of being “flawless” makes you laugh (or cry), take heart. One day (maybe very soon) the veil of this earthly existence will be lifted, and we will be in our new bodies, free from everything that corrupts. Like the beauty that captured the heart of King Solomon – only better! – we will be the all-beautiful, flawless Bride of Christ.

But I’m guessing we won’t be looking at ourselves or one another. On that day we’ll only have eyes for our Bridegroom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as the world clings hopelessly to health, strength, youth, and beauty, all of which are fading away, we thank You that You have promised us new life in Your forever Kingdom, if we just trust in You. Help us to keep divine perspective as we await Your return for Your Bride. In Your name we pray. Amen.

Before Sitting This One Out …

[I]f anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchmen accountable for his blood. – Ezekiel 33: 4 & 6

I’m part of a group of women – prayer warriors – who pray together for the nation once a week. (At 71, I’m possibly the youngest in the group!) We may seem small, but we’re doing what we can, praying that the American people, especially the Church, will repent of our sins of commission, and especially our sins of omission. If you are one of the large block of American Evangelicals who do not vote, and who haven’t even registered to vote, before sitting out another election, please consider the following:

In the Bible we read about whole civilizations that experienced judgment (or consequences) for the evil actions of their leaders, although ordinary citizens of these countries had no say in what their leaders did. How much more will we be accountable if we do have a voice but remain silent as our leaders take us down the road to disaster?

Evil and corruption have inundated America, from our government to our media, to our education system, to our entertainment, and virtually every other area of our culture. The reason the country is in the state it’s in is because the Church has remained silent for so long on moral issues that have been redefined as “political.”

As Eric Metaxas pointed out in his book, Letter to the American Church, if the Church in Germany in the 1930’s had resisted Hitler’s forces, the outcome might have been vastly different. But precious few believers took a stand, while the rest just “sang a little louder” to drown out the bothersome screams of the Jews being transported past their churches to the concentration camps. It’s possible that the Christians in Germany in the 30’s were unaware of the scope of what was happening, and perhaps we could give them the benefit of the doubt. But today in America we have no such excuse. It is all too clear the direction this country is heading. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

It’s true that there are no perfect choices in this election; the candidates are deeply flawed, but so are we! If we “sit this one out,” refusing to vote for “the lesser of two evils,” we are letting a vote for the greater evil go unchallenged. I believe we will be held accountable for what we could have done but didn’t. If we fail to vote out of sheer laziness, shame on us. If we’re neglecting to make our voice because we refuse to be associated with imperfect policies or people (not wanting to get our hands dirty), God is not impressed.

(Sticking one’s head in the sand leaves other parts of the anatomy vulnerable.)

If we believe Christians should “stick to preaching the gospel,” (exactly what Hitler told the German church to do) and not get into anything “political,” look around you – everything is political these days. Note that even what used to be the two “safest” topics of conversation – one’s health and the weather – have been politicized!

(I’m glad Queen Esther didn’t refuse to get involved in politics.)

This is not a contest of Republican versus Democrat or liberal versus conservative. It’s a matter of good versus evil.

We can’t save America, but we are called to be salt (Matthew 5: 13), which doesn’t stop the decaying process altogether but does slow it down. Woe to us if we sit by, say nothing, and watch our country rot.

Is it too late now for the Church to speak up? There’s only one way to find out.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we see the state of the world today, and it’s easy to feel helpless to do anything about it. But You have enlisted us in Your army, and it is a vast army! You have armed Your people with “the full armor of God” and joined us together with the angelic armies of heaven. Give us each discernment to know what part we play in occupying until You come and help us not to shirk our duty. Give us courage to take a stand, strength to be faithful, and supernatural boldness and protection as we confront evil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(Another) Answer to a Routine Prayer – from WHERE?!

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

It started out as a normal day. (Most of my adventures do these days.) Marty was playing pickleball, but what had become his new passion was off limits for me; twenty years of running had taken its toll on my knees, and starting-stopping-twisting-turning-type activities were a little too risky. I’ll stick with hiking, biking, and kayaking. A two-mile walk to the end of the pier and back is a perfect time to get in my morning prayers.

…or afternoon prayers. With my ADHD tendencies, I am grateful the Lord is patient. This was one of those days, and it was past noon by the time I started out with everything I needed. (When I used to walk the dog and also needed poop bags, treats, and leash, it’s a wonder I got out the door at all.)

My prayers were the normal stuff – offering my body to the Lord (Romans 12:1), offering Him my mind (II Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2), etc. As I gave Him my body, mind, and heart, I “put on the armor of God” – the belt of Truth, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6). When “having my feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace,” I prayed the usual things: that I would go where the Lord wants me to go, encounter the people He wants me to encounter, and speak the words He wants me to speak. This prayer often gives me a sense of anticipation – how will He answer it today? Though I get frustrated with myself, I know God is very good at working with what He has; if I make myself available to Him, He’ll do the rest.

It was mostly a solitary walk. The summer people were gone, and the chill in the air makes one reluctant to get out. But the trees were finally starting to change color, and the “wooly worms” crawled across the path, their black and orange colors (according to superstition) predicting a harsh or mild winter. One was solid orange. (Well, you’re a little optimist, aren’t you?) Across the channel I could see people walking the other pier, most of them bundled up, expect for a few kids in swimsuits jumping into the water. (Insanity isn’t a frame of mind, it’s a way of life.)

On the way back, as I waded through the hundreds of acorns, thinking either there was a bumper crop that year or the squirrels weren’t doing their job, I wondered if they were edible for humans, although I had never heard of anyone eating them. I made a mental note to google it.

I was almost home when a woman in a car stopped and asked me where the lighthouse was. It couldn’t be seen from the road, so I explained that she would have to park and walk past a couple of houses to get to the pier. I noticed three things about her: her walking stick, beautiful blue eyes, and an exotic-sounding accent, I guessed Russian, or maybe eastern European. As I tried to estimate how far it was, and about the spot where she might have trouble walking over some rocks and another section that was sandy, I finally offered to go with her. She parked the car, and I repeated the pier part of my walk, this time a little slower and getting to know my new friend Luda. We had a lot in common – our age, our love of the area, and our active lifestyle – at least until recently. Luda had been riding her bike 20 miles a day, sometimes as much as 50 miles when her husband was living, before an accident that had left her struggling to get around. She was about where I was a year ago, so we talked about hip replacement, and of course I had to tell her how much it helped me to get the sugar out of my diet. It was this sacrifice that had taken me from struggling to walk to walking pain-free in less than two days. She confessed her addiction to sugar – I think most of us can relate – and I told her about some of my recipes for sugar-free chocolates and the baked apples Marty and I have been having for dessert every night. She asked me what I cover the apples with to bake them, and when I said aluminum foil, she scolded me. “Don’t ever let food touch aluminum foil!” Wow, I thought, she’s even more of a health nut than I am. I could tell we were going to get along great! 😉 As we walked through the mass of acorns, Luda said casually, “You can eat these, you know.” (!) She described cooking them and told me about a website where I could learn about things growing in the wild that are good for food – just in case we might need that information to survive someday.

When we got back to her car, Luda told me that she had not wanted to go out that day, but she had forced herself to get out of that chair and go! She said she had walked farther with me than she ever would have by herself. (She wouldn’t have known where to go, anyway.) She had been on her way somewhere else but had “randomly” turned off onto the little road I was walking on, probably about the time I was praying, “Let me encounter the people You want me to encounter.”

Luda gave me a ride home, mainly so we could keep talking. When we pulled up to my house, I ran in to get her some of my sugar free chocolate covered banana slices and my card with my contact information on it. We hugged, and she was on her way.

OK, I have to get ready for church now. Even though there are no Russian Orthodox churches in Manistee (Yes, she is originally from Moscow.), Luda is willing to give my church a try.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for all the times you have answered my routine prayers and made my life a daily adventure. Thank You for sending me a new friend – so near, and yet from so far away! Thank You for Your perfect timing, even with two women struggling to get out – one physically, one mentally (“lol”), and our “random” meeting. Bless Luda today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.