Real Life by Peggi Tustan

Welcome to Real Life . Got peace? And in despair I bowed my head: “There is no peace on earth,” I said, “For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.” [1] It is Christmastime, a season of hope and happiness and...peace. Except this week, our peace was shattered when a school shooting left three dead and six more injured in Wisconsin. The perpetrator was a fifteen-year-old student who took her own life. This happened in a Christian school. A place where the true meaning of Christmas is known and celebrated. A place where faith, hope, and love are taught alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic. How could this happen? When our Savior Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, a heavenly host of angels filled the skies and declared, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace , good will toward men. [2] Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He came to bring us peace. Of all places, a Christian school should be a refuge of safety and peace. But the reality is e...

Welcome to Real Life . God is not finished with us yet!  “If I'm not dead, you're not done. Greater things are still to come.” [1] If you are an Appalachian Trail enthusiast, you may have heard of Grandma Gatewood. [2] In 1955, at the age of sixty-seven, this mother of eleven and grandmother of twenty-three was the first woman to hike all two thousand miles of the trail straight through. And then, she did it again at age sixty-nine and seventy-two! Grandma Emma Gatewood I read Gatewood’s story at the precise moment I needed it. Because I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my job. Though I am near retirement age, I didn’t feel quite ready to close my laptop. “Is this all?” I began asking, “Am I done?” Then I picked up the book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk . Emma Gatewood was no super-athlete. She was a mother and grandmother who loved to walk and enjoyed spending time in the woods. Gatewood set out in a pair of Keds tennis shoes with a homemade denim bag slung over her shoulder and mad...

Welcome to Real Life ! Am I crawling or soaring? “He turns coal into diamonds, Sand into pearls, Worms into butterflies. He can turn your life around, too.” -Toby Mac During their fall migration, monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles south from Canada to Mexico. This majestic aerialist begins its life as a humble caterpillar, a creature who can barely crawl across the sidewalk without getting squished. The dramatic metamorphosis occurs when the caterpillar enters its chrysalis and dies. It then emerges reborn as a beautiful, free, soaring monarch. Monarch Migration, Wendy Park, Cleveland, Ohio Like a humble caterpillar transformed into a soaring monarch, those who place their faith in Jesus Christ also experience a dramatic metamorphosis. They are born again! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV) Before the new life comes, the old life must pass away. But what if a caterpillar refus...

Welcome to Real Life . No one can live without water. “Will you give me a drink?” Jesus asks a Samaritan woman. Nothing satisfies thirst like cool, clear water—especially after a long hike. Jesus and his disciples were on a 70-mile trek from Jerusalem to Galilee. About halfway, they stop in Sychar, Samaria to rest. While the disciples enter the town to buy food, Jesus waits outside the city at Jacob’s well. When a Samaritan woman comes to draw water, he asks her for a drink. A drink of water is no big deal, right? Actually, it is. “You’re a Jew and I’m a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” she asks. Jews did not associate with Samaritans. They considered them half-breeds who worshiped other gods alongside Yahweh. Jews believed any contact with Samaritans (like drinking from the same ladle) rendered them unclean. “If you knew the gift of God and who asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water,” Jesus replies. “Everyone who drinks...

Welcome to Real Life . Who are we trying to please? “ Not everyone has to like me... I can't force people to have good taste. ”   Anonymous No matter how hard we try to do everything right, some people will not like us. Daniel was an all-around great guy—loyal, wise, and full of integrity! King Darius recognized his exceptional qualities and planned to set him over the entire kingdom. The other administrators, however, grew jealous. They spied on Daniel trying to detect some fault, some corruption, some negligence in him. But they found nothing. Finally, they realized the only way to take Daniel down was to find something to do with the law of his God. Daniel’s enemies noticed that he prayed three times a day with his window open towards Jerusalem. They devised a plan, and approached King Darius, saying, “May the king live forever! We all agree the king should issue a decree that anyone who prays to any god or human for the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be th...

Welcome to Real Life . When you think of God, what comes to mind? Lord, you are my refuge. When I am weak, when I am afraid, when I am insecure, I run to you. You are my safe place. I share the deepest secrets of my heart with you. I share my most difficult struggles with you. I confess my ugliest sin to you. When I feel unlovable, when I struggle to love myself, Still, you love me. You forgive me. You wash me. You restore me. You wrap me in the righteousness of your Son. You hear, you understand, you answer my cries. You go before me and behind me. You protect me from harm and evil. You keep me safe. You know every moment of my past. You see every moment of my future. You know me better than I know myself. And still, you love me. I do not have to pretend to be strong, or full of faith. You know the truth, because you know me. I do not have to strive to earn your love and approval. You love me as I am. Because you know me so well, you know what is best for me. Your plans for me are...

Welcome to Real Life.    "The difference between a good life and a bad life is how well you walk through the fire." –C.G. Jung Is God alone worthy of our worship and devotion, even when he doesn’t rescue us?  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had firsthand experience of not being rescued. They were held as captives in a foreign land. In 605 BC, God had allowed their King Jehoiakim and the land of Judah to be overthrown by the powerful King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God did not step in and rescue them. And yet, in a pagan land far from home, God did not abandon them. In Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden image ninety feet tall. He was not satisfied to worship this idol alone. He demanded that every person in his kingdom bow before it. And because he was king, everyone did…well, almost everyone. These three Jewish men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—refused to bow.  King Nebuchadnezzar was furious! He called these men forward and put them to the test. “If you...

Welcome to Real Life.  On the Mount of Olives, the All Powerful One needed strength. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. [1] It may be the most poignant prayer in the Bible. It is the night before the cross, the night of Jesus’ most intense spiritual battle, the night before all hell would break loose. Earlier in the evening, Jesus shared a last supper with his disciples. Afterwards, although he knew Judas would betray him, Jesus went as usual  to the Mount of Olives. [2]  He could have gone to an alternate location, a place where Judas did not expect him to go, a place where Judas could not find him. But he did not. When he arrived at the Mount of Olives, he withdrew a stone’s throw from his disciples. He knelt and prayed, “Father, if you are willing take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Why is this prayer in the Bible? A good portion of Jesus’ life was spent in prayer. Most of these conversations have been hidden from our eyes. But ...

Welcome to Real Life. How do we live fully? “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” –James Dean “I wish I had done more for God when I could, when I was strong and healthy,” my sister Theresa told me. She was in hospice care and contemplating the day she would stand before God and give an account of her life. Rather than contemplate this day of reckoning—some unknowable date in the future—we are more often encouraged to “Carpe diem!” [1]  Life is short, tomorrow is not promised, so make the most of this day. Book the flight. Laugh out loud. Eat dessert first. Don’t just live. Live fully! The Bible actually gives similar encouragement: Redeem the time. [2] Make the most of this day. But not by squeezing in as much pleasure as possible. Rather, fill this day with God and with good. Redeem the time because this life is fleeting. It is like a morning mist that disappears when the sun rises. [3] The longer I live, the quicker the years disappear. So, live ful...

Welcome to Real Life . What does it mean to be holy? “True holiness is not achieved by what we do, but what we allow God to do in us.” –Mark Hart As we launch a New Year, I am pondering God’s call to holiness. It’s snowing. The whiteness is blinding after days of dull, dreary rain. Watching the snow, I sense God’s Spirit saying, “I am holy. I live in blinding light. I want you to be holy as well.” God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light , whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:15-16 NIV emphasis mine)   Pure. Clean. Blinding light. God is holy. I am not. In fact, I’m far from it. A great gap exists between who I am and who God is calling me to be. Yet, He doesn’t give up on me. He still wants me to be holy. It almost seems unfair. Kindness, compassion, and maybe even love seem do-able. Holiness, however, feels out of my league—like an amateur...