Final Score

by Macy Johnson

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

(Psalm 46:10 NIV)

My husband and I watch college football and basketball games after they have been played. We record sporting events on our digital video recorder in order to fast-forward through commercials.

One recent game was played between intense, in-state rivals. The anxiety of the crowd and players unfolded before us on TV, although the score was already in the books. The fans had long gone home.

Destination Second Chance

by Macy Johnson

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; 
make known among the nations what He has done.” 
(Psalm 105:1 NIV)

“Oh no!” was all I could mutter at the sight of flashing blue lights in my rear-view mirror.

“Pull over into the next side street!” the sheriff’s speaker blared. Shaking his head, the officer gently inquired, “Mrs. Johnson, where are you going in such a hurry? I clocked you at 42 miles per hour in a 25 zone.”

Donuts and Keys

by Macy Johnson

“A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:4 NIV)

On February 17, 2017, my husband and I drove from Georgia to North Carolina to celebrate our grandson’s birth.

When we arrived at the hospital entrance, our son-in-law appeared at the double doors. I rode the elevator up to our daughter’s room, while the men drove to Hole Doughnuts for celebration delicacies.

Bananas

by Macy Johnson

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’”

(Psalm 126:2 NIV)

Sunday morning worship concluded a few minutes early. The choir room emptied as I slipped out of my pianist robe and hung it on the hanger.

I exited the church alone, music bag in hand, and leather coat wrapped snugly against the wind. The needle on my car’s gas gauge was approaching empty and I needed to pick up a few items at the local grocer on my way home.

Release and Receive

by Macy Johnson

“He answered, ‘While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.’”

(2 Samuel 12:22-23 NIV)

David released his son to God so he could one day receive him again in heaven.

Through my window the last of the summer leaves precariously hang on our black oak trees. The wind furiously batters and shakes them in the sun, while the sturdy oak tries to hold on to its vegetation longer than other trees. I wonder when new growth will eventually shove off its lingering leaves.

The Curse of Blessings

by Macy Johnson

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.”

(Isaiah 45:22 NIV)

Blessings can pull me away from God. Struggles can push me closer to Him.

It is a constant tug-of-war. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Troubles nearly always make us look to God; His blessings are apt to make us look elsewhere.”

Pioneers

by Macy Johnson

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.’”

(Hebrews 2:10 NIV)

Jesus was the perfect pioneer, sent by God to suffer for us, to help in our failing humanity, and to lead us from ashes to glory.

My husband is an avid reader of pioneers who brought much-needed change into American society. One of his favorite biographies is about Booker Taliaferro Washington, who was born in 1856, to a black, slave woman and free white man from a nearby Virginia plantation. Mr. Washington was an educator, author, orator, and advisor to multiple US Presidents. He died in Alabama in 1915.