Camping--Woods or Econo Lodge?

I find it so amazing how God uses circumstances that are completely awful to remind us of His love and promises.  In thinking about how He came to live among us, I'm reminded of one of those horrendous times.

My mom always starts the story with, "I should have known something as terribly wrong when the sign on the front desk said, 'No refunds after 30 minutes.'"  My family and I had traveled to visit my nana and stopped to stay the night at an Econo Lodge.  For some reason we pronounced it "Eck-No Lodge," a fact that will later become relevant.  Apparently, Mom had seen pictures of the rooms and such when she booked our room, but by the state of the room I don't even think the pictures were of that hotel--it couldn't have been that nice even brand new!

If you ever come to our house, my mom will encourage you to take your shoes off.  Supposedly, research shows that most of the household dirt comes in on your shoes; needless to say, I know something's wrong when Mom tells me to leave my shoes on when we get to the room.  Dad found that our sink was clogged and set down for someone from the front desk, who later returned with a plunger.

There was a restaurant attached to the lobby and a family was celebrating a high school graduation.  Most of the kids had decided they wanted to go swimming in the pool, so they were wading in the shallow end with all their clothes on.  My sisters and I are part fish, my mom always tells us, so naturally, we wanted to go swimming.  At the deeper end of the pool, all of 5 feet, the light had broken so there was glass on the bottom and the side of the pool.  With all the kids "swimming" in the shallow end, we were stuck to swim in the middle of the pool and we quickly realized that the water was so murky that we could hardly see our hands in front of our faces.  Looking back on it, I'm honestly surprised that I got in the pool with it being that gross.

We didn't swim long, and Mom quickly persuaded us it was time for dinner.  We walked to a nearby restaurant and took our sweet time.  I'm telling you, we took FOREVER at dinner, probably because Mom had no desire to return to the hotel.

I'll spare you the rest of the gruesome details, but from then on, we now refer to Econo Lodge hotels as HECK-NO Lodge (Haha! Ok, so my family is cheesy....but really, it was so easy just to add an "h" to the beginning of our mispronunciation)!

Jesus entered our "Heck-No Lodge."  The water was murky, we'd clogged up the sink, the room was gross, broken glass was everywhere, and even with the "No refunds after 30 minutes" sign He stayed. Why?  Because He loves us and wants to spend forever with us.  He didn't just stay the night after spending most of the it out at a nearby restaurant.  He stayed for 33 years.  Check out was more than nails on a chalk board; it was nails through hands and feet.  Even check out couldn't keep Him away.  Three days later, He's knocking over tombstones and walking down the street with people.

What's your "Heck-No Lodge" situation?  What mess in your life has Jesus entered into?  Have you allowed Him to steam clean the floors, unclog your sink and clean up the shattered glass?  He won't make it look like a new hotel, He'll make it fit for a King--the King of kings.

Barnacles and...Peanut Butter??

In learning more and more about God's character each day, I couldn't help but think of barnacles.  I have absolutely no idea why these minute little creatures came to mind, but God has a reason for everything that He's created--to point to His splendor and glory.  After doing a bit of research, I started to see why these tiny creatures remind me of God's character and what my response to Him should be.  Barnacles are exclusively marine animals that have hard shells; they're actually in the crab and lobster family.  They are also known as "encrusters" because they attach themselves permanently to a hard substrate--unfortunately for some that means their boat instead of the nearby rock.  This natural adhesive that holds them firm is known to be one of the strongest natural adhesives.  The barnacles also have many predators; starting to sound familiar?

Wonder how long these barnacles have been on here...

We are called to be like the barnacles.  Great, you think to yourself, she's telling me that I need to live in a shell attached to a rock in the sea.  No, not exactly.  God is referred to as a rock several times throughout the Bible; take a look:

     Deuteronomy 32:4--He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.  Everything he does is just and fair.  He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!

     1 Samuel 2:2--No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

     2 Samuel 22:2-3--[David] sang: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence."

     Psalm 62:6-7--He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My victory and honor come from God alone.  He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

     Matthew 7:24-25--Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on a solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against the house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.

Jesus himself even calls us to be like barnacles--don't believe me, read that last passage again.  Why live in the sand, when you can be anchored to an unwavering, unchanging, unshakable Rock?  When the barnacle attaches to the rock, it never leaves.  Everything that it needs to stay alive is available to it from that same place for as long as it lives.  All that we ever need is found in our Rock.

Not to mention, God promises to stick close to us with a glue that's even stronger than the natural adhesive of the barnacle.  Whenever I remember this verse I think of a song from when I was younger by Steve Green; in listening to the song again, it's a bit cheesier than I remember, but the meaning is still true (not to mention the song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2iLY_BQ4wg).  The verse is Proverbs 18:24 and it says, "There are 'friends' who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother."  Regardless of where we fail or we come "unglued," God promises to stick closer than a brother.  Forget Gorilla glue, duct tape, or even peanut butter--our God sticks closer than any of that!  Pretty cool, huh?

So those little pesky crustaceans have a purpose after all.  They point us to the mighty power and splendor of the Lord, remind us to set up camp on the Rock and never leave, and show us that our Father sticks closer and more permanent to us than the leading natural or artificial adhesive.  He always did say that no creature was too great or too small.  So, are you on the Rock or the sand?  Is life coming unglued because you're not clinging to the Super glue?  Are you still wandering from place to place looking for all you need instead of staying on the Rock?  Try being a barnacle for a while and let me know how it works out for you.  I'd be willing to bet He won't fail you!