Meno -- Abide!

This morning, for some reason, I felt compelled to do a word study on meno’ which is translated as abide, remains, continues, tarries, stays and in the Message version, live deeply. This word is used 118 times in the Bible, and a whopping 67 of those times are at the hand of John.  This word is used 40 times in the Gospel of John; 23 times in I John, and another 3 in 2 John.  If we count the one in Revelations and some derivatives of that word, the numbers go even higher.

I’m not much of a Bible scholar, but when this kind of energy is being poured into me to cause me to gather my study tools to look up lots of verses, I am learning to ask why.

What does it mean to abide? To remain? I think it means to stay so deeply attached that nothing can shake us loose. I can see myself holding onto the life line while on the ship’s bow during a huge storm. The only thing keeping me from being washed into the turbulent sea is my grip on the very rope I’m holding. Nothing can pry my fingers loose. My knuckles may turn white, my arm muscles might tighten to the point of cramping, but I will not let go.  To me, that is abiding.

For another strange reason, I am reminded of a nickname I was given by a two-year old with William’s Syndrome.  Little Dara Day was such a delightful child, and the moment that I moved into the apartment connected to hers, we fell in love with each other.

Dara couldn’t say Linda, so she called me “Minno.”  I could not, for the life of me, figure out how she got Minno out of Linda, but her parents and I thought it was so endearing, that they still call me that to this day.

I think now, Dara was calling me Meno’.  She knew I was staying there, next door to her. In her childlike ways, I see now that she rested in knowing that I wasn’t like her family’s other friends who would come and I go. I actually was going to continue to live there. I would abide as her neighbor. I meno’d there!

When the storms of life and the ensuing chaos comes, I will picture my home in that apartment, next door to little Dara Day. Dara who knew that her new grown-up friend lived there, and would stay and hang out.

Abide.

Meno!

Harsh Reality

I can’t get the image out of my mind. That face of someone who will now be headed to prison for a violent crime. Yet, in my thoughts, I still see him as a sweet, loving second grader in my school where I was his principal.  He was in my own son’s class, and was a quiet, rather shy young man. My son, Sam, often took it upon himself to help this boy understand tasks and was partnered with him many times to ensure that he was able to keep up with the rest. Sam talked about him often, worried about him, wondered about him, because even at age seven, Sam knew that this classmate did not have the comforts of a middle-class lifestyle at home. Even at the age of seven, Sam knew he had privilege this boy did not.

I liked this child very much. He had a sweet nature about him, but he struggled with reading. I wonder what could have been had someone stepped up to show him how important schooling is? I wonder if he’d had more resources at home if he might have made better choices later in life. I wonder if our school had done a better job of filling the gaps for him that his face would not now be as a mug shot, headed to prison.

I don’t know what happened in his life after second grade, but it appears he continued to not have the resources that he needed to keep school a priority.

I have no idea how a quiet, docile young child becomes so violent.

I am sad beyond words. Forever reminded of the ones that slipped through the cracks. I also am grieving at the reality that this is not an isolated case.

Until we address the ramifications of generational poverty, this story will unfortunately continue.

Prodigal Dog/Prodigal Me

Just as my husband and I were headed to the car for our weekly Praise Team practice, his service dog (who has become a pet instead of a working dog), took his chance to make a break, running out the door, through the open garage with his eyes on the farmer’s field behind our neighbor’s yard.

I was chasing after him and calling his name, but he had already made up his mind where he was going. I watched him wiggle his 80 lb. furry frame under the barbed wire fence that kept him from exploring the vast openness which he had so obviously predetermined to be his destination. It was quite evident that our clever service doggie had been plotting this great escape for who knows how long.

No amount of calling his name, offering treats, or sweet talk deterred him. He kept going across the field until he was just a black speck in the wide-open expanse.

Not knowing what to do, I texted our praise team leader to explain why we would not be on time, and to pray. I also called a neighbor friend to help.

I walked down the road, going through people’s yards trying to find him. Jon stood on our driveway making the sound with the leash that he does when it is time to go for a walk. I couldn’t tell which house would give me the best entry into the field, and since I was thinking I would have to crawl through barbed wire, I didn’t want to have to do it more than once. 

I circled back home and got a better view of which house it was, then headed on foot there again.  By this time, our friend was driving by. He stopped his car just as I spotted the dog. As soon as I called his name, he ran right over to me, tail wagging and happy as can be.

Embarrassed that I had dragged our friend over for nothing, angry that we were now a half an hour late for our Praise Team practice, I didn’t even want to speak to the dog.

Once we got to the church, I looked down at my shoes and saw how completely muddy they were. What this meant was when we got home, there would be muddy paw prints all over the white carpet (I did NOT choose white carpet and have no idea who in their right mind ever would).

I was still angry at the dog and hyped up from the adrenalin rush, but I did allow the music to bring me back to abiding in the vine once more.

The next day, I received some rather devastating news. I was overlooked for a full-time position that I would have loved to have had, and the course that I most love teaching as an adjunct has now been given to the new full-time hire.

I wanted to run away. Just like our prodigal dog. I wanted to sprint clear out of town, out of state, out of the country. I started to wallow into the self-pity trap, being reminded of all of the old lies that I thought were totally healed. “You aren’t enough”; “You don’t fit in”; You don’t measure up”; “Others can do this job better than you”; “Nobody likes me everybody hates me, going to the garden to eat worms… yada, yada, yada.”

But then, I remembered. I am not a prodigal. I am the daughter of the Most High! I am a Princess Warrior! I am the head and not the tail! I am His masterpiece, fearfully and wonderfully made! How could I ever forget?

So, like the dog, I returned to my senses, and obediently came home into the loving embrace of my Master.

Lift the Veil

2 Corinthians 3:12-18


Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one[c] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord[d] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,[e] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.[f] For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

This passage makes me think about the state of our world. It tells us that ONLY through Christ is the veil taken away so that the heart can truly see the glory of the Lord. I’m praying for the veil to be lifted. I’m envisioning God’s people turning toward Him and away from the counterfeit given from the father of lies.


When the veil is lifted, this passage tells us that we are transformed into the image of God and get to participate in His glory.

“Beholding,” in this verse, is the Greek word, katoptrizomenoi, which means to reflect as a mirror. In other words, when we no longer have a veil covering our hearts, we represent the exact image of God. It’s as though we look in a mirror and see Him in the reflection.

I don’t know about you, but I love the notion that I get to reflect God’s glory in the world.

But, in order to do this, we have to make sure the veil is lifted. This passage tells us, it iis only lifted through Jesus.

The world may offer you many other ways to see God, but none will lift the veil to fully reveal the glory our Most High.

I’m praying that more hearts become unveiled to truly reflect the image of God to the world. It is this light that dispels the darkness.