trivets of grace

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, a trivet is "a three legged stand" or "a usually metal stand with short feet for use under a hot dish."  But you probably knew that already, right?  But here's what you may not know: several years ago God gave me a picture of broken china...the formal stuff ladies only take down once or twice a year on special occasions...and this china was hammered down into pieces that no longer were pristine.  Then, the picture was of the broken pieces being plastered together into a hot-plate, or trivet, if you will.  This trivet, made up of the fine china, was now a serviceable tool that could be used at every meal...365 days a year.  And so, God's indication to me was that our lives (the Buntings) have been broken down from fine china to a serviceable trivet or "hot-pad" that will be used every day, anywhere...for His glory.  One further detail to note is that the trivet is Three-legged, indicating the presence of God working there through us...similar to the picture in Eccl. 4:12 "A three-fold cord is not quickly broken."

Well, many times in the last few years I have recalled this picture the Lord gave me and smiled, even in the midst of pain, remembering what He has done and is doing in us.  But this morning as I was reflecting (Boy, I do THAT a lot!) it struck me again that much of my personal ministry here in Nassau has been manual labor...simply preparing, serving, and cleaning up food.  At church, in my home, in others' homes, and out at camp...food and all that goes along with it has been the #1 thing I've been busy doing here!  This is unique to this place, though we have served in two other churches vocationally as a pastoral family, and in three other churches as lay-people.  My desire in ministry would be to counsel, disciple, and facilitate ladies' groups, and for the most part this is how God has used me in the past, but that is not how the Lord has used me here.  At times, it has felt like a misuse of my time and gifts.  At times I have likely complained.  But this morning I am thanking God that He has used me nonetheless...just differently than before.  There is nothing dishonorable about preparing and serving food, in fact Jesus himself gave us the example of "serving" the Last Supper to His disciples as an indication of laying His life down for them.  Should I seek to rise higher than He?

We Buntings are simply trivets of God's grace.  Usable in whatever form God asks of us, we desire to respond humbly.  Be encouraged this morning that whatever service God asks of you, there is nothing "too small" when it is done in the name of Jesus. 

 ^"And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”  Matt. 10:42

When we hear a "no"

How we respond when something we really hoped for does not happen tells us much about what we're hoping in.  Two nights ago, as our Care Group was walking into our home, we received news that the home we tried to purchase in Crestview, FL had been snatched up by another buyer.  We felt sure that home was for us.  Our realtor even thought so. She said how unusual it was that it had lasted this long on the market.  ("That's because God's been keeping it for us," we thought to ourselves).  Then BOOM!  It was gone.  Back to the starting line again.

This is a small thing in the large scheme of life.  Though our desire is not to rent again after 3 years of living in someone else's property, we humbly realize it is not purely up to us.  God has a plan.  Perhaps renting is best, though we cannot see it now.  Our girls have expressed their desire to "settle in" somewhere, paint their walls and actually hang some photos.  Our oldest is hoping to have a picture of what "home" is before she moves away to college in a few years.  But God may not have that for us.  The lesson of finding our real home in God alone is one Keith and I have been learning all of our married lives.  Wherever we land, whether we rent or buy, it will be our ninth dwelling place as a couple.  Yes we long for something long-term and stable, but God alone can truly provide that sense of "home."

It is hard to know whether I was born with a desire to "nest" or whether the desire was born out of so much moving.  I love to set up a home, decorate it, and make it better than it was when we moved in.  It truly is a delight for me.  But God may have another year (or more) of not settling in.  These two years in Nassau have been so interesting in this regard.  It is the first time we lived in a home that was so big, but also came completely furnished...down to the pictures on the wall.  The only things we brought were kitchen items, books, and a few family photos.  Not a single design idea was mine.  Not a single paint color was our choice.  Yet people walk in and say, "Oh, I love your home."  Or, "What a neat color for your kitchen."  I just laugh and say, "Yes, our landlord has great ideas." 

So as we wait and pray we consider; where is our hope?  As the Lord would have it, our weekly memory verse for church memorization is Colossians 3:1-3.  I'll "recite" it for you now:

"Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

hellos and goodbyes

As I type this, the thermometer on my parents' back porch is reading 10 degrees Fahrenheit.  Quite a change from the usual 80-85 degrees of Nassau!  Lots of snow has been falling in the 5 days the girls and I (Kristin) have been here in Butler, PA.  It was a sight for sore eyes as we awoke Sunday morning to the beautiful white flakes falling down on the quiet scene outside our windows.  A blanket of newness.  We did not know what awaited us that day or the next.  But God gave us a beautiful winter wonderland to come home to that first morning.  Our "Hellos!" had been a happy time the day before as we met mom and dad at the airport and gave hugs all around.  It was a warm day last Saturday, about 40 degrees and lots of sunshine. 

After attending my parents' church, First Baptist, here in Butler, we went to one of our favorite breakfast places for a meal, then headed home.  After having our traditional Christmas dinner that night and cleaning up all the dishes, I sat down to check email.  A lump quickly formed in my throat as a picture I was not prepared to see showed up on an IM from a lady I've never met back in Nassau.  It was a close-up of our Kali-dog's collar.  Dread grabbed me.  You see, on December 18th, Kali went missing.  We had high hopes of her returning to us and had many people across the island keeping their eyes peeled for sight of her.  But when I saw the picture of Kali's collar there on my computer, there was no denying it, she was in fact the dog that had been hit by a car at the foot of our neighborhood several days before.  A kind lady I've never met went back to the seen of the accident where the person who had taken Kali's body away had left her collar.  It was hers, no doubt about it.  I didn't know what to say or do in that first moment.  How could I tell my girls?  We loved this dog like no other pet.  Now God had taken her.  For us, she was one of the brightest parts of our move to Nassau.  It seemed as though a small little piece of us was now lost forever.

The next morning, after a night of sadness, we received even harder news.  Keith called me via Skype saying he had difficult news.  Keva, our dear sister in the Lord and one of our closest friends at Kingdom Life, passed away Monday morning at 9:30.  She had entered the hospital about two weeks ago, was put on a ventilator, suffered what appeared to be a stroke, and simply never woke up.  Keva is nothing short of amazing in her persevering love for God.  For the last 7 years or so she has been battling illness related to her total kidney failure diagnosis.  Amidst it all, she has continued to serve the church, love her family and friends all the more, and praise God with all that is in her.  It is possible that she may be the most joyful saint I've ever met.  And now, she is with her Savior.  Such a loss we cannot even fathom for our little church of 65 or so.  Keva was a part of every facet of our church and her loss will affect everyone there. 

Keva and me.  August 2013

Keva when we first met, August 2010

Please keep Kingdom Life Church in your prayers.  This is a time of grieving for all of us, but especially for Keva's family and Cedric and Alexine Moss.  Keva was like family to them, and was known as "Auntie Keva" even to our own children.  She was a member of our Care Group, and I cannot even imagine having meetings without her in this new year.

Keva Poiter, second from the right.  Always radiant.  She was the guest of honor this year at our Mother's Day Lunch

 

welcome back, or not....

We have made it safely back to Nassau!  And it is no small thing.  Thank you to all who have prayed, provided, and partnered with us in the last 16 days.  Our trip back to the U.S. was a whirlwind of visiting with friends and family, hours and hours of driving (which we don't need to do again for a long, long time!), and shopping for things to bring back to Nassau.  We were feeling pretty eager to get home yesterday, sleep in our own beds and just relax after all the activity of traveling, but alas; that was not what our Heavenly Father had in store for us!

After boarding the plane at 12:30 and sitting grounded for over an hour, we realized we would not be leaving the U.S. when planned.  The plane had mechanical issues.  We were thankful the pilot never tried to leave the ground.  Eventually the flight was rescheduled for 4 pm. The flight was smooth and safe and we were able to land, go through immigration and customs without any incidents.  This is no small thing, I assure you!  Every time I have traveled back to Nassau in the last 12 months, there have always been issues at the airport, usually at immigration.  God was answering our prayers for a smooth re-entry, and we are so grateful.

 We arrived back at our house around 6:45 last night, having been taxied by Cedric back to his home, where we had left our car (and a receiving a wonderful dinner to take home with us from Alexine!) All of us are a little under the weather with colds, and we were anticipating a few hours of relaxing, after the long travel day, little sleep the previous night or two, and a general need for down-time.  Keith was eagerly hoping for a dip in the pool to cool off before going to bed. Once home and walking up to the front door, he noticed a  yellow sticker on the door, announcing that our power had been shut off that day due to an unpaid balance.  Ahem....the power company here doesn't give warnings or make deals with you, they just shut off the power a few hours before nightfall...and boom...you're in the dark.  Since we are renting, all our utilities are paid through our landlords.  If we don't receive the bill from them...well...you see what happens.

 We also quickly saw that the pool was filled with algae and debris.  It was a lovely greenish color.  OK, not so lovely.  We were confused as to why this would happen, since we had a pool service man taking care of things while we were away.  Apparently, he did not come over the last 16 days.  So the pool is in dire need of chemicals and cleaning, and won't be up for use any time soon. 

We made a few calls and realized we would need a place to stay for the night...so back we went to the Mosses!  What would we do without them?  They gladly put us up for the night and here I am in their guest room, typing this blog post this morning.

As we reflect back on our trip home yesterday and all the details that surrounded it, we see a few things.

1: God is faithful and our lives are filled with obvious blessings.  He took care of us.  He sustained us through all the driving, flights, and changes we could not have planned for.  He provided a smooth entry through immigration and customs, easier than ever before.  Cedric was right on time to pick us up and drive us to our vehicle.  Alexine had a lovely blessing of a warm dinner prepared for us to take home.  We can celebrate the kindness of friends, once again.

2: God is faithful when life is full of unplanned disappointments.  We cannot ever assume things will go as we've planned or that we'll find comfort when we think we need it most.  God speaks through the difficulties, however small and insignificant they be.  A rescheduled flight, a power-less home, overgrown yard, algae-filled pool and having to ask for help yet again, may not be the comfort we were seeking, but they are what God gave, alongside all the positive aspects of yesterday.  Blessings in disguise, I am sure. 

This morning we were able to take some time and pray, asking God to help us have clear sight as we return to life in Nassau, embrace the busy weeks ahead, and get our home back in order.  It was a grace-filled morning after a series of unplanned moments yesterday.  It can be our tendency, as fleshly people, to only speak of the negativities in life.  And of course, in the fallen world, there are many.  But it takes grace to speak of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  And that is what we want to communicate.  GRACE.  God's riches at Christ's expense.  Always.  In every trial.  In every unseen event.  GRACE.  We live in it, are redeemed by it, and stand because of it.