Polly, Author at The Ultimate Gift

October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

A Second Chance

If you know me, then I’m sure you know what’s on my mind today—it’s Buctober!! My favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, is playing in the NL Wildcard game tonight. For the second straight year they are hosting the do-or-die Wildcard game. If they win, they advance to the NLDS, but if they lose, their season is over. There is no do over. This one game determines the fate of their season.

My small group is currently studying the book of Jonah. I am always amazed at how much the authors of the various Bible studies I’ve done can glean from just one verse of Scripture. Take Jonah 3:1 for instance—

Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time:

I breezed right through that without even a second thought. Did you? As it turns out, that short and simple verse is quite meaningful. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

It is helpful to know what precedes that verse in Jonah. The prophet, Jonah, received clear instruction from God and chose to run far and fast in the opposite direction. The result was one wicked storm, his being thrown overboard by Pagan sailors, and landing inside a giant fish. After three days the fish spit him out on land. That’s my own short version of the story anyhow. Follow that up with Jonah 3:1 and you see a God of second chances. God could have just let Jonah drown in his disobedience. He could have washed His hands of Jonah and written him off. But He didn’t. Why? Because God is merciFULL! When Jonah repented of his sin and cried out to God, God’s response was laced with grace. As children of God we, too, get a second chance, and a third, and a fourth, and a….fill in any number you want when we come to Him and acknowledge our sin. Doesn’t that make your day? Unlike the Pittsburgh Pirates, we can have another chance if we don’t play well today.

With that being said, I certainly hope the Buccos come up big and win the game tonight. I am thrilled beyond belief to be able to be there in person. My favorite doctor would say that I’m wound tighter than a $2 toaster!

August 16, 2014

A Time for Everything

The day we’ve been working towards for the past 18+ years has arrived. Today my husband and I are moving our baby girl to college. Even though helping to shape her into an independent adult has been the goal all along, I will admit I feel a bit unprepared for the other side now that we are staring that goal right in the face.

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT)

Today marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, not only for Hillary, but for the whole family. We are entering a new season. It’s time, yet change can be scary. Lately, the range of emotions at my house has covered quite a bit of territory—anywhere from total dread to pure excitement, sometimes all at the same time!

We will encounter various seasons over the course of our lives, and our calling, or activity, will be a bit different in each one. For instance, when my daughter was born with significant health issues, I was called to leave my teaching job behind to stay at home with her. It was quite a transition. Are you currently moving from one season into another? Perhaps you have just come out on the other side of a life-altering transition. No matter your story I am confident that you can relate to this idea of changing seasons. It can be hard, sometimes even downright scary, to let go of the comfortable and enter into the unknown. I have good news—we have company!! We are not alone. Heed these words from God to the prophet Isaiah and take comfort:

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT)

These words are for you and me too. Go ahead and acknowledge that life may never be the same. Let’s not allow fear to paralyze us though. Rather, let’s walk boldly into the future knowing that God is with us each step of the way and will see us through to victory. As a good friend frequently tells me, “I read the end of the book—we win!”

Best wishes to the college freshmen and their families as they embark on that next chapter. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Go get’em Hillary!

July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

No-Trade Clause

I’ve been meaning to write for quite some time, but I have been busy teaching for the past 5 1/2 weeks and couldn’t seem to find the time or the energy. I learned a valuable lesson in the process—taking or teaching a college course in 5 1/2 weeks is a tall order. WAY too intense—just ask my students!

Today is the last day of the semester, the last day of the month and also the MLB trading deadline. Yes, I know I tend to write about baseball frequently. It’s what I know! Back on the first of this month my husband and I marked our 25th wedding anniversary. What I wanted to write about back then seems to fit perfectly today so I will proceed. Lots of Major League Baseball players will be traded by this afternoon’s deadline. Some of them will leave the only major league team that they’ve ever known. Others seem to move from one team to another on a regular basis. Some will be happy about being traded. Others won’t. Some have to approve the trade because they have a no-trade clause in their contract. Others have no say in the matter. Back in the day many players stayed on the same team throughout their career. These days it is a rare occurrence.

I believe many of these same ideas apply to marriage. When the going gets tough, and it will, it is hard to honor our commitment. Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. (Hebrews 10:36 NLT) It seems easier to give up and walk away, or in the case of baseball, change teams. We look around and see what we think are surely better options. The grass looks greener over there. The words that I’ve heard a number of times in response to that statement in recent years is that the grass is greener where you water it. Whether we’re talking about marriage or baseball, to persevere through the tough times requires effort and commitment from all parties involved. After suffering through 20 losing seasons as a loyal fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I found it especially sweet when they broke the streak last year. The reward for my loyalty was a long time in coming, but it was worth the wait. If you are going through a rough patch in your marriage, I want to encourage you and your spouse to invoke your own “no-trade clause” and honor your wedding vows (unless it is a matter of safety). Pray, water the grass, and endure. The rewards will follow.

We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. (James 5:11 NLT)

June 14, 2014

Looking Back

What a week—I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced so many emotional occasions packed into a seven day period. Since my body doesn’t seem to process stress very well, I often turn to writing to help the cause. I call it my therapy. My hope is that my words benefit you, my readers, in the process.

First, there was my daughter’s last dance recital on Sunday. Then, we celebrated her high school graduation midweek. To put the icing on the cake, pun intended, my baby girl is 18 years old today and joining the ranks of the adults. This may not sound like a big deal, especially if you’ve never heard Hillary’s story, but I can assure you it seems monumental to me. She defied the odds and overcame a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. We brought her home from the hospital after 88 days in intensive care following her birth. Not coincidentally, I wrote about every one of them! I think that may have been when I first discovered writing as a form of therapy.

Celebrating Hillary’s 18th birthday today is a real milestone in my mind, one that I haven’t taken for granted. During her last year of high school there was a need to go through old photo albums in search of pictures to share at various end-of-year functions. This led to quite a bit of reminiscing on other milestones in her life and served as a reminder of God’s faithfulness in the past. When the going gets tough and it seems God is distant, we would be wise to intentionally look back at the trials He has brought us through in getting us to this point. It is a great faith-building tool. It reminds me of this passage from the Old Testament:

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:4-7 NIV)

To serve as a reminder that God stopped the flow of the Jordan River in order to allow the ark and the Israelites to cross, Joshua commanded a man from each tribe to bring up a stone from the river. These stones would later be piled up at Gilgal to serve as a memorial to God and this mighty act of His. I studied this passage several years ago with my small group and was encouraged to collect “stones” of my own to commemorate God’s great work in my life. These spiritual markers could be any item representing the life-changing events that God has used to mold and shape me. Remembering helps keep us going when the seemingly impossible enters our lives. By looking back, we are reminded that with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

As I look back at how my daughter’s life started and the many hurdles she has jumped along the way in her 18 years, I can’t help but think of these words from David’s prayer after the prophet Nathan shared his revelation with David regarding the building of the temple:

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? (1 Chronicles 17:16 NIV)

I don’t necessarily know where you’ve started, what you’ve been through, or how far you’ve come, but I would imagine you, like me, are able to see some significant life-changing moments in the rearview mirror, moments that God has used to shape you into the person you are today. Will you join me in giving thanks to God for bringing you THIS far? To Him be all praise, honor, and glory. Amen.

(Written in honor of the birthday girl—From your first picture to your most recent, you’ve come a LONG way, baby!)