A Norvell Note – Page 2 – Thoughts and reflections on God, life, people, and living as a follower of Jesus.

Laments of the Season

A Norvell Note

December 1, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 47

Laments of the Season

Like most of you, I spent at least part of last week counting my blessings and naming reasons to be thankful. I also spent some time lamenting^[i].

I did not spend much time lamenting, but I did remember, grieve, and mourn. Some of it was intentional, and some just came naturally.

I remembered holidays of the past. The people present. The places we spent the holiday—the meals we enjoyed and the conversations we shared.

I grieved for people who are no longer with us and those who could not be with us. Some years are easier than others, but this holiday was challenging.

I mourned the condition of our nation, the anger, the sadness, the fearmongering, and the hatred.

I remembered I grieved, and I mourned the life that was and will be no more.

Then, the moment’s reality reminded me to be thankful again for the people with me and the life that is.

^[i] A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something that they regret or someone that they have lost, and they are usually accompanied by wailing, moaning and/or crying. Laments constitute some of the oldest forms of writing, and examples exist across human cultures.

Different Thanksgiving Days

A Norvell Note

November 24, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 46

Different Thanksgiving Days

This week begins with me looking forward to the family gathering on Thanksgiving Day. There will be good food and conversation, children enjoying the day and getting frustrated when things do not go their way, laughter, and possibly tears. We will share memories, photographs, plans, and reasons to be thankful.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving Day, but I am also thinking about families who will have a different experience. I know two wives who will have an empty chair at their table.

Some families will be together physically but miles apart emotionally.

Other families will sit at the same table sharing memories, but the grandmother will not recognize their faces or understand their stories.

Some families will share the day through long-distance phone calls or video chats due to their military service.

Some will celebrate, and some will mourn. Some people will share their blessings, and some will live through another holiday of pain and regret.

We are all different, going through life at various speeds, directions, and paths. Our Thanksgiving Days will not be the same, but I will pray the same prayer for us all: May we find love, joy, peace, and many reasons to be thankful.

Ready for Joy

A Norvell Note

November 17, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 45

Ready for Joy

Maybe it’s just me, but the Christmas lights and home decorations appeared earlier this year. I have gotten used to seeing Christmas commercials on television, hearing Christmas music, and seeing displays in stores in September and October. But I do not recall seeing so many homes lit up before Halloween and mid-November as I’ve seen this year. Perhaps my memory is failing me, or is there another reason?

I do have a theory. It is an untested, non-scientific, and unproven theory that exists only in my mind. We are ready for joy.

The first ten-and-a-half months of 2024 have been long and hard. There have been brief seasons of joy, but confusion, stress, and sadness have dominated and often controlled our thoughts.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods have wiped out communities. Wars and threats of war have often been the lead story of the daily news. The presidential campaign and election were ugly and divisive. Many people have lost loved ones to diseases, accidents, and senseless shootings. As I described in last week’s Note, we have been on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

We are ready for joy.

If you are ready for joy, think about people you love and bring you joy. (Philippians 1:3)

If you are ready for joy, encourage the people around you to be like-minded and be one in spirit and love. (Philippians 2:2)

If you are ready for joy, forget the past and move toward your goals. (Philippians 3:10-14)

If you are ready for joy, remember that the Lord is near, be gentle, and think about positive things. (Philippians 4:4-9)

If you are ready for joy, go ahead and turn on the Christmas music and decorate your house. Who cares if it’s a little early?

We are ready for joy.

Emotional Roller Coaster

A Norvell Note

November 10, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 44

Emotional Roller Coaster

I have been on an emotional roller coaster for the last few weeks.

There was a point when I thought this was going to be the year that the Boston Celtics won the National Basketball Championship and the New York Yankees would win the World Series. Then, the 5^th inning of the 5^th game of the series happened.

There was a planned surgery for our granddaughter, but the surgery will come later due to a rash. She, her parents, and all the rest of us must wait with her. She had another scan. The anticipation of a scan always produces anxious days and nights. When we hear, “The scans are clear.” We express praises and thanksgiving.

The election provided an emotional roller coaster all its own. Anticipation. Hope. Dread. Confidence. Anger. Elation. Sadness. Despair. Confusion. Disbelief. Hope.

A few days off work and time with long-time friends. Happiness. Joy. Appreciation. Love. Tears. Nostalgic conversations. Laughter. Calm sighs of delight. Then, as the visitation came to an end came tears, sadness, expressions of love, and regret that our time together had to end.

Emotions are okay. Emotions fill our hearts, and tears fill our eyes. Emotions are okay for women and men. Emotions are okay and good, and appropriately sharing them is a healthy practice.

Expressing your emotions is healthier than bottling them up or treating them like they do not exist. Find someone to talk with about what you are feeling. Write them down and name them.

Emotions are gifts from God and give us a way of communicating with Him. They help us understand life so we can share life with the people we love.

Someone once told me feelings and emotions are not right or wrong. They just are.

There will be more emotional roller coasters this week and throughout our lives. Don’t be afraid to express your emotions in healthy ways. There is a real possibility you are not the only person on that same ride. You may be the one to help them deal with those feelings.

Trust God

A Norvell Note

November 3, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 43

Trust God

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)

The only answer I can offer to many people’s questions is, “Trust the Lord.”

To the gentleman who feels his life is over and cannot understand why the Lord is keeping him here, I say, “I think we need to trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing, and He must have a reason, even though we don’t know what that reason is.”

To the college students stressed about all their decisions about their education, careers, relationships, and the rest of their lives, I say, “Trust God to show you the way, and be patient.”

To couples struggling to keep their marriage together and are losing hope, “Do what is right and trust the Lord.”

To the loyal company man in shock because he lost his job and asks me, “Why has this happened to me?” I can only say, “I don’t know, but we need to trust God to see you through it.”

Saying, “Trust the Lord,” may sound trite, trivial, and like a cop-out. But it’s not. When we have more questions than answers, more pain than comfort, and our faith is wavering but honest, all we can do is trust God. This week is one of those times when we need to trust God.

Watch the Way You Talk

A Norvell Note

October 29, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 42

Watch the Way You Talk

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Ephesians 4:29, The Message)

I have used this text as the basis for many notes over the years, but I think it is probably needed more now than ever. Let’s take one phrase at a time.

Watch the way you talk. During the next week, you will have the opportunity to voice your thoughts on the election, the candidates, the results of the election, and the people who voted differently than you prefer. Watch the way you talk. Choose your words carefully and pay attention to who might be listening.

Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Even though others may use foul, filthy, divisive, and judgmental language, you don’t have to follow their example. Their language does not have to be your language.

Say only what helps, each word a gift. Say only what helps. How’s that for a challenge? Only what helps. That might reduce many conversations, but if you speak only words that lift others up, the conversation will be much more wholesome and encouraging. Each word is a gift. Treat your words like a precious gift.

In stressful times, we must be even more watchful of how we talk than usual. These are stressful times. Be an encourager. Be thoughtful. It may be that the best words are the ones not spoken. It takes self-discipline and courage.

Watch the way you talk.

Asking for Wisdom

A Norvell Note

October 20, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 41

Asking for Wisdom

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5)

Generous God, I do need wisdom, so I’m asking.

Please give me the wisdom to know what to say to the daughter who knows her mother has only a few hours left to live.

Please give me the wisdom to remain silent when I don’t have helpful, meaningful, or encouraging words.

Please give me the wisdom to know how to walk with the person going through what feels like never-ending grief.

Please give me the wisdom to know what to say to the young couple struggling to hold their marriage together.

Please give me the wisdom to encourage the gentleman who has lived a long, meaningful life but no longer feels he has a purpose.

Please give me the wisdom to offer advice only when asked.

Please give me wisdom when I enter the election booth.

Please give me the wisdom to change what I can and accept what I cannot.

Please give me the wisdom and the wisdom to use the wisdom You give me.

The Opportunity

A Norvell Note

October 13, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 40

The Opportunity

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. (Colossians 4:5)

As I watched reports of the storms that have devastated communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, I thought about how important it is to make the most of our opportunities to be with people and express our love to them. Life changes quickly, and we never know what the day will bring, so we must stay in the present and live every moment to the fullest.

That thought consistently influences my thinking. But as I read the verse from Colossians, I realized that taking advantage of our opportunities has a more specific meaning. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.”

Consider the wording from The Message. “Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.”^[1]

Consider how you treat people outside your faith community, the people in your neighborhood, your workplace, and the places where you do business. What’s your conversation like with them, how do you speak to them, how do you treat them? What sort of attitude do you have with and toward them?

Make the most of those opportunities so they can see Jesus in you. Doing that brings glory to Him and may help them know the Lord. Life can change quickly. You have this moment. Make the most of it.

^[1] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Col 4:5–

Pray

A Norvell Note

October 7, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 39

Pray

Please pause and pray for all those who have been and will be affected by the powerfully destructive storms.

Jesus in the Neighborhood

A Norvell Note

September 29, 2024, Vol. 28 No. 38

Jesus in the Neighborhood

The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. (John 1:14, The Message)

I have great comfort in those words.

Knowing that God loved us so much and wanted us to know Him so much that He sent His one and only son to live in the world where we live is very comforting. Jesus came to earth to show us who God is, but because He came to earth, He also knows what our life is like.

He knows what it’s like to lose a loved one. He knows and understands the pain, the confusion, and the anger that comes with death. I can’t explain why He doesn’t prevent it or why He answers some prayers for healing and others He does not. Or why He leaves us in the dark on those answers. But it comforts me to know He understands what I’m feeling.

He must understand what it’s like not to have money to pay bills or struggle to provide for our family because He spent much of his time with the poor and meeting their needs. Not only did HE meet the needs of people who struggle with finances, but He has instructed His people to do the same.

Because he moved into our neighborhood, he can identify with us when our families experience division and disharmony in our families. And when we cannot resolve the differences, He feels our pain and disappointment.

Jesus is in our neighborhood to remind us that He wants to be with us, is available when we need Him and wants to share life with us. I find great comfort in those words.

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