In the Church Pews
by Melissa Peeler
Eager Faces.
Bored Faces.
Exhausted Faces.
Angry Faces.
Distracted Faces.
Longing Faces.
Some Seeking to Praise.
Some Wanting to be Praised.
Behind Each Face a Universe of Stories.
Stories of Loss.
Stories of Pain.
Stories of Wrongs.
Stories of Love.
Stories of Joy.
Stories of Success.
Behind Each Face a Soul Yearning.
To Weave the Stories into Meaning.
Around, Within, Among, Hovers the Holy Spirit,
Bearing Holy Instruments and Prepared to Knit
An Eternally Embracing Blanket of Love
With threads of Mercy and Grace from Above.
InitiallyWritten March 31, 2019 / Revised March 26, 2022
To Like or Comment, please click on title and open in a new tab.
The words below were written by my sister, Robin Peeler, back on March 20, 2017. She re-shared the post today on her Facebook page. I asked her if I could share it here and she readily agreed. She told me I could add to it if I wanted, but it pretty much says it all. The only thing I will add here is to say this – none of us take for granted the good fortune we had to be born into such a loving family. We all know that not everyone has the same experience. I’m heartened to say that we as a family do not keep that experience only to ourselves. While we were learning to be loved and to love each other, we were also learning to love others. Not a single one of us would ever claim that the Peelers are perfect. Trust me, each of us could tell you some stories. And we do, when we gather for our annual family campout at the Old Home Place. But, we have each worked hard to make where-ever we call home and whoever we call neighbors a little better than how we found it or them.
In this picture we only see two generations of Peeler blood walking the hallowed grounds of the Old Home place. But if I close my eyes and think back over all the years, just in my short life, I can picture at least five generations in my lifetime. Many have gone home, some are just coming into the world, and some of us still go for the beauty, serenity and the overwhelming feeling of safety, love and peace that surround you as soon as you step foot on the ground. We all grew up there, ate more Sunday dinners and jars of pickles than you can count. There we were loved and cherished by everyone and we knew it, because we felt it. There may not have been much there in the way of material things, but family, that was always there no matter what.
We learned how to skip rocks, jump off the rope swing at the right time to hit the deep hole and not the sharp rock in the creek, learned how to use a handmade slingshot to shoot rocks at each other, protected each other from the gulley monster, spent many a cold night with 4 or 5 cousins jammed in one bed in the back room underneath a pile of quilts that seemed to reach the ceiling to keep us warm. And it never failed, just as we had all gotten toasty warm somebody had to get up and go to the out house and we had to start all over again.
We woke up to bacon, and sausage and eggs, and shotgun biscuits made by the loving hands of MawMaw Peeler. I swear that woman had to get up at 3 am every day to accomplish what she did. She never let you leave without a full belly, a kiss on the cheek, a tight squeeze, and for me “I love you Shorty”. Oh how I loved her too.
So many memories at this place that time will never erase, because I know of 3 itty-bitty ones with Peeler blood in them that will come to love this place and its stories as much as we all do. I wish I had time to talk about all the memories, but it’s a lifetime’s worth so for now I’ll say good night Peeler clan. Loving you all from Virginia where ever you lay your head tonight. I’m thankful for each and every one you, past, present and future. Peeler out.
To Like or Comment, please click on title and open in a new tab.
Once Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit they immediately become aware of their nakedness and are ashamed. They quickly fashion coverings of fig leaves to cover themselves. They hear the Lord walking in the garden and they hide from him. After he calls them out, forces them to explain their actions, and metes out their punishment he makes some more substantial garments for them out of animal skins.
This same dynamic plays itself out today in our relationship to the Creator. When we become aware and acknowledge that we have sinned, we feel ashamed. In a sense, we feel naked as well, our soul is laid bare before the Lord – and sometimes to those around us as well, depending on how and to whom we have hurt when we have sinned. We, too, are often tempted to do a hasty cover-up to assuage our guilt and shame. But, nothing is hidden from God and he will seek us out in our own garden through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and force us to explain ourselves.
In the overall sense of things, unlike Adam and Eve, we don’t have to have our punishment meted out to us, because Jesus has paid the penalty for us. That does not mean, however, we are completely prevented from facing any consequences of our actions. But the good news is, just as he covered their nakedness, he will wrap his garments of mercy and forgiveness around us. We can then put away the feeling of shame and walk with him again unhindered.
As Christians, we have to be aware to not fall into the trap of finding ourselves reading more books about the Bible than we find ourselves actually reading the Bible itself. Don’t misunderstand me, there are many enlightening books that give us great insight to the understanding of the Bible. But, for true transformation and for real insight into what God wants for us and expects for us, we must be sure to spend time in the Holy Word.
With that said, this is one of the books about the Bible that is truly worth spending the time with. It gives such great insight into how to approach the Bible that it will definitely enhance anyone’s understanding of how to apply what we read to our daily lives.
The over-arching theme that Enns tries to get across is that the Bible is not a rule book that we can turn to page so-and-so when we need an answer to a particular problem. That idea may be disconcerting to some Christians, but hopefully you’ll come to understand that it is actually a good thing. If you have spent any significant time reading the Bible, you have come to realize that there are passages that seem to contradict each other. Advice or instruction given in one section can be found to to be the total opposite of advice or instruction given in another section. Enns goes on to say that this is not a flaw of the Scripture – it is instead designed that way. It is intended to guide us to a life of wisdom, not to just give out easy answers to our problems.
Enns goes on to posit that “reimagining God for one’s here and now is what Christians and Jews have been doing ever since there have been Christians and Jews” (Page 125.) There again, the idea of reimagining God may be a difficult concept for many. Many will say God is who God is. The idea of reimagining God seems to veer into the dangerous situation of saying man has created the image of God rather than God creating man in the image of God. That is far from what this biblical scholar is suggesting. In fact, as we read the Bible we see God referred to as a King, Shepherd, Fortress, etc. Those were images that were readily understood and accessible to the people of that time. Today, we just as easily refer to God as our co-pilot, or even better as our pilot. If we traveled back in time and tried to use that reference, the people would not understand the reference at all. God can remain holy and remain exactly who He is within the ever-changing ways we as people within our own cultures try to relate to Him.
Enns reminds us that “we are as distant from the time of King David (three thousand years ago, about 1000 BCE) as we are from the far distant future time of 5000 CE”. (Page 7). It is imperative that we approach the Bible trying to understand the context of when a particular book was written and to whom and what culture it was written to and for. In no way does this detract from the power of the Holy Scripture to speak to us today in our here and now. In fact, it is a testament to its power and wisdom that it is able to transcend time and place and still have relevance in our lives and the ability to connect us to God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
I highly encourage you to add this book to your reading list to discover how this ancient, ambiguous, and diverse book can lead you to Wisdom.
To Like or Comment, please click on title and open in a new tab.
Departure
by Melissa Peeler
A cobalt moon shimmers between
darkened leaves, while her watery
twin echoes in kind beneath
rippling waves left in your wake.
Moons, Leaves, Ripples - all wave goodbye
to your silhouette as it is absorbed
by the night in the bend of the river.
All wave but I.
Instead, I turn aside and vanish
within my own dark abyss.
Written June 1, 2012
To Like or Comment, please click on title and open in a new tab.
Notes from a Book Nerd 