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LUKE 22:54-62<\/strong><\/p>\n 54\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55\u00a0<\/sup>And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56\u00a0<\/sup>A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, \u201cThis man was with him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 57\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>But he denied it. \u201cWoman, I don\u2019t know him,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n 58\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>A little later someone else saw him and said, \u201cYou also are one of them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMan, I am not!\u201d Peter replied.<\/em><\/p>\n 59\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>About an hour later another asserted, \u201cCertainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 60\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Peter replied, \u201cMan, I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about!\u201d Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61\u00a0<\/sup>The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: \u201cBefore the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.\u201d 62\u00a0<\/sup>And he went outside and wept bitterly.<\/em><\/p>\n 2 PETER 3:18<\/strong><\/p>\n 18\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everybody notices us. We are the new version of the traveling circus now that Barnum and Bailey have gone by the wayside. With Charlie in his wheelchair and the twins trailing behind, we draw the eye. At the zoo more people watch us than the giraffes and in fact, you\u2019re at risk if you don\u2019t keep an eye on us because Jonas will run head first into you (he tends to weave like a little drunken man). Even at the PlayPlace we bring stares, and sometimes glares. Charlie\u2019s the only kid shimmying up the slide with Jody while other kids not-so-subtly point out that this is a violation of about 5 of the 8 McDonald\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t always welcome it. I can\u2019t always bring myself to do the beauty pageant wave or nice church smile. I just want to blend in, be one of the watercolors instead of the oils. Oil and water don\u2019t mix. Instead, we float to the top, bubbling up in people\u2019s periphery. Thankfully, the majority of the time everyone is friendly\u2014neighborly in their attention like mother hens. But sometimes I don\u2019t want to be tutted over.<\/p>\n Easter will soon be upon us. Jesus\u2019 clock is winding down on earth and he\u2019s about to perform the biggest sacrifice and biggest miracle of all time. He welcomed the attention, good and bad. It was part of the plan, part of the cause, the point of the whole incarnation. People needed to stare and question and be in attendance. His celebrity status was for a purpose. He only took time outs to recharge and walk with God in gardens and solitary seas. Peter didn\u2019t get it, not even in the final moments. Peter was used to the crowds\u2014popularity from the sidecar. But when things got real, when darkness settled and the city hummed with whispers and accusations and danger afoot, Peter shrank. He turned from the stares and the light of the fire and the idea that he was \u201cone of them.\u201d He hunched away, a shadow of a man, and the rooster crowed and Jesus saw. And that was his tipping point. He\u2019d always wanted to be the favorite\u2026in favoring times. But the good times were ending and he would have to choose\u2026stand up in the spotlight, even when the spotlight might lead him to jeers, persecution, and yes, death. He finally chose because Jesus saw<\/em> him–as he was. After the crucifixion and resurrection, Peter took up the mantle and stood in the limelight, even if it was accompanied by stones thrown. It wasn\u2019t about him now.<\/p>\n When I catch myself shrinking from the turn of so many heads in our direction at the grocery store\/park\/mall, I\u2019m going to start saying a tiny prayer, a teeny tiny half sentence to remind myself to do good with this notice. I\u2019m going to pray, \u201cGrow in the grace\u2026\u201d. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s what Peter said, years later to the newbie Christians when he knew they too would come into the spotlight. The attention only gets heavy if it\u2019s about me, about us and our differences from the standard family. But if the attention can be used for good, to live gracefully, it can be directed outwards and upwards. I want<\/em> to display all that God has done in our lives after our infertility, after Charlie\u2019s hard infancy, after all the diagnoses and caring for twins. In this reframing, I\u2019m happy to toss this one to God and let everyone in the big wide open who gathers around the fire know that I am \u201cone of them.\u201d<\/p>\nSunday Thoughts Link Up!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
It’s time for another Sunday Thoughts Link-Up! I know there are many out there with wisdom that could encourage all of us. As long as it’s Biblically-based, I’d love for you to join up and then read and comment on what others have shared. Please also leave a comment here. Think of this as a Sunday morning community group that comes to you. And grab the button if you like…<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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