The Pictures on the Wall / Los Cuadros en la Pared

In English:

Antonio, a cordial mechanic, works on my car. He maintains a modest business that inspires trust in his work.

After he serviced my car the first time, I gave him "something I had written about my former husband's faith."

"Oh, I like these things," said Antonio as he gladly took the tract. "I belong to a religious brotherhood, and during Easter week, I help to carry a float representing Christ's death. The religious pageantry is beautiful to me, and gives me a lot of satisfaction."

My succeeding visits show me the truth of Antonio's words. Never have I been in a mechanic's garage where such religious zeal was demonstrated.

Posters of Antonio's favorite Christ -- the Christ in Anguish -- line the wall of the garage. Nowhere can one ignore the Anguished Christ. A mechanic cannot even wash his hands at the sink without seeing a picture of the suffering Christ lying in his mother's arms.

While I waited for the work on my car to be done, I sat down in the car showroom. The comfortable chairs faced more pictures of the "Anguished Christ." One of Antonio's favorite pictures showed him climbing up on the Easter float to clutch the hand of the dying Christ.

I sat amazed at the fervor of this young man and his passion for religion, for pageantry.

When Antonio finished servicing my car, he prepared my bill. While he put the figures on paper, I wandered around his shop.

As I looked at the row of pictures of the suffering Christ behind the work stalls, I stood shocked before one of the framed pictures in line with the others. The picture portrayed a barely clad provocative woman, beckoning and enticing. Unabashedly, the seductive woman took her place among those of the Anguished Christ.

When Antonio completed my bill, he asked me, "Do you want a receipt?" We both knew that the question meant, "Should we declare this on income tax or not?"

"Is there no incongruence?" I wondered. "What do these pictures on the wall truly represent?"

When Christ is accepted as personal Redeemer, He generously and abundantly makes us a "new creation" within. The "new creation" despises sin and desires to love, obey and follow Christ.

The newness exposes pageantry for the show that it is. The conscience of a "new creation" in Christ prefers to pay the necessary taxes and flee lust more than clasp the hand of a statue on a float.

If Christ is embraced for who he truly is, the pictures will come down. And the true picture will be shown through the "new creation" -- and the new creation's actions.

Antonio, the pictures show me your heart. Someday when I come with my car again, I trust that I will see the best "picture" -- you with zeal for the true Lord Jesus Christ.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ,
he is a new creature;. . ."

2 Corinthians 5:17
from the Bible

En español:

Antonio, un simpático mecánico, cuida de mi coche. Tiene un negocio modesto, que me inspira confianza en su trabajo.

Después de cumplir con la primera revisión de mi coche, le di un folleto diciéndole que era algo que había escrito acerca de la fe de mi marido, ahora fallecido.

"Ah, a mi me gustan estas cosas", me dijo Antonio tomando el folleto con satisfacción. "Pertenezco a una Hermandad, y durante Semana Santa, soy uno de los que llevan el paso. La ceremonia de estas cosas me encanta."

Mis visitas sucesivas me han mostrado la verdad de las palabras de Antonio. Nunca he estado en un garaje que evidencie tanto celo religioso.

Cuadros del Cristo favorito de Antonio -- el Cristo angustiado -- llenan las paredes del garaje. No hay parte del garaje en el que se pueda ignorar al Cristo angustiado. Ni siquiera cualquier mecánico se puede lavar las manos en el lavabo sin ignorar el cuadro del Cristo sufriente yaciendo en los brazos de su madre.

Mientras espero me siento en la sala de los coches que vende. Más cuadros del Cristo angustiado. Uno de los favoritos es de Antonio mismo, subiendo al paso para coger la mano del Cristo sufriente.

Me impresiona el fervor de este hombre joven y su celo por la religión, por la pompa de la Semana Santa.

Cuando terminó con mi coche, Antonio me preparó la cuenta. Mientras preparaba la cuenta, di otra vuelta por el garaje, observando la fila de cuadros del Cristo sufriente en la pared detrás de la zona de trabajo de los mecánicos. De reprente paré, sobresaltada por uno de los cuadros entre los demás: un retrato de una mujer provocativa, escasamente vestida. Sin vergüenza, la mujer tentadora tomaba su lugar entre los del Cristo angustiado.

Cuando Antonio terminó de hacer la cuenta, me preguntó, "¿Te hace falta un recibo?" Tanto él como yo entendíamos esa pregunta. Quería decir, "¿Lo declaramos en la renta, o no?"

"¿Acaso no es una incongruencia?", medité. "¿Qué representan realmente esos cuadros en la pared?"

Cuando uno recibe a Cristo como Redentor personal, generosamente y abundantemente hace de esa persona una "nueva creación". Esa "nueva creación" desprecia el pecado y desea amar, obedecer y seguir a Cristo.

La nueva creación expone la pompa por lo que es. La conciencia del que es una "nueva creación" en Cristo prefiere pagar los impuestos necesarios y huir de la lujuria más que agarrar la mano de una estatua en uno de los pasos de Semana Santa.

Si Cristo realmente es aceptado como Salvador y Señor, los cuadros sobrarán. Y el cuadro más hermoso se verá a través de la "nueva creación" -- y sus acciones.

Antonio, los cuadros en el garaje me muestran tu corazón. Algún día cuando vuelva con mi coche, espero ver el mejor cuadro de todos -- tu misma vida celosa por la verdad que se encuentra en el verdadero Señor Jesucristo.

"Por tanto, si alguno está en Cristo,
nueva criatura es;. . ."

2 Corintios 5:17 de las
Sagradas Escrituras

The Satisfaction of Words

Richard, my heart companion, went to heaven. I know this because I believe God's Word. Richard trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord, a sinner bought by the grace of God.

Love for me did not cease to exist. I learned to know it's meaning in a deeper way -- profoundly, magnificently.

The mutual words of love between us as husband and wife give me lasting satisfaction. Our pleasure and delight in each other reminds me that marriage relationships are meant to be a touch of a richer spiritual relationship with Christ.

Let us make the effort to think, meditate, and pen our words of love. Let us make the words our own, instead of buying a greeting card which will be given to thousands of other lovers. Let us store up the treasure house with words which will fill our memories of past blessings.

Words bring me a touch of the heart of the man I loved, not to close my focus on him alone -- but to stretch the elasticity of my heart to God and outwards.

Before marriage, with a prophetic sense, Richard wrote:

What a joy it is to know
that as through life we go
the sense of joy and pain
we know together, will be gain.

On our sixteenth wedding anniversary, alone in the church where we first said our vows, Richard read to me:

Today on our sixteenth wedding anniversary,
. . . before the Lord I want to promise,
with His patient help,
to love and honor you,
to care for you in all circumstances,
to support you, to pray for you, to encourage you.

Four years later he wrote:

How many more togethers will He give?
Enough for our eternity together . . .
none less,

none more.

We knew that love between us would never end as I wrote to him three years later:

Juntos en el seno del Señor
seguiremos disfrutando
del verdadero amor para siempre.
(Together in the bosom of the Lord,
we will continue to always enjoy
true love.)

He later penned his prayer for my birthday:

I pray . . .
that you will continue to grow
wiser and more beautiful
with the true beauty
that only our LORD can give.

A year later he continued his thoughts with:

God has given me
an enduring privilege
to spend this life
here below with you.

In the same year I responded to him:

Your caring, self-giving love
is a wonderful treasure.
. . . God has been so good to teach us and to humble us,
so that we can more fully enjoy
His wonderful blessings,
and so that we can also more fully know
in our heads
and in our experience that
"every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights."

Two years later I wrote to him:

Every year I think I love you more,
and rejoice in sharing life as one with you.

The next year he wrote to me:

I love you
and want to be available and ready
to continue growing and maturing with you. . . .

Little I knew the shortness of time as I penned these thoughts to him the year before he died:

You are ever more precous --
more than the day I married you,
and more than the year before.

That same year he responded with:

. . . The Lord has held our hand
and is guiding us to that Land.
With Him we will be eternally blest,
but down here are often put to the test. . . .
Together we will face it all,

until He gives our upward call. . . .

His final blessing came with this note three weeks before his death:

I love you
and pray for your blessing
during the days ahead.

God answered his prayer.
Soon, without him, I learned to lean alone upon the "Lover of my Soul."

The Look on My Face / El Reflejo de Mi Cara

In English:

A small flock of black goats with shining coats follow Antonio, their shepherd, out to pasture almost every afternoon in my village. A few hours later with beaming faces they walk behind Antonio back to the corral. I delight to see this flock and their master pass by. They look up at me smiling, as I look at them over my garden wall. Without a word these goats communicate pleasure, contentedness, and enthusiasm.

Antonio is a kind shepherd. He enjoys walking to the pastures with his goats in the afternoon. Sometimes he skillfully weaves baskets while watching them graze. A few friends often join him for an afternoon chat as Antonio keeps watch over the goats. Antonio has what so many have never found -- contentment with his animals, his village, and his tasks.

One sunny afternoon friends and I walked down a path in the beautiful countryside. We greeted Antonio and his friends and talked with them about the goats grazing nearby. Then to my amazement, Luisa ran toward us. Antonio carefully watched as young Luisa, tamed and friendly, lay down close to us, and begged us to scratch her rough, hairy side. Luisa, also part of the flock, is a young wild boar. She, as well, reflected contentment and happiness.

Animals communicate more than we realize. Some animals hide in fear from their masters. Antonio's animals reflect contented delight as they follow their master. Antonio's goats as well as Luisa proclaim without a word the character of their shepherd. Their shining faces communicate a deep truth. The goats reflect what Antonio is.

One day I, too, was put into a flock with a Master. The day Jesus Christ added me to His flock, as a child born by faith in Him alone, He became my Lord. I live beneath the care of a caring Shepherd, guided and loved by Him along every path of life.

The more I look at my Master and follow Him, the more contented I am. The more I look at Jesus and follow Him, the more peace I have. The more I focus on Jesus Christ, the more my eyes shine with a reflection of Him. His imprint marks me.

Perhaps "glorifying" or honoring a Master is much simpler than I realize. When I look at and follow my Master, a message will be communicated. My focus will reflect what my Shepherd is.

And this reflection will transform the look on my face.

2 Corinthians 3:18
"So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the LORD. And the LORD--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."

En español:

En mi pueblo casi cada tarde Antonio, un pastor, lleva una pequeña manada de cabras negras a los campos a pastar. Unas horas después las cabras, tan contentas, siguen a Antonio de vuelta al corral. Me encanta ver pasar a esta manada y a su pastor. Me miran sonriendo mientras los observo desde el otro lado del muro de mi huerta. Sin una palabra estas cabras comunican contentamiento, felicidad y entusiasmo.

Antonio es un pastor bondadoso. Por las tardes disfruta guiando a su rebaño a los campos para que coma. Mientras la cuida, a veces Antonio hace cestas o charla con los amigos que se han acercado. Antonio tiene lo que la mayoría de la gente nunca han encontrado--contentamiento con sus animales, su pueblo, y sus quehaceres.

Una hermosa tarde soleada salí de paseo con unos amigos. Saludamos a Antonio y a sus amigos y charlamos sobre las cabras. Y entonces para sorpresa mía, se acercó Luisa. Antonio la vigiló cuidadosamente, mientras mansa y amable, se echó cerca de nosotros y buscó que le rascáramos el costado. Luisa, parte del rebaño, es una jabata. Ella, también, reflejaba contentamiento y felicidad.

Los animales comunican más de lo que reconocemos. Unos animales temen a sus pastores. Los animales de Antonio reflejan un deleite y contentamiento en seguir a sus pastor. Tanto las cabras de Antonio como Luisa proclaman sin palabras el carácter de su pastor. Una verdad profunda se comunica a través de sus caras. Las cabras reflejan lo que es Antonio.

Un día yo también fui colocada en un rebaño con un pastor. El día en que el Señor Jesucristo me puso en su rebaño, como hija nacida por la fe únicamente en Él, Él llegó a ser mi Señor. Vivo bajo el cuidado de un pastor cuidadoso, guiada y amada por Él por cada camino de mi vida.

Por más que miro y sigo a mi Señor, más contentamiento tengo. Por más que miro al Señor Jesucristo y le sigo, más paz tengo. Por más que pongo mi enfoque en el Señor Jesucristo, más brillan mis ojos con un reflejo de Él. Su reflejo me marca.

Tal vez "glorificar" u honrar a un Señor es más fácil de lo que reconozco. Se comunica un mensaje cuando miro y sigo a mi Señor. La naturaleza de mi pastor se reflejará en base a mi enfoque.

Y eso transformará el aspecto de mi cara.

2 Corintios 3:18
"Pero nosotros todos, con el rostro descubierto, contemplando como en un espejo la gloria del Señor, estamos siendo transformados en la misma imagen de gloria en gloria, como por el Señor, el Espíritu."