Michelle Ule's Blog, page 46
December 26, 2017
Perspective on Grief: How Long Until it Doesn’t Hurt?
I don’t know how long it will be before I don’t miss my mother any more.
This year, however, it was better.
Every year it gets a little better.
It doesn’t mean her memory isn’t important; it always will be important.
The searing heat and hatred of a death at Christmas, however, doesn’t underscore everything I did this year.
We buried mom twenty-two years ago on December 26.
What is a perspective on grief?
Perspective = “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.”
Grief = “deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone’s death.”
I’ve written before about dealing with death at Christmas, and about managing an expected death during the holiday seasons.
Those are among my most read posts.
Grief as a Sine Wave
Grief is as individualized as the person.
I’ve come to see grief as a sine wave of emotion: it goes up and down.
The first years, the wave jolts high and plunges low with grief and rebalance for many of us.
Often you can’t guess at what will spark the emotional swing.
You can laugh over a sweet holiday experience, and find yourself plunged into sobbing in a second.
That’s normal–because your grief is normal to you.
Ride the wave, though, up and down–and don’t get caught in an endless whirling eddy of emotion that never advances.
Over the years the highs may not be so high, but the lows bottom out and soften.
You’ll always miss that person you love, but the pain won’t hurt as much.
No one, however, can tell you how long your piercing grief will endure. You have to live with it, around it and through it.
Getting stuck is the worst part–and often will cause the most pain for not only you, but your family, in the long run.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help from someone else–and often is the best thing to do.
(Photo by Luana Azevedo on Unsplash)
Dealing with a death at Christmas
For years I struggled with my grief at Christmas after my mother’s December 22 death.
Grieving was complicated by my father’s health, which almost immediately collapsed.
We spent the next seven years dealing with him–often showing up at Christmastime when his grief overcame him.
There’s nothing like struggling to muster the emotional energy to bake Christmas cookies with your little girl while fielding phone calls from the ICU.
It was horrible.
I hated Christmas.
The grief roared for years–exacerbated by all the demands of the holidays: singing, tree, presents, “Mom, can we . . . ”
I had children, I couldn’t shuck it all and run away–or could I?
Not by myself, but my perspective on grief began to change when we altered our celebrations.
We still did all the accoutrements and I did find my solace in writing and receiving the annual Christmas letters. (Still my favorite part of Christmas).
But when I finally was able to tell my husband how much I hated Christmas and why, he immediately jumped in to help.
And in one of those curious quirks of life, some of the kids went to college.
That meant Christmas was almost the only guaranteed time they’d all be home together.
Or, in our case, free to travel on a family vacation.
So we did, for many years.
Yes, we missed our loved ones, but the sharpness dulled over time and distance.
Perspective on grief when it sneaks up on you
Missing mom underlies events in ways that still surprise.
This year I stood in the cold section of the grocery store when “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” wafted over the airwaves.
Both times I began to cry.
Grief can catch you in the oddest places. (NeONBRAND on Unsplash)
I felt indignant, “it’s been so long, I shouldn’t be crying now!”
I had sung it over the phone to mom the year before she died, as a surprise.
We didn’t see her at Christmas ever again.
By the time the song ended, I felt better and could shake my head at the absurdity–especially when it happened at the same place two weeks later!
I felt rueful and nostalgic the second time, not seared with grief.
That’s progress.
Adrian Monk’s perspective on grief
We watched an episode of the old TV show Monk last night.
Adrian Monk is a private detective who deeply mourns the loss of his wife in a tragic accident.
Her death unhinged him.
“Would you want me to grieve like that for you?” my husband asked.
I didn’t have to think about my answer.
“No. I’d like to think you missed me, but move on with your life. Love our family, that’s more important than fixating on me and my death.”
He wasn’t worried about it, but it also freed him.
My mom would have said the same thing.
So, we do.
Blessings to you if you’ve lost a loved one or a way of life this holiday season.
Tweetables
Perspectives on grief and loss at Christmastime–how long will this last? Click to Tweet
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December 22, 2017
An Oswald Chambers Bibliography
While writing my biography, Mrs. Oswald Chambers, I reviewed many of these books and websites.
Given all the information below, why read my book?
Mrs. Oswald Chambers provides insights into the hows and whys of My Utmost for His Highest. It gives a domestic view of Oswald Chambers’ life.
In my book, we learn how God used a woman to accomplish extraordinary tasks in complicated and difficult situations.
Biddy’s life can provide insight for modern Christians. She took shocking risks to ensure the availability of Oswald’s books and teachings.
Not to mention surviving two World Wars and a headstrong teenager.
I accessed countless archival materials, read innumerable books about the times and Googled so much, they got tired of me.
In addition to the bibliography below, I spent months searching Ancestry.com‘s data banks and researched countless websites.
Here’s my list of Oswald Chambers-related published material.
Bibliography–Oswald’s Books and My Utmost for His Highest
The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers. Published by Discovery House, 2000.
This enormous book, just shy of 1500 pages, contains all of Oswald Chambers’ works.
Each book in the volume includes publishing information by Chambers’ biographer David McCasland.
My copy also included a DVD of an interview McCasland did with Kathleen Chambers in 1991.
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. Published by Discovery House, most recently in 2017.
The devotional that has never been out of print in 90 years, edited by Biddy Chambers. I’ve written about it innumerable times, but here, here and here are basic blog posts.
A Daily Companion to My Utmost for His Highest by Drs. Jed and Cecilie Macosko. Published by Discovery House, 2014.
This is an excellent resource for people wanting more insight into the daily readings found in My Utmost for His Highest.
The Macoskos provide background, insight, questions and encouragement for folks trying to puzzle out what each days’ reading means. I wrote blog posts about this book here and here.
Utmost Ongoing: Reflections on the Legacy of Oswald Chambers by assorted writers (including me). Published by Discovery House, 2017.
27 essays on select readings from My Utmost for His Highest. I wrote about August 28: “What’s the Good of Prayer?” Essayists include Macy Halford, Jed and Cecilie Macosko, Patricia Raybon and Joni Eareckson Tada. I found the essays moving, uplifting and encouraging.
Bibliography–Biography
Oswald Chambers: His Life and Work.
Biddy put together this biography in 1933. It includes remembrances of Oswald, stories of his youth and excerpts from his diaries. While the book ran through three editions in 1933, 1938 and 1955, it is out of print.
Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God by David McCasland. Published by Discovery House, 1993.
The gold standard biography of Chambers. McCasland wrote a comprehensive and interesting book. I’ve read it several times and recommend it to anyone interested in Oswald Chambers.
Searching for Mrs. Oswald Chambers by Martha Christian. Published by Tyndale House, 2008.
The author had access to Kathleen Chambers. Unfortunately, Oswald and Biddy’s only child died before Christian completed the book. Readers can learn some things about Biddy, but information is thin and sometimes incorrect.
Oswald Chambers: An Unbribed Soul by D. L. Lambert. Published through the Oswald Chambers Publications Association, 1968.
Lambert knew Chambers well and wrote this book after Biddy’s death. It’s a fine overview and not long. Unfortunately out of print.
My Utmost: A Devotional Memoir by Macy Halford. Published by Knopf, 2017
This beautifully written memoir tells of Halford’s love for My Utmost for His Highest. It’s about what she learned about herself, Oswald and the devotional. I wrote about My Utmost here.
Oswald Chambers: A Life in Pictures by Paul Kent. Published by Discovery House, 2017.
A beautiful book illustrated by many gorgeous photos. I saw pictures I hadn’t seen before. Bonus: I’m mentioned in the bibliography!
Bibliography Websites
My Utmost for His Highest is posted every day at www.utmost.org in both the classic edition and an updated format (updated by James Reiman).
You can 
follow My Utmost for His Highest on Twitter at @myutmost
Themes from My Utmost for His Highest by Dr. Ken Boa
We received this CD from the Breakpoint Great Books series in 2007. On this CD, Dr. Boa discusses 16 main themes in My Utmost for His Highest. We gain insight every time we listen to it.
Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. This non-profit group began in 1934 to assist Biddy Chambers in publishing Oswald’s work. The website features a fine video that covers Oswald’s life.
Tweetables
An Oswald Chambers bibliography. Click to Tweet
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December 19, 2017
Adventures with Christmas Carols
Some may have to do with the holidays, and some may not.
Here are stories featuring Christmas carols in my life.
American Christmas carols: Feliz Navidad?
Our family of seven camped through New Zealand many years ago during the Christmas holidays.
One night in Rotorua, we rode a bus to the Tamaki Maori Village for an evening of Maori culture.
We experienced music, songs, dances and viewed cultural events and crafts.
The evening finished with a traditional dinner.
(It reminded me of our experiences at luaus in Hawai’i.)
On the trip back to town on a bus full of international visitors, the bus driver asked us to sing songs from our country.
We were the only Americans on the bus, but after hearing Christmas carols that sounded very familiar, we wanted something different.
The only different song we could all remember was Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad,” which we sang with gusto.
(Okay, we ARE from California).
Everyone on the bus loved it.
I’ll be home for Christmas
As I inspected the frozen vegetables at the grocery store last week, “I’ll be home for Christmas,” wafted over the speakers.
Staring at the frozen peas, I began to cry.
Hawai’ian creche
23 years ago in October, I sang that song over the phone to my mother, announcing we’d purchased tickets to California from our home, then, in Hawai’i.
She was very excited she’d get to spend a Christmas that year with all seven of her grandchild.
The day before we were scheduled to fly, my husband’s military leave orders were canceled. We had to stay home.
Mom gamely mailed all our packages, and they got there in time for Christmas.
But we were so very sad. “I’ll see you next year,” I promised over the phone.
She died the next year on December 22. I saw Mom that Christmas in her casket.
Curious how a Christmas carol can trigger grief so many years later.
For Unto Us a Child is Born!
Handel’s Messiah is most often heard at Christmas time, though it works equally well for Easter.
In my case, it played an important role in November–when I labored with my first child.
I played it over and over again as I walked the entire night, hoping my child would be born soon.
Uganda creche
Though I didn’t know the sex, I even sang along, “Unto us; a son is given, for unto us a child is born!”
We did have a son–born 18 hours later!
Other meaningful Christmas carols
I’ve written other posts about meaningful Christmas carols in my life.
My favorite contemporary carol is A Strange Way to Save the World.
We had a delightful Christmas in Queenstown, New Zealand singing carols with a New Zealand twist. “The Upside Down Christmas,” made us laugh as we sang the words!
My Deliverer is Coming also inspires during Advent.
My Christmas novella, The Yuletide Bride incorporates bagpipe music into the storyline at Christmas, no less!
Can you share a story about how a Christmas carol affected you?
Tweetables
Personal laughter, birth, sorrow and joy: Christmas carols over the years. Click to Tweet
Adventures in Christmas carols: laughter, childbirth, poignancy and joy. Click to Tweet
Is Feliz Navidad really an American Christmas carol? Click to Tweet
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December 15, 2017
A Word from God and Biddy Chambers
The conventional idea behind a “word from God,” is that He gives you a passage of Scripture at a certain point that you grab hold of.
It needs to come from the Bible, otherwise you cannot be sure it really comes from God.
Biddy and Oswald Chambers
often saw in the Bible answers to questions they had prayed about.
Several times, they made a decision in faith and later, often that day, read a verse that confirmed God wanted them to do something.
How does a word from God work?
Generally, people seek such guidance when they’re troubled, curious or uncertain.
But, it can also turn up when you least expect it.
In my own case, I’ve been innocently reading my regularly scheduled Bible passages when something jumps out at me.
It speaks to a question I may have been considering before I sat down to read, whether I specifically sought an answer or not.
Sometimes a word from God illuminates a question someone else asked me. They weren’t sure what to do, we prayed together and a few days later I saw something in the Bible that applied to them.
I can then pass it along–and they can do whatever they like with it.
What is a common reaction to receiving a word from God?
In my case, it’s been relief. “I did hear God correctly!”
or, “that explains why I think I should do ______.”
A classic Oswald Chambers example came when he first arrived in Egypt to work at the YMCA camp at Zeitoun.
The circumstances in the middle of World War I didn’t make any sense to send for Biddy, their two-year old daughter Kathleen, and friend Mary Riley.
And yet, one day as he prayed, wrapped in a blanket and watching the sun rise over the desert, he felt certain he needed to send for the three loved ones.
He didn’t know why it needed to happen that day, but it did.
Oswald wired Biddy to buy tickets. He had no resources to build an adobe bungalow. He believed God would provide the funds, so he made the arrangements.
That night while reading The Daily Light, he saw this passage taken from 2 Chronicles 6:18:
“Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee: how much less this house that I have built.”
That confirmed, for Oswald, that he’d made the right decision.
Subsequent events showed that to be true.
Because Biddy bought her sailing tickets that very day, she, Kathleen and Mary were granted permission to enter Egypt.
The Army ceased allowing civilians to enter the country a few days later.
How do you know a word from God really comes from God?
As in any interpretation of a Bible passage, you compare it to other Scriptures.
If this “word” violates, say, the Ten Commandments, it does not come from God.
If it contradicts or calls into question the validity of other corresponding passages from the Bible, it doesn’t come from God.
God does not change. His word needs to be examined against itself and Him.
If you have a question, ask a learned Bible teacher.
What if a word from God doesn’t make sense?
You’re reading the Bible with a question in your heart.
You start with a Psalm, say, because the Psalms display emotion and often put into our hearts words we may not dare to say to God ourselves.
Some verse stands out to you because of your situation. You decide to “claim” that verse as the answer.
Biddy Chambers sat beside her husband’s hospital bed in November, 1917 with her Bible and The Daily Light on her lap.
She watched Oswald struggle to recover from complications from an emergency appendectomy.
Nurses told her he could not recover–he also had blood clots in his lungs.
But she emotionally and spiritually clung to a verse she felt God had given her.
It came from John 11:4 when Jesus spoke to Martha and Mary at Lazarus’ tomb.
“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
The nurses shook their heads, but left her to believe what she wanted to believe.
What if a word from God doesn’t come to pass?
Oswald Chambers died a few days after Biddy “got” that word.
So what did it mean if it did not happen as she expected?
Seventeen years later, Biddy reflected on that passage in Oswald Chambers: His Life and Works.
During that time, she wrote:
“There were many experiences of the sufficiency of God’s grace. But chiefest of them all was the way God spoke some word to meet the needs as they arose. . .
“Through all the days of the illness and its crises, the word which held me was, “this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,” and there were times when it seemed that the promise was to have a literal fulfillment.
“But again God had a fuller meaning; and yet the sickness was not unto death, but for the glory of God, we believe.”
The word from God did not come to pass as Biddy expected. Oswald died.
But by 1934, Biddy knew the second half of the clause had occurred: God was glorified as a result of Oswald’s death.
We would not have My Utmost for His Highest if Oswald had lived.
God gave her that word to encourage her in a dark time. Biddy needed all the encouragement she could get, a penniless widow in the middle of a war in Egypt.
Looking back, she could see God was glorified and for that reason, Oswald’s sickness wasn’t unto death–in the spiritual sense.
Why do people get a word from God?
For encouragement, direction and out of love.
We may not, however, always understand they whys, whats, whens or who.
Thanks be to God.
Tweetables
What is a word from God and where can you find one? Click to Tweet
What’s the point of a word from God? Click to Tweet
How can you know it’s a word from God? Click to Tweet
Every month in 2017, I’ve been telling the stories about God’s leading and my blessed–and astonished–reactions while writing Mrs. Oswald Chambers
The next newsletter comes out December 15: In which I receive an unexpected blessing from Biddy Chambers
This story will complete the free giveaway: Writing about Biddy and Oswald Chambers: Stories and Serendipities!
Sign up for my newsletter here.
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December 12, 2017
Michelle’s Favorite Books in 2017
For the first time, I participated in the Goodreads
Challenge and read more than twice as many books as my goal.
If you’d like to follow me on Goodreads and see the whole list, click here.
Meanwhile, here’s what I enjoyed the most.
Family-related stories
I have a large family, especially when you include the cousins and the outlaws. I always enjoy poignant and funny stories about the reality of family life.
Both of these books use humor to defuse complicated family health issues.
Wonder by RJ Palacio
A now well-known YA story, I appreciated how clever the short chapters and writing presented themselves in the book. The movie is good, too, but–as always–the book is even better. A great choice to read to kids.
Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Happy Ever After by Heather Harpham
I read this beautifully written story in one night. It’s the poignant tale of a family coming together around a very sick child.
Harpham pulls off a lovely hat trick in writing about her relationship with the child’s father and the tensions inherent in raising a child with a harrowing illness. We see the love and unity that comes from navigating life through a family’s crisis.
Fiction
It doesn’t escape my notice that all three of these novels are historical fiction!
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
An incredibly witty and clever book about post-Revolution Russia. It’s very thick, but everything ties in with each other, front to back. A marvel and the best book I read this year.
Many Sparrows by Lori Benton
Beautifully written tale of pre-Revolutionary life in upstate New York from both the Native American and colonist sides. Filled with drama and pathos; simply terrific.
A Conspiracy of Breath by Latayne Scott
Fascinating, beautifully written story in the years following Jesus’ resurrection. Ostensibly about “who wrote the book of Hebrews?” I also found it an absorbing tale asking “how did the first century church recognize truth?” Simply marvelous.
Non-fiction
The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
An interesting and easy read that brought back that extraordinary time. I’d love to see a follow up because I’m pretty sure events that took place in Gander have reverberated to the positive since then.
I’d also like to visit Newfoundland, now.
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
An important book about a terrible social situation in the US, well written and insightful. Vance portrayed his family with love and clear eyes; he’s suggested ideas most policy makers haven’t considered as valuable.
But they are. Until you have walked in another’s steps, lived their lives and listened with an open heart, it’s hard to understand how what seems an obvious answer to a problem really isn’t.
Read the book. You’ll be a better person for the experience.
A Surgeon in the Village by Tony Bartelme
I gave a copy of this book to my EMT daughter, who took it with her on a medical missions trip to Africa.
She texted me this response from the Kigali, Rwanda airport after she finished reading it:
“As a global medicine student I really appreciated his work toward creating sustainable medicine without foreign doctors.”
History/Biography
2017 is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. I attend a Lutheran Church. Naturally books about that consequential event appear on my list of favorite books!
I learned so much from this biography! Metaxas’ wit shines throughout the book, but also his diligent study and clear explanations of a very complicated chapter in church history.
Katarina and Martin Luther by Michelle DeRusha and Luther and Katarina by Jody Hedlund
Excellent companions to Metaxas’ biography, these two books prompted me to write two blog posts worth of discussion.
DeRusha’s book is a straight biography, Hedlund’s is a romance novel. They provide a complete picture–in truth and imagination–about the couple.
The posts are here: Mr. and Mrs. Luther in Fact and Fiction
Oswald Chambers: A Life in Pictures by Paul Kent
A beautiful book of pictures telling Oswald’s life story. It’s gorgeous (and references me in the Bibliography!)
An excellent gift for a true fan!
Mrs. Oswald Chambers by Michelle Ule
Of course this is my favorite book! But here’s Jane Kirkpatrick’s review off Goodreads:
Mrs. Oswald Chambers brings to life a devoted couple, a commitment to God and the fruit of lives lived by faith. If you haven’t ever read the devotional that has touched millions of people written by Oswald Chambers My Utmost for his Highest, you’ll want to after meeting the extraordinary couple.
Michelle uses her skills as a novelist to create the landscape, relationships and exacting work shown us in Biddy Chamber’s commitment to God and to the work of her husband long after his death. This story speaks to God’s faithfulness not only then but also now. This is a story of encouragement for difficult times no matter when or what those might be. Well done
I’ve read many other books I’ve enjoyed, but these are the ones that shine as my favorites, or most significant.
How about you? What did you love?
Tweetables
A novelist/biographer lists her favorite books of 2017. Click to Tweet
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December 8, 2017
The Inspiration Behind Mrs. Oswald Chambers
It’s a fair question.
Why would I spend two years of my life researching and writing about a woman who died in 1966?
I never met her.
I’d never heard of her until 2012.
What was it about Biddy Chambers that intrigued me so?
First inspiration: Abandoned to God
It started with David McCasland’s biography Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God.
I purchased the book figuring my husband and I should learn more about the man whose devotional we read every day.
The facts of Oswald’s life surprised us both.
Who knew he died ten years before the publication of My Utmost for His Highest?
McCasland included a short chapter at the end of the book discussing Biddy’s post-Oswald life, but the book was about Oswald.
(He told me later he made it short because Kathleen Chambers was leery of anything written about her mother).
As a (now retired) Navy wife, I’m very familiar with the strength and commitment of women who stand behind successful men.
It’s not a cliché, it’s often true. I know many of them.
(Weak women can be a downfall, too, but that’s another blog post. )
My husband and I admired Biddy’s commitment to her husband and his words and moved along in our lives until one day . . .
World War I intervened.
I work part-time for my literary agent. In January 2013, we agreed to discuss my next writing project after work at three o’clock.
At 11 o’clock, an editor from New York called looking for someone to write an inspirational World War I romance.
My agent said she’d think about the idea and consider her authors.
I stood in the office door as we shook our heads. “What sort of inspiring story could come out of World War I?”
[image error]Michelle Ule, Author.
December 5, 2017
Kid Books for Christmas 2017
(Actually, I buy kid books every year for Christmas.)
Since none of the recipients read this blog (indeed, several can’t read), I feel safe talking about them here.
Besides, I’m not going to tell you who is getting what.
Preschool boy
He’s a rough and tumbling kid who loves to move and be outdoors.
He also likes motorized vehicles.
I’m leaning hard toward Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, of course.
But there’s this other book that comes with matching pajamas: Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.
Oh, the choices!
(The real problem is, I’m pretty sure I already gave him Richard Scarry‘s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go!)
Early elementary school girls and science
I like to match kid books with the interests of the pertinent children.
The kids in our family are all descendants of a brilliant engineer. They like science-type things and are pretty good at math.
The all adore Adventures in Odyssey CDs–but own so many, it’s hard to find one that’s new.
With parameters like that, I’ve delighted them with Andrea Beaty’s STEM books, in particular Ada Twist, Scientist.
One copy goes to the child who doesn’t live near me and so hasn’t read this book at my house. (Of course I have all three of Beaty’s books!)
Everybody else gets the accompanying workbook to the other favorite, Rosie Revere, Engineer.
It’s called Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Engineers, and looks like a lot of fun.
The same girls and music
Of course, they’re also related to me, and so they like music, too.
I’ve been thinking of music-related kid books.
This one looks interesting: Welcome to the Symphony
But so does The Story of the Orchestra.
I’m not done shopping yet.
There’s too many great kid books out there these days!
Elementary boys
We’re a girl-heavy family, but we’ve got an older boy and that choice was easy: Wonder.
He’d heard of the book but not read it.
I read it and loved it–as well as the movie.
This boy is a typical one who loves sports, games and building with Lego.
But then you see The Lego Animation Book–which is so tempting now that his father has decreed he owns too much Lego!
He’d have to use the family Ipad, but I’m sure the girls would help him–perhaps even provide music and certainly dancing!
A wonderful age for kid books
The real problem is there are so many wonderful kid books out there.
Several of my friends even write them.
I can suggest Diane Stortz’ I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God ,for the sub-kindergarten crowd.
For a child requiring a board book, check out the words of Amy Parker. Night Night Train is the latest.
Animal lovers would enjoy Kathleen Bostrom’s A View at the Zoo.
These are some of my suggestions.
What are your favorite books to give to children this year?
Tweetables
Kid book choices for gift giving. Click to Tweet
Kid book recommendations for ages 10 and under. Click to Tweet
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December 1, 2017
The London Blitz Test for Biddy’s Resilience (Part IV)
I’ve written before about what happened on December 29, 1940 here.
All 40,000 copies of Oswald Chambers-authored books burned in the warehouses surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral.
As did 1,000,000 others books in what one magazine described as “the crematorium of England‘s books.”
The fledgling Oswald Chambers Publishing Association, Ltd. (OCPAL) feared it was the end of the ministry.
Weren’t they insured?
No.
Six months prior, in “accordance with the teaching of the books,” (to trust God designed all events including potential catastrophes, according to his plan) the OCPAL, undoubtedly with Biddy in the lead, voted not insure the books.
In fact, they wrote to the warehouse owner that if a fire occurred there, the OCPAL would not make a claim for the stock in the warehouses, even if circumstances caused them to regret the decision.
The Blitz
Under a bomber’s moon, 24,000 high explosive and 100,000 incendiary bombs fell trying to destroy St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Firewatchers saved the cathedral, but could do little about the warehouses.
What the fire did not burn, water sprayed by firefighters finished off, leaving the remains in pulp; 4,000,000 books total.
St. Paul’s neighborhood By H. Mason
Biddy’s reaction to the Blitz in her neighborhood?
She knew all about bombings by the time the Germans took on St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The Luftwaffe nearly bombed her own home in Muswell Hill three months earlier.
The neighborhood shops behind her lost their windows, and the bombs destroyed many houses, but not Biddy’s
Her reaction in September, 1940 to her neighborhood’s close call?
“Seeing it all is as bad as hearing it, but it is made possible to look at the things not seen, so the seen things don’t dominate.”
As always, Biddy turned her heart and expectations to what God was doing.
That particular night, she held her usual Oswald Chambers book group.
Only three people came.
Biddy’s reaction after the Oswald Chambers books burned
The OCPAL meeting in January 1941 lasted a long, sober time.
It looked as if they had no stock yet, which meant the end of Biddy’s ministry.
She was philosophical about the possibility her life’s work had perished.
Linda Livingstone’s copy survived a different fire.
Biddy had a large steel cupboard at her home, as did Oswald’s sister Gertrude. She assumed only the books in those two cupboards survived.
“She was quite prepared to think the books had come to an end,” Kathleen said.
Biddy’s attitude was simple: “We’ll just get rid of what we’ve got here and see what God wants to happen next.” If God wanted the work to continue, it would.
Kathleen noted her mother never doubted God. She might have been perplexed, but she was never shaken by what He allowed to happen.
If this was the end of her work, God would give her something else to do.
Where does resilience come from in the face of the Blitz?
Biddy’s faith was in God; He would provide.
If He, the same God who took her husband’s life at a young age, wanted to destroy Oswald’s life work, she believed God knew the reasons why.
(You can see that attitude throughout My Utmost for His Highest).
Nevertheless, when copies of My Utmost for His Highest turned up in Switzerland, or unbound at the printer, she took it all in stride.
One printer had plates, another bookseller far from London had books, and soon the OCPAL was back in business.
By the end of the war, they had been able to reproduce almost all the Oswald Chambers books.
Biddy put her faith in God, not the circumstances.
Once again, she chose to believe God and as a result, wasn’t surprised when He worked in a mighty way.
Where does the resilience come from?
As answered in the first post, Biddy anchored her faith in the Creator of the Universe who has a plan–yesterday, tomorrow and today.
You can see all the posts here:
Resilience Lessons from Mrs. Oswald Chambers Part I
Widowhood Resiliency and Mrs. Oswald Chambers Part II
Resiliency Post WWI: Mrs. Oswald Chambers (Part III)
Tweetables
Adventures in resilience: the London Blitz destroys all Oswald Chambers’ books. Click to Tweet
Faith and work salvages Oswald Chambers’ books from the London Blitz. Click to Tweet
How did Biddy Chambers react to losing her life’s work in the London Blitz? Click to Tweet
Every month in 2017, I’ve been telling the stories about God’s leading and my blessed–and astonished–reactions while writing Mrs. Oswald Chambers
The next newsletter comes out December 15: In which I receive an unexpected blessing from Biddy Chambers
This story will complete the free giveaway: Writing about Biddy and Oswald Chambers: Stories and Serendipities!
Sign up for my newsletter here.
The post The London Blitz Test for Biddy’s Resilience (Part IV) appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.
November 28, 2017
What Does Home Mean to You?
Tired of the chaos, uncertainty and confusion, all I could think of was the bliss of sitting in the blue recliner with my feet up.
I’m not that much of a homebody, but after nine uncertain days away, home was exactly what I craved.
But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I felt what was becoming a now familiar gut punch.
Many of my friends already knew their houses were gone.
My friends would never go home again, at least not to what had been their comfortable, well-loved house.
After thirteen days away, we returned.
The house looked like we had left in a hurry (true), the food in the refrigerator was spoiled (no electricity for 10 days), but we had mail in the mailbox.
Life could return to the new normal.
Except, the first morning back, I woke up to a room I did not recognize.
I kept blinking my eyes–“Where am I?”
Until I finally made sense of the wall hanging, the dresser and even the clock on my nightstand.
I was home.
Surely, I could have relaxed into that relief?
My second thought: “My friends will never wake up in their bedrooms again.”
Survivor Guilt?
Justified or not, it’s called survivor guilt.
I’m not sure if any of us will ever be over it.
Our friends don’t expect us to feel guilty.
None of them have indicated jealousy or any sense of, “Why did your house survive and mine did not?”
Photo by Gus Moretta (Unsplash)
That’s not to say they’re not thinking that, but they don’t say such things. Who would?
They also don’t have to.
In our grieving with them, we’re all thinking the same thing.
Driving past the ruins and ashes of places where we attended parties, laughed with our friends and enjoyed lovely evenings, is hard.
I’ve been in tears each time I’ve driven over Fountaingrove, a once gorgeous drive I preferred to take because of the stunning views.
Now the views remind me of what I saw in Agrigento, Sicily–ruins standing on a hill.
Six weeks later, the air still smells like smoke.
What is home?
I’ve been thinking about the meaning of home lately, as a result.
Poet Robert Frost once famously wrote,
“Home is the place that when you go there, they have to take you in.”
Is it the house itself, or something else?
Perhaps the familiar or the place where we can feel comfortable.
I’ve always tried to make home a haven–a place where we don’t have to be so careful about what we do and what we say.
We can even not say anything and snuggle away to our own thoughts, emotions and comforts.
I take off my shoes and curl up on furniture–and I’m perfectly happy when visitors do the same.
Home should mean comfort, the smell of chocolate chip cookies in the oven and a place to simply be.
Can’t you smell them? Photo by Jennifer Pallian (Unsplash)
But what if you’ve lost that place?
How do you simply be?
Home is the relationships that are nurtured in a house
With all of our Navy moves, we’ve long known that home is really a state of mind revolving around the relationships of love.
I don’t have to take the children in–they all live elsewhere now–but I want to take them in.
When our family visited Groton, Connecticut ten years after leaving, I directed my husband as he drove around town revisiting the places that meant so much to me–and I thought our older children.
But it turned out no one remembered any of it.
“How can you not remember the way to church?” I demanded of my husband.
He looked at me.
“This place was never home to me, Michelle. Home is wherever you and the children are.”
(I began to amend my stories, then, and you can read that post here: Revising My History–Why ever Not?).
I had to smile, though, because he was right.
Home is where we’re loved, accepted, encouraged, cheered, confronted and acknowledged.
That’s why church can be a home, too.
27 families from our church lost their houses in October 2017.
Our church, however, stands.
And for many, that means the place where people love them, encourage them, hug them and want only the best for them, still remains.
It often feels just like home.
Tweetables
What is home after you no longer live in a house? Click to Tweet
The meaning of home after a devastating wildfire–or just a move. Click to Tweet
What do you picture when you think of home? Click to Tweet
The post What Does Home Mean to You? appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.
November 24, 2017
Resiliency Post-WWI: Mrs. Oswald Chambers (Part III)
Left penniless with a four year-old in the middle of a YMCA camp in Egypt, Biddy had a choice.
She could fall apart, or she could accept her circumstances and move forward.
The YMCA leadership in Egypt asked her to stay on throughout the war.
It made sense to her and that’s where Biddy and Kathleen Chamber remained until their 1919 repatriation to England.
Resiliency in a broken nation
While Biddy and Kathleen returned home to the welcome arms of Biddy’s mother and sister, everything else about England threatened.
Society shattered in England following World War I.
900,000 men died during the war. Many more returned home maimed–whether emotionally, physically or psychologically.
(“They” say you can learn a lot about the social history of a nation by reading historical novels. If interested, you might read the first several Ian Rutledge novels by Charles Todd.)
The London Times shouted about the “two million surplus women,” then living in England. These were women whose chances of marriage disappeared with the lost men. (See Singled Out by Virginia Nicholson)
Biddy had no interest in another husband, but she did have a child to raise.
She also had a trunk or two filled with notebooks of Oswald Chambers‘ lectures.
She saw as her ministry turning those notes into books.
Through arrangements made by her friend Charles Rae Griffin, she visited a publisher.
He saw no point or future in possible books using Oswald Chambers’ words.
It took resiliency–faith–in God’s leading to make her next choice.
Returned to England
Self-publishing anyone?
Eighty years before self-publishing became popular, Biddy Chambers took that route to produce Oswald Chambers’ books.
The same Charles Rae Griffin helped her find the people she needed in British publishing.
Biddy served as transcriber, compiler, typist, editor and book designer; the task required a great deal of flexibility.
Griffin advised as needed, but Biddy did the work.
That included, between 1924 and 1927, putting together My Utmost for His Highest.
Since she chose not to take any payment for compiling the books–believing the work was her gift to God– Biddy and Kathleen lived on charity from friends.
She rolled any profits from a book into the production costs (typesetting, design, printing, binding) into the next book.
How about raising a teenage girl?
During the time Biddy put together My Utmost for His Highest, she also ran a boarding house.
Many women who have raised a daughter struggle with resilience in the face of their teenager.
Circa 1925
Kathleen didn’t appreciate the charity clothing she and her mother were forced to wear.
Because Biddy refused payment from the books, she sought another way to provide additional income, which is why she ran the boarding house.
Biddy also chose to allow her daughter to find her own faith.
“It can be a handicap to be raised in a Christian family. You imagine you know more than you do, but you only know about God,” Kathleen explained years later.
Biddy sent her daughter to a 1920’s version of youth group, but waited as her daughter found her way to faith–long after Kathleen left school.
Despite the strains of poverty and a busy life, Biddy always put her daughter’s emotional needs first.
The two had a very close relationship. “I could tell her anything,” Kathleen said.
Obviously, Biddy’s patience with her child paid off.
But another challenge lay ahead. The final post about Biddy’s resiliency will describe events she endured during World War II.
Tweetables
Biddy’s resiliency after Oswald Chambers’ death. Click to Tweet
Biddy Chambers and the challenges in England post WWI. Click to Tweet
Resiliency? Thy name is self-publishing and raising a teenage daughter. Click to Tweet
The post Resiliency Post-WWI: Mrs. Oswald Chambers (Part III) appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.
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