Remnant Glory Ring Testimony

A Testimony from the Journal of Moe Johnson © 2005

June 4, 2005 I was meeting with some close women friends - our "God time" on Friday mornings. We found we'd all had a rough week - physically, emotionally or both. We shared, talking of many things.

Betty read to us of a faith, a story about a 747 needed to help some Africans...and I felt a familiar pit in my stomach because lately my "faith" seems to come and go. I felt like a such a mess - my husband, my marriage, my house - the disheveled kitchen, laundry piles, dirty bathroom, our lack of order and schedule, my grown-up children's lives and struggles and me, just me with my crazy hair, fat body that refuses to lose weight and get well, my forgetfulness and unpredictable energy level, my fragile mind and frustration - a mess, all of it.

I thought, "Yea, some people will participate in great acts of faith/works getting gifted with whole airplanes to transport people to Africa to do great things like help feed starving people while some of us can barely get out of bed in the morning." I felt a sick anxiety pound in my chest and a sense of deep failure at my lack of measuring up.

Kathy spoke of her "empty nest" feelings and the longing do something that mattered or made a difference. Missy and Jill had started working on projects they had brought, listening and commenting from the dining area.

Missy and I shared about an early morning discussion we'd had about the scripture reference regarding "doing the works of Jesus and even greater". Whatever it all meant it seemed to us that it would at least suggest we would, if possible, relate even more to the cast off, downtrodden, broken, sick, hurting and that we would be even more loving and even more willing to, like Moses (Hebrews 11) "by faith choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches, than the treasures in Egypt for he looked to the reward." Moses cast aside fortune and fame, ease and comfort, and threw in his lot with and chose to identify with the "people of God." And who were they?? At that time, they were slaves, uneducated, broken, coarse, rough-edged people who in many ways had forgotten who they were. All they knew were the ways of bondage.

As we shared I became aware of what Missy was doing - attempting to make Glory Rings (for orphan children in Mexico she is soon to visit) out of a bag of fabric remnants she had purchased. We suddenly became caught up in the colors and varied patterns and yet flawed beauty of the left-over pieces some of which were very frayed, crooked and odd. We were swept away putting the remnants together and typing them to golden rings, "oohing" and "ahhing" over each new creation in all its simplistic and imperfect glory!

I have a revelation as we worked together. All my religious life I had understood the "remnant" to refer to the "special ones," the "perfect ones," the "cream of the crop" the "elite and chosen." I realized that while all these words might be correct in a sense, I had in my misguided legalism misunderstood their meaning....remnants are the leftovers, cast-offs, the unwanted, unused, maybe even considered unusable parts. As I held the frayed pieces of fabrics in my hands God spoke to me that the "unwanted" and the "cast-offs" are indeed special because HE values them so highly. I felt I was holding the fragments of my own life in my hands and seeing it all in a new light through His eyes.

As our hands formed the Glory Rings, the imperfections of the frayed pieces formed a work of art with an indescribable beauty - a beauty that could not compared to my beloved banners and other Glory Rings each made with expensive and carefully chosen materials and details finished to "perfection." "Beauty" took on a whole new meaning and I felt my heat breaking in humility and an old song came back to me from my newly Christian days, the song I had loved second only to Amazing Grace . . . "Something beautiful, something good, All my confusion He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, But He made something beautiful out of my life."

Then I "saw" Jesus, the Son of God, fellowshipping with sinners, something "religion" preaches about but for the most part cannot bring themselves to truly emulate. O my Jesus, He was unafraid of their filthiness, not offended by their foul mouths and foul lives, not repulsed by their diseased bodies and minds, and neither intimidated nor discouraged by their demons or their track records. He looked at them unabashedly and saw all they were meant to be and the reality of their mistakes and heartaches and sins, unbelievable, only added to their value in His eyes. And when He touch them He redeemed their lives.

The remnant Glory Rings we fashioned from that bag of cast off fabric ends were resplendent with color, character and imperfections and humor interlaced with God's brilliant glory. And as I looked at them I "heard" again the parable regarding the invitation to the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14) and it all looked so different to me. . . the king sent out his servants to those who were invited to the wedding repeatedly but they all refused to come. "Then he said to his servant, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find invite to the wedding.' So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests."

Then God gave me Isaiah 10:20-23, 27

"And it shall come to pass in that day, That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them. But they will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return. The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the LORD God of hosts will make a determined end in the midst of the land. It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil."

Later, when I bathed my remnant rings with anointing oil and prayer, God's glory filled the room and my hands shook in worship and awe. I danced before Him with the rings it seemed He dance with me in joy.

The Remnant

Worshiping in spite of strife,

tattered, shattered, torn by life,

coming to You just as I am –

   simply living the best I can . . .

By the side of the road

You found and lifted me with grace

this wounded, messy load,

beaten by the race,

then You carried me with tender love

to Your healing holy place. . .

Now tearfully I worship

knowing

the best I have to offer You

was purchased with my sin.

And though my grateful love is

flowing,

still some claim "much more is due",

but You only seem to grin. . .

Amazing Grace, the Son of God,

The Prince who came for me –

Your delight is saving wretches

and seeing them set free

Your glory wraps up rags in love

then calls them jewelry.

                                                    MoeJ 6/5/05nto the L

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