Brothers and Sisters, this article was written several years ago while I care gave for my sister until she died. She was a devout atheist and the day before her death, she gave her life to the Messiah. Sometimes Yah must take us through the toughest times to get our attention. My prayer during this time was that the Father would help me walk with her even in the most difficult time and that all of this would bring her to a saving knowledge of Him. He was faithful to us both!
Hugging A Porcupine ~
Yep, that's what it feels like to love some people, the un-lovable, un-touchable people. That's what it has felt like to minister to and help my sister. She is angry, in pain and is not at peace in her situation. Her anger and pain, her discontentment are like quills, poking everyone that comes near. It makes me sad.
Hugging A Porcupine ~
Yep, that's what it feels like to love some people, the un-lovable, un-touchable people. That's what it has felt like to minister to and help my sister. She is angry, in pain and is not at peace in her situation. Her anger and pain, her discontentment are like quills, poking everyone that comes near. It makes me sad.
God is stretching me and teaching me to love the unlovable, the ones only he can love. He loves the unbelievers, the sick and in pain, the hateful, the dregs. God can give us His heart of love for the unlovable.
I try so hard to keep her comfortable. She responds by yelling and refusing to take the very medicine that will make her more comfortable. Lately, I have asked God for his will to be done in her life, bring her to his knowlegde quickly and end her torment. She is only 39, so young to loose her life, but her pain and torture are so horrible, she asks to die. "God take her quickly."
I remember when my daughter was going through painful surgeries and therapies. God stretched me then, too. Facing pain in someone I love, wishing I could take the pain away or endure it for her, crying with her. God showed me then that there is always a reason for the things in our lives. But they don't come easy. My heart hurt, my mind had difficulty seeing good in the midst, I couldn't wrap my thinking around the situation.
Now, I endure another's pain again. Seeking God daily for peace and stamina to endure the daily vigil. Everything else in life passes by without care. I don't stress over what I will cook for dinner, where we will go for our next field trip, or what we will do for school. Those things are trivial and pale next to the life of another. "God reveal yourself to her, and let me love her with Your love and your heart. God show yourself and your love through my actions and speech."
So, I hug a porcupine. It hurts so bad, yet I must not give up. I cry with the pain of it, but I hold on tighter. "God, thank you for your Spirit and safety, while I hug this beautiful creation, this wonderful child."
God sent me to Romans 12 today… not just a part of it, but the whole chapter. It is another lesson in hugging a porcupine.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
When I hug a porcupine, it is nothing more than my reasonable service! I am a living sacrifice, albeit far from holy! To hug a porcupine you must sacrifice your own hurts, feelings, and pain to share God’s love with the person in need most, the un-lovable.
Romans 12 goes on to say, we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but to think accordingly to our measure of faith. God has given me the grace to hug porcupines and I am not to think about the hurts that I feel while I hug. Boy, this is a hard thing to do when the quills are puncturing my skin.
But let’s look further! God tells us in verses 4-8 that we are all one body and each member has a different purpose… and that each of us should perform our purpose in a very specific manner. It is the last of verse 8 and through verse 13 that he tells us the manner in which we should fulfill our purpose:
“…let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.”
Wow! First, I must hug the porcupine with simplicity! I don’t need to go through an elaborate escapade before the hug! You know what I mean: "Oh Lord, give me strength, help me find a special porcupine handling outfit. I need to search to find the perfect pair of porcupine handling gloves. Oh, and if I can’t find them, I’ll create my own design and make them myself. They will be perfect. Padding in just the right places so that when I hug the porcupine my hands, arms and body won’t be hurt from the quills. Now, to look for just the right material to make my porcupine handling outfit…"
Oh, come on, you know you do this… it takes me 2 months to research the quills, materials, and the perfect design. Then it takes another 2 months to pull it all together and make it… by the time I’m done, the porcupine has moved on! I have lost my opportunity to hug it and show it God’s love!
Then, I am to be diligent. Ugh! I have never been too good at that, at least not when I am doing something as painful as hugging a porcupine! It hurts. Continuing to cause myself to hurt is ridiculous! Right?! And now, God is asking me to diligently hurt myself? Nah, that can’t be right! Can it? Well, as hard as it is to believe, that is exactly what he is asking of me, to diligently hug a porcupine. He promised to give us the grace to be diligent and asked us to put others needs higher than our own. He will never ask you to do this without a reason and a purpose. Serve him with cheerfulness!
Speaking of cheerfulness, we are to be merciful with cheerfulness. Hugging a porcupine is an act of mercy and must be done with cheerfulness no matter how bad it might hurt. It will defeat the purpose of the mercy if you don’t do it with a cheerful heart. But let’s look more…
‘Love sincerely, hate evil and cleave to that which is good.’ We must love the porcupine with a pure heart. If there is evil, we must hate the evil, but not the porcupine. God made the porcupine and nothing God makes for good is evil (at least not the animals) but he can make what is meant for evil into good! I love the word ‘cleave’, I imagine someone hanging onto the trunk of a tree as tightly as possible to be safe when a tornado blows through. That’s how tight we should hold onto that which is good, as if our life depends on it!
Romans also lets us know to be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love and to honor and prefer one another over ourselves. I was thinking about showing kindness, love, attention to our porcupine friends. I’m sure many of us have had porcupine friends, invited them to dinner, even let them stay for a visit.
It’s one thing to love the porcupines, feed them and minister to them, but God, do I have to hug them? Now, you are asking too much, Lord… this is more than outside my comfort zone, this is masochistic! I can’t hug the porcupine! But, if I put the porcupine’s needs above my own, if I honor and prefer the porcupine over myself, then I must go farther than just feeding and ministering to them, I must hug them … I guess it will hurt a little, but the porcupine may not know God’s love without the hug.
As we hug the porcupines in our life, we must remember to not be lazy in the doing, keep our spirit zealous for serving the Lord in the special areas He has gifted us in. We must continue to rejoice in the hope that the Lord gives us and be patient as we hug the porcupine, even when the quills are painful. Most of all, we must remain constant in prayer. God is the only one that can heal the quill pricks on our skin and help us to keep hugging.
‘Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not… Recompense to no man evil for evil… Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink... Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ Sometimes the porcupine will hurt without knowing, other times he will shoot a quill your direction to keep you from touching him. You see, the porcupine doesn’t like to be hugged either. We are to continue to bless the porcupine with our love and hugs, even when he doesn’t think he wants it. Don’t give up and don’t hurt back. Feed him, give him something to drink, love him, and hug him.
Maybe the porcupines in your life are Christians, maybe they aren’t. Maybe they are teen age children, or members of your church. Maybe they are family members or friends. Maybe you are the porcupine right now (I know I have been in times past!) Whoever the porcupines are in your life, love them, invite them in and if God says to do so, hug them! They must need it! God’s grace will keep safe you while you hug them and the rewards are worth more than life itself, they are worth eternal life!
Keep hugging a porcupine!
