Oct 31, 2013 | 31 Days, The Good Word
Hi there! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! This post is the LAST post of a 31-Day writing adventure I jumped into this month! If you’d like to see the fruits of this labor, you can find the introduction to the series, and a “Table of Contents” with links to each day, right here. Thanks so much for dropping in! I hope you’ll be back soon!
Here it is folks… the last of 31 Days of (continuously) reflecting on the goodness of God! {Without a doubt I’m certain I will continue to think about/write about His goodness for as long as I’m allowed to keep breathing.} The challenge to get up early and write my heart out before breakfast this month was great starting out, but definitely got harder as the month went on.
It was never much of a struggle to find things to say about the goodness of God. I was a little surprised by that, but not very — He is so good, I am quite certain I could spend the rest of my life writing about His goodness every morning. Every morning itself is a reason to write!
Here are a few reflections on what I’ve learned out of this little exercise, that I hope will be helpful for you, too.
While I hope and trust this adventure in writing was an encouragement, and even a challenge to others, to consider the glorious goodness of God and live life accordingly, I sense it might also have been about me seeing what I was able to do (and less about the words on the page). For a long time I’ve had bits and snippets of larger writing projects tucked away neatly in folders in My Documents, and there they have stood quietly without progress.
Now that I realize I could start getting up and putting 1,000 words on a page before breakfast, progressing toward a particular goal, it is time for me to stop making excuses about why I’m not writing more. If I know there’s something in my heart I’m supposed to be turning concentrated effort toward, I can no longer make excuses for why I’m not doing what I’m called to do.
This has also led me to the observation that my children have become one of my greatest excuses. Sometimes, it is completely valid to say I can’t go to this event or do that thing because it just doesn’t work with my small people, but other times, I am almost blaming my kids as the reason I can’t get up in the morning and exercise {although I will admit — it is HARD when you’re nursing a baby and you don’t know when said baby will wake up and you don’t want to leave your hubs at home with a time bomb — extend grace where grace is due}. But really? The baby might also be just the excuse I need to stay snug and warm in my bed instead of getting out there.
{“Mom, stop calling us excuses… we’re opportunities!}
Instead of following some sort of schedule of writing about this on this day or that on that day, I chose to simply write what I felt led to write about during this 31 Days. It was absolutely an exercise in taking life one day at a time. I had to trust as I woke up each morning that I would have something worthwhile to say. And if I was planning on exercising in the morning and needed to write the night before, the Lord, in His glorious goodness, gave me the words in the evening and I wrote them down then.
Like the manna in the desert, the Lord keeps providing:
Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. {Exodus 16: 21-22}
Another lesson from this adventure that MANY of us might need to learn? I am not making rest the priority it should be. Why it is so hard for me to get up in the morning? Because I’m not getting into bed early enough the night before. The Hubs and I almost always have something else Quiver-Tree-related to do or to discuss. There’s probably laundry waiting for me to fold it, or switch it over to the dryer, or a fresh load that needs to be started. And let’s be honest, it’s pretty nice to enjoy those brief and fleeting hours when the wee ones are all sleeping and the house is peaceful.
But did you know that the sleep you get before midnight is actually the most important? And here’s some really great information about your sleep cycles, how to get the most out of your sleep, and why you should NOT be hitting that snooze button…
When I reflect on this, I recognize places in my life where I would like to be further disciplined. If I set the alarm for 5:30, I want my feet to hit the floor at 5:30. I only have a finite number of hours on this Earth, and man, I really want to use them well. Those who accomplish big are often those who “go big” — and give all-out focus toward a singular task as much as possible.
Louis Blériot, has a cool story. He spent countless hours, francs, and years working on building an airplane. He succeeded, became the first man to fly across the English channel in a “heavier than air aircraft,” and is now remembered for his MANY accomplishments.
The conclusion? If I rise up early to meet with the Lord, and spend my days with an ear to His Presence, I am likely to accomplish more of what I was created to accomplish with my life than if I stayed in bed those extra thirty minutes, and felt worse for it.
And about the goodness of God?
There is still so much to say.
Many of you know, have read already, that earlier this year I lost my Dad. The challenge of settling his estate has been significant. The challenge of facing the rest of my life without him, so unexpectedly, even more so. But this month, I think I’ve come alive like never before. I have consistently pondered the many, many reasons I have to be thankful. I’ve celebrated milestones, big and small, like never before.
At the end of the day, almost every day, (there have been a few rough ones) I’ve been teary-eyed, or nearly in tears, with gratefulness, as we put our children to bed.
Life is good.
Do I still feel like the number of tasks on my plate is daunting (I think I said this at the beginning of the month)? Well, kind of, but, taking a moment to reflect, around the house a lot has been accomplished this month, and I’m slowly working toward some strategies that will help me subdue this household management gig, continue to homeschool very well, and enjoy time with my kids and my husband where I am not thinking about the other stuff that needs to be done.
Even in losing my Dad and gaining a part-time job I didn’t ask for, I can see the goodness of God. The people He has connected me with through it. The wisdom I’ve gained from walking through it. The growing closer to understanding my Dad by learning how he did business? A gift from a very unexpected package.
The truth is, we can spend a lifetime on the what-ifs and I-wish-it-were-like-this’s in our lives, or we can accept the cards we’re dealt and learn to recognize the goodness in them. Our lives are not the random dealing of a deck of cards, and good observation and thankfulness will help us see that.
Stop and look for the good today. And tomorrow. And the day after that…
xCC
Oct 30, 2013 | 31 Days, The Good Word
Hello friend! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! This post is part of a 31-Day writing adventure, of which I only have two days left! I’d love for you to read along for the rest of the series (and beyond…). You can find the introduction to the series, and a “Table of Contents” as each day goes live, right here. Thanks so much for dropping in!
Have you ever been in the middle of what felt like the biggest catastrophe ever, some major crisis-life-event moment, and had a sudden reminder that the rest of the world has no vested interest in your crisis whatsoever? Like when you arrive at the hospital, contractions happening fast fast fast, you’ve barely managed to make it through the halls, to the elevator and up to the birthing floor. You step out of the elevator, and your husband tells the nurses you’re about to have a baby.
They ask you to hang on and turn back to their computer to try to figure out why something isn’t working properly.
Life momentarily feels like a movie, and your scene is reaching a climax… but some new twist in the plot reminds you: Sorry, darling, but you’re not the star of this show.
{And, yes, that totally happened to me. See birth story number three.}
There’s this very interesting moment described in John 3 where John the Baptist’s followers realize Jesus, whom John baptized, was now baptizing — and lots of people were following Him.
It seems as if they asked in a sort of So what are ya gonna do about it, huh? way.
John had a cool and collected reply for them:
“You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” {John 3: 28-30, emphasis added}
John’s answer in a nutshell: I am really, really happy about this. This story isn’t about me, but I’ve had the privilege of being a part of it. Jesus is going to grow in fame and importance, and it’s necessary that my story heads toward a resolution, as a result.
You may never have been told to just hang on a minute while trying to make it through contractions, but I’m sure you’ve had a moment where life had its own special way of reminding you that the world is not revolving around you.
If we listen to the hype, seeing ads on TV or in magazines or online, we might start to believe it actually is about us. We might even say I do deserve a vacuum cleaner that can give me everything. Yes, I want makeup with a perfect finish because I am worth it. Advertising is generally geared toward appealing to our more selfish natures.
But in the ways of God, to go higher, you’ve got to get low. John the Baptist was full of joy because he had the privilege of going before Jesus, whose story was just beginning.
And the truth is, for each of us, we are likely to find much greater joy in serving a greater cause, living our lives with the purposeful decision to remember that we are not at the center, rather than trying to convince the world that we are in fact at the center, and the world needs to revolve accordingly.
So how do we decrease?
Well, sometimes, life has its own special ways of teaching you to decrease without you necessarily making the decision to do so. Unless you have enough money to pay someone else to raise your children, parenthood is a good example of a time when, from Day 1, someone else’s needs are going to precede your own in levels of importance.
It is really hard. But you begin to learn to let go of the belief that you need to make sure things happen the way you want them to all the time, or else you stand to be quite frustrated, because, they just won’t.
While life may hand us some decrease on a platter, it is good for us to make the conscious decision to “decrease ourselves.”
Because in the Lord’s glorious goodness, He decided to build this inverse paradox of greatness in smallness into the laws of His universe.
He will use the weak to shame the strong. He will oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble. He blesses the meek, and says they will inherit the Earth.
So what can we do about it?
Let go of the belief that it is all about you. This is hard. We are born, and we come out hollering, I’ve got needs and I’m gonna holler until somebody meets ’em!!! There are absolutely days where I want it to be about me. When I lost my Dad, I wanted the whole world to stop so that I could just have some clear time to deal with my own pain.
Choose to give in ways that will not tangibly benefit you in return. If I clean my house, I reap the benefits of enjoying a clean house. If I pray for my children, I’m praying with a vested interest in seeing the will of God accomplished in their lives. If I commit time to praying for the child refugees in Syria, I am giving time to a cause that will not benefit me personally. I am saying “This is important, even if, on a surface level it seems like it has nothing to do with me. I can let go of the importance of myself and serve.”
If I commit my finances to sponsoring a child through Compassion, I am choosing to decrease the amount of money I spend on myself, in an effort to further the desire of God that His children care for people in poverty around the world.
I read an amazing story last night about a woman who sponsored a child in each of the countries where Compassion worked. She is currently sponsoring 27 children, writes each of them letters every month, and has visited many of them in their native countries at Compassion centers. Not having children of her own, she chose to give and pour into these children instead.
Her comment at the end the story? That it was a blessing to give, and a privilege.
In this world, it doesn’t make sense that we will be blessed by choosing to decrease — but here is another unexpected treasure from the hand of God. We absolutely are.
xCC
Oct 29, 2013 | 31 Days, The Good Word
Hello friend! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! This post is part of a 31-Day writing adventure, of which I only have three days left! I’d love for you to meet up ’round here and read along for the rest of the series (and beyond…). You can find the introduction to the series, and a “Table of Contents” as each day goes live, right here. Thanks so much for dropping in!
When I was in college (the first time) t-shirts that said funny or interesting things on them were very popular. A lot of Christians wore t-shirts that looked like a popular logo, but had been redesigned to say something “Christianese” — like turning a “Burger King” into a “Savior King” and sticking a cross in there somewhere.
Sometimes the t-shirts were a little less plainly apparent, probably in the hopes of being good conversation starters. “Ask me why I’m happy…”
But the most memorable (the only one I can actually remember — I made those other two up, by the way, but you get the idea) was a t-shirt a girl who attended the same campus ministry as me wore that said “And they’ll know we are Christians by our t-shirts.” A nice slice of satire, built in to a literal “I’m a Christian” t-shirt. It was ironic, clever, and I loved it.
I’m not on a college campus anymore, and I can’t say I see too many readily-apparent evangelical t-shirts these days. But then again, I’m not out in public on a totally regular basis so who knows they could still be rolling ’em out and I’m missing it.
{image via Zazzle}
I do know that nowadays one way people often discover whether other people are Christians (or claim to be) happens to be their interactions in social media like Facebook — which didn’t even exist when I was in college (the first time). Good thing there were t-shirts.
Last night, I saw an article posted by a Christian about a pastor right here in the good old state of North Carolina, who built a reasonably ginormous mansion on 19 acres of land in the woods. He shared about it with his congregation during his sermon one Sunday morning, and, as the Daily Mail reported it (but mind you folks, I can’t say you can really trust the Daily Mail…) he said the place was “A gift from God.”
I clicked over to read more of the story (probably a silly waste of time, I know) but in hopes of finding something redemptive. Basically, I think he’s a very young pastor with a sweet wife and three sweet young children whose church has exploded with members. Financially, the church is probably doing very, very well. 12,000 members… if even half of them tithe… math is math. Personally, his finances are probably very good, too. And fair enough, let the ox eat while it treads the grain.
We are very quick to put something like this out there — to say “Look at this guy who claims to be a Christian but is totally awful. I will post this article, and then comment that I think it’s awful, which will make me feel like I’m totally above it.”
Now can I take a little detour on this thought process? I dream of the day I have enough money to give thousands of dollars away to charity — to build wells in villages without water in Africa and build schools and sponsor heaps of children through Compassion and so on and so on. And the Hubs and I make decisions with our finances right now which we pray are our way of being “faithful with a little” (but this is little only by American standards, mind you) — we are giving within our ability at the moment, but still, striving to be generous.
But. Y’all. If somebody dropped 7.2 million dollars in our laps today? I pray I’d be faithful. I hope I’d be faithful. But I might also decide not to continue driving my mini-van. And I might even move. And I might or might not be judged for that.
Do I wish every independently wealthy pastor was as cool as Francis Chan, who instead decided to pastor his church while no longer taking a salary and, just living on a small portion of the proceeds of his book sales, is giving the rest away? Yeah, I do. Because it would make it a lot easier to point to the church and say, “Jesus loves you. Come join us in our quest to worship Him well and change the world by following His will.”
As it stands, sometimes the church is just none. too. pretty. It’s true.
Here’s what Paul wrote to the Romans when they were struggling with Christians who had different ways of walking out their faith:
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. {Romans 14:4}
So what does all this mean for the rest of us, caught here in the in-between, who love God but sometimes find the church to be a let-down?
First, it’s like I mentioned yesterday: it is to your glory to overlook an offense. If you see a story like this, pray for the folks involved. I spent some time reading the pastor’s wife’s blog last night, and they seem like a couple of people who genuinely want to follow the Lord and challenge other people to live a life devoted to him, too. Maybe the decision to build that big house wasn’t their finest. Maybe the Lord did want to bless them with a big old mansion. What is it to you? Keep your heart set on what you should be doing to serve the Lord. And, if you want, do what I did, get up and go wash the dishes like you should, and pray for ’em while you’re at it.
Second, remember the actual verse that was paraphrased for that clever-ironic t-shirt:
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. {John 13:35}
This verse is preceded by John 13:34, of course, which says:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
So? We “church folk” have been given a command by the Lord, and, Lord help us: we are commanded to love each other.
Here’s the take-home from all this. If you are a believer, remember that the way we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ has the potential to draw more people to Christ who don’t know Him yet. Last night, I read a story on that blog I mentioned, about a guy who’d been living in a tent in the woods, and started going to the church. One of the church members invited him for lunch his first day, and after getting to know him, and knowing his needs, he was invited to meet his new friend for a Bible study (or some other event that evening.) When he arrived for Bible study, the church members had purchased a new tent, a heater, sleeping bags, and two truckloads worth of gear for him. As the story continued, they eventually worked to help this guy turn his life around, and he no longer lives in a tent in the woods.
Don’t those actions — doesn’t that super-hard L-word, that love say so much more than words? Why should we pick apart the flaws and point at the weaknesses? There are pure and lovely things in the church worth celebrating. Like a pastor who decides to continue to pastor without taking a salary.
But, to you folks who might be reading this but might not be so sure you believe — this is what makes this whole thing really amazing. The Lord knew that His decision to use the church to spread the Good News about His love and saving grace would look like this. He knows everything. From the moment He selected that rag-tag bunch of twelve who turned the world upside down, Jesus knew He was launching His church — His beautiful beloved bride — to be His hands and feet to a world in need.
He knew we’d mess up. He knew we’d point, accuse, argue, fight, split and probably sometimes look like a mess. But He also knew His people would go on to live among the poor in the slums of Calcutta, or lose their lives while sharing the Good News with the natives of Ecuador, or be the people who sponsor millions of children around the world in partnership with ministries rescuing kids from poverty in the name of Jesus. He knew His church wouldn’t be perfect — but He still believed she would be beautiful.
And if we are willing to let the molehills be molehills, and overlook offenses in the Name of Love — we might start to agree: Our God is gloriously good, and that He chose to use us to change the world with Him? That’s just plain glorious.
Friends, let’s make every effort to love one another.
xCC
Oct 28, 2013 | 31 Days, The Good Word
Hello friend! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! This post is part of a 31-Day writing adventure, of which I only have a few days left! I’d love for you to meet up ’round here and read along for the rest of the series (and beyond…). You can find the introduction to the series, and a “Table of Contents” as each day goes live, right here. Thanks so much for dropping in!
We were in the foothills of the NC mountains a few weekends ago, as the Hubs was second shooting at a wedding and the small people and I had tagged along for the adventure. While HH was working, we’d been on an adventure to see a friend of mine during the day, and after eating an early dinner, we were back at the hotel with some time to pass before bedtime. I gathered everyone up for a little walk, and off we set to get moving.
Before you can say Hampton Inn, we almost had an explosive moment of disappointment that forced me to throw in the parenting towel.
The Bear really wanted to ride the elevator (we were on the ground floor and hadn’t needed to use it) and thinking, Heck, it’ll at least take care of five or ten minutes, I said we could, quietly, nicely ride the elevator up to the top floor and back down again. When we arrived at the elevator, our little TigerTank wasn’t feeling very tigerish. He stared at those doors, whimpered, and started to cry:
“I don’t want to ride the Alligator!!!!!! I don’t want to ride the Alligator!!!!”
For all my explaining, the elevator was not an alligator, and the elevator would be fun and safe, he still saw two metal jaws opening wide to capture people. The doors closed, and when they opened again, the people were gone.
Scary stuff for a two year old, if you think about it.
I had to quickly scoot all the kids out the back door because the Tank’s upsettedness and the Bear’s disappointedness were about to collide in a cacophony of noisiness.
The Bear experienced significant disappoint in not getting to ride the elevator and was temporarily inconsolable. Once we were outside, he plopped down on the ground, arms crossed in front of his chest, bottom lip out far enough for me to walk on it, occasional sighs of frustration escaping from his lips. Oh, the honest emotions of a five-year-old.
It took no small feat of coaxing, and some serious attempts at explaining why the Tank was afraid, to convince him to let this thing go. As far as he could see, the Tank just ruined a moment of fun for him and he was none too pleased. I promised him a ride the next morning (when the Hubs would also be present to handle non-alligator-riders) and he eventually, after some time, recovered. But forgiveness was another matter altogether, and on this occasion, I’d guess forgiveness only happened in the sense that the situation has completely been forgotten by now.
When I think about my own life, I realize there are times when I’m the disappointed one with the bottom lip poking out and the arms crossed. (On the inside, of course.) I get hurt by a harsh word from a guy at the bank, or disappointed when I’ve shared something important to me with someone important to me, hoping for them to take it seriously, and they don’t.
Hurt comes in a lot of different ways, but you can be sure of one thing: it comes, and it’s pretty easy to come by.
Forgiveness, though, is not so easy to come by.
Writing to the church in Colossae, Paul issued a challenge to the believers there to live with certain qualities, in consideration of the fact that God had chosen them. He said:
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must also forgive others. {Col. 3: 12-13}
Proverbs gives a similar encouragement:
A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. {Proverbs 19:11}
How quick to be offended are most of us? Do we generally tend to assume the worst in a situation where we think someone said something they should not have said, or didn’t do something they should have done? Do we quickly take an offense to heart, and allow it to ruin an hour or a day of our time? Do we pour a mental bath of self-pity, and jump in the tub to soak in it?
{Pass me a towel to dry off. I’m guilty.}
What if we were, instead, quick to overlook an offense? Quick to come up with potential reasons why the other person has been offensive toward us:
She has really been hurt by something that happened recently — she is speaking out of a place of hurt. He has such a large amount of work to manage right now, he didn’t mean to overlook this thing that was important to me — he just has a lot going on.
And then quick to simply forgive, let go, overlook, bypass the offense, to continue in healthy relationship, to move forward in peace.
Yes, there are times when confrontation is a necessity. But many times, it’s just our pride that makes us think it’s necessary. Often, it is actually to our glory to choose not to be offended, to be patient and live consistently focused on the other qualities we were instructed to clothe ourselves in instead.
In God’s glorious goodness, He first forgave us — and forgave us so much — so set an example, and give us the perspective that when we forgive, we are often forgiving very little in comparison. He doesn’t ask us to do something He wasn’t willing to do first!
Try extending extra measures of grace to the people around you today. I think you’ll enjoy the peace that follows.
xCC
Oct 27, 2013 | 31 Days, The Good Word
Hello friend! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! This post is part of a 31-Day writing adventure, of which I only have a few days left! I’d love for you to meet up ’round here and read along for the rest of the series (and beyond…). You can find the introduction to the series, and a “Table of Contents” as each day goes live, right here. Thanks so much for dropping in!
God is so gracious in often giving me very tangible lessons to help me understand intangible concepts. I appreciate how He stoops low to get on my level and help me understand new things about Him, His ways and His goodness, when I’m willing to be still and listen.
This week another one of those moments occurred to me, and I was fortunate enough to be able to recognize it and process it, and apply it to other areas of my life, the way I think the Lord intended.
It all started long before the Belle made her beautiful and timely appearance. I began getting adorable clothes and hand-me-downs for her like nobody’s business. I didn’t ask anyone or mention that we needed any, but they started coming in. First, in the excitement of finding out the Belle was a Belle (and not another Tiger or Bear…) my Mom immediately suggested we scoot out for a quick shopping trip because there was a big sale on, and I was so excited to come home and hang GIRL clothes in the closet! Then, on one of their trips home to visit, my beautiful big sister and her hubs brought a ginormous suitcase of AHdorable clothes that my niece had outgrown.
Then some wonderful folks from church threw a magnificent Baby Shower for me — and once again, the Belle’s wardrobe began filling up. On one last shopping trip before the Belle arrived, where I had a few peaceful moments to myself, I used a gift card to buy one darling outfit I saw that was an excellent price. Before she was born, I had a dresser and a closet full to the brim with clothes for her.
{Photo courtesy of Quiver Tree Photography 😉 }
After the Belle’s arrival, the clothes kept coming. Another friend passed a few things along her girls had outgrown when I bought some baby gear from her. And another friend had a box and a tub of clothes she wanted to give me that her little girl had outgrown. And then another friend (from whom I bought some cloth diapers) wanted to share more stuff with me. And my Mom, of course, from time to time spots a cute sale and just blesses me with something else for the Belle — she is above and beyond awesome.
It has been such an incredible blessing — I have literally not bought the Belle a stitch of clothing since the day she was born, and she’s nearly a year old now. And each time I’ve thought I might need to run out and pick something up, instead I’ve discovered that a) I really just need to do laundry or b) I just need to look in the next box.
I’ve done my best to organize all these heaps of clothes that folks have shared with me, and I’ve been in the habit of passing clothes on to other friends as well, like my sweet friend in Charlotte whose precious little one I finally got to meet when we were traveling the weekend this 31 Day adventure was inspired!
A couple of weeks ago, I happened to notice some adorable little leggings with lace trim that I really liked the style of on a baby. Later on, my mind went through an internal monologue thought process like this: Those were really adorable leggings and I would love for the Belle to have some. But the Belle does not need any clothes. I’ve almost made it an entire year without buying her any clothes, which feels like a cool milestone. There are other things we need to spend money on right now. Let’s not worry about baby leggings. [End scene.]
It wasn’t a big deal — I just decided to let it go. Sometimes no leaves room for a better yes, right?
So, last week I realized the Belle had more than enough sweaters for this winter and thought I’d check to see if a friend of mine’s little one who is about the same age might need some so that we could pass some on. She did need a few (have you asked a friend lately if you could share something with them? Y’all, it’s such a good feeling.) My friend was coming over for coffee so I began scrambling around the Belle’s room (which, poor girl, is the one room in our house that is still cray cray from the move) and digging through boxes to find sweaters and some other warm winter gear that I could share.
Finally, I had a box full for her but still wanted to look through a few more things, when I stopped and began looking through a box that I hadn’t gotten a chance to organize yet. As I started to sift through it, guess what showed up?
A pair of leggings with lace trim, exactly like what I’d been admiring on the other baby just a few days earlier.
I hadn’t prayed, Lord, I’d like some lace-trim baby leggings please — so it was such a gift to see Him decide to provide something I didn’t even ask for but He knew I wanted. He is gloriously good in His attention to the small details of our lives, even of things that I would sometimes feel petty or silly to talk to Him about.
He actually, really, truly wants to be such an integral part of our lives that we will talk to Him about baby leggings or coffee or any other small things.
I’d been treasuring this little incident in my heart for a few days when the Hubs and I got onto the topic of the weddings we’re preparing for in 2014. There is some additional equipment on the list that we need to pick up between now and our first wedding next year. But we have other, more pressing, expenses that we would like to take care of first, like whacking away at our debt until it doesn’t exist, and purchasing flights to head to South Africa next year for Goo-Goo’s 75th birthday. {Yeow! I am so excited!}
I felt prompted to share the story about the leggings, which led me to recognize the important lesson behind it, straight from the mouth of Jesus:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. {Matthew 6: 25-34}
While it is wise to look to the future and be prepared, we should not give it so much interest that we forget to focus on making the right decision today. Each day has enough stuff for us to work through.
And the lesson from the Belle’s closet is exactly that — when I’ve needed it, I’ve found it. Sometimes when I didn’t actually need it, I was still blessed with it. We can trust God for what we need each day. His faithfulness with this small thing, makes me even more amazed at the greatness of just how gloriously good He is.
xCC
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