My Cup of Tea

As we headed out this morning I wondered if I was making a huge mistake… I mean really, what are the chances that I could give Rian the rewards of doing his school work before he’d actually done it? But, with the plan plainly laid out (i.e. if he didn’t accomplish his school work with a good attitude we would be done fishing for the year…) I gathered the things for my morning quiet time and headed for the fishing hole. It was a truly dreary day… again, and I was feeling it both inside and out.

As many of you know, there is a lot of ‘stuff’ going on in our extended families right now… hard stuff, the kind of stuff that you just can’t understand how or why this is happening. Stuff that only God knows the answers to, but still we have to live with it and deal with it on a daily basis… i.e. it’s easy to say “we just have to give it to God” but when the phone rings (or in some cases doesn’t ring) there it is all over again… and of course there are those even closer to the situations trying to cope, trying to make decisions, and get on with life… I can ‘give it to God’ a million times, but I still have to live with it and try to be a blessing to the ones who are walking through the fire right now… tough times…

As I’ve mulled over these things, the same thoughts kept coming back to me, but it wasn’t until today in the quiet moments overlooking the cloudy Cook Inlet that it all came together into something I could actually put into words other than LOVE. (Like that isn’t enough?) I went to the Beth Moore, living Proof simulcast this weekend and the first thing that really “popped out” at me was that she made a comment to the affect that our roots (the thing that sustain us, feeds us, give us stability) can only grow as deep as we believe God’s love is for us. For some of you that’s a ‘duh thing’ but It’s not always an easy thing for those who grew up with the philosophy of “Jesus loves me…if”…if I obey and go to church, and if I don’t drink, if I don’t get angry, if my faith is strong enough, if I’m good enough, etc…the list is endless…It’s also a LIE!

There are no “IF’s” when it comes to God’s love for any of us… none… He loved us so much he sent his son to die for us (John 3:16). He stands and the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). He is the father watching for his son and being filled with compassion at his sight (Luke 15:20). Where do we get the idea he is a God standing with his hands on his hips and pointing his finger at us??? When we understand how much our God loves us the peace that passes all understanding fills us (Phil 4:7). The strength to mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31) enables us to soar above the circumstances in our life and and in turn, trust Him in ALL things knowing that he makes all things beautiful in it’s time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Okay, so this is all pretty basic Christianity, amazing, but basic … but the cool part (I don’t know why I should be surprised at God’s provision) comes next, when I felt prompted to turn to Hosea… yeah, so when was the last time YOU read Hosea? …. But there before me was an amazing story (not a pretty story, but still amazing) of just these principles…. Confirmation of the above truths … a story of a people just like us who do everything except what we’re supposed to do and God’s amazing love and compassion for them.

The last thing He showed me was the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5 thousand… my first thought was typical, I’ve heard this a million times, God can do great things, next page.… .... .... and then I realized… I am the little boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish, barely enough to take care of myself, let alone anyone else … BUT when given to God HE can do awesome things with those few morsels!!!! As that peace flooded my soul I realized that the clouds were gone, literally as well as spiritually and it was a beautiful day… about that time Rian topped the hill, fish in hand, ready to get on with the day. Can we say together… God is Amazing!!!