Just recently I was reading a book that I had put off reading for the past two years, 1000 Gifts. In this book the writer Ann Voskamp speaks of the Greek word Eucharisteo best explained from Luke 22:19 where when Jesus took bread He gave thanks before he broke it. Eucharisteo, the a constant practice of giving thanks.
On Wednesday morning I was spending a view hours working at a local vegetable farm selling strawberries and fresh peas. I was giving thanks for the peas, for how simple it seemed from my point of view to grow peas, you plants it, weed it, God sends rain to water it and before you know it we're picking and selling. But when I pondered everything involved that God did behind the scene's it amazed me and I was moved to give thanks.
A couple hours later things weren't looking so wonderful anymore. I received disappointing news, I couldn't move forward with my long planned dream of getting an apartment with a dear friend for September. It would have been foolish to move forward with such plans when the rest of my plans were still uncertain, once again I would have to wait. It has been a season of learning to wait for me, I get so excited to move ahead full force so quickly and God has over and over again slowed down my plans and moved me to a place of submitting my plans, ideas and dreams to His will and His timing.
Wednesday afternoon in my disappointment, I questioned myself. Only a couple hours I was rejoicing over the complexity of pea's and how carefully God tends to things that we often don't even recognize and now here I was fretting over myself and my plans. The question that kept coming to my mind was what has changed? My attitude definitely had, but what had actually changed outside of myself? The answer of nothing, sure my understand of a situation had changed but the circumstances hadn't change, God hadn't changed, His sovereignty over the pea's and my life had not even budged a little bit. Consequently what followed this was the conviction that if God was the same, His provision and care remained unchanged, then why had my giving thanks changed so dramatically in the moments of disappointment?
Since last Wednesday God has given me great reason to rejoice. In the many ways I have been able to see His perfect timing on display, the many words of encouragement and the ways I am able to see his provision. Thank you for many of you who have been used in the past few days of being part of God's lessons to me.
"But now O Lord, You are my Father, I am the clay, and You are the potter, I am the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8
Continue to mold me
No comments:
Post a Comment