This time we were in church. The elements of communion were being passed, the crackers and the juice, right in front of my son's nose. "This happens all the time," I'm sure he was thinking. "I've got to get me some of that," was another thought I'm sure was in his head. Our church wisely believes you should be a Christian to participate in communion and though my four year old thinks he's a Christian, I have yet to see a lot of fruit!!!! I've explained this to him many times, especially in the middle of a communion service. This Sunday was no exception. "Can I help pass the juice?" "Is it almost over?" More questions about why he couldn't have any, more answers, quickly pushing his hands away from the tray so it wouldn't spill all over the bench and floor. Then suddenly, he had had enough. He basically stood up and put his hands in the air and said, quite loudly, not sure how many heard, "WHY CAN'T WE ALL BE CHRISTIANS?!?! I JUST WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN?!" I smiled. I've laughed a lot as I've retold the story multiple times this week. It's such a great cry if it weren't so insincere as he just wants a snack in the middle of the service like all the rest of those lucky Christians sitting around him! I'm so grateful that God has given me a boy that makes me laugh and gives me lots of opportunities to make others laugh (and cry and pull their hair out).
Surprise surprise, not as easy to get much writing in with a new school year getting off the ground. I'm pleased with how things are going for the most part. Still working on the things that are challenges to the schedule. Now that I live in the Garden of Eden, i.e., Niagara, it is a new distraction as I've never been drawn to such crazy ideas like freezing and canning. Who does that?? But then you see bushels of fruit that was literally grown down the street and it's basically free and you think to yourself - I could be eating that in the winter.......hmmmmm....but how do I do that?????? So it has been a really learning curve these last few years as I've attempted at least one new thing a year to try. This past month it was the pickles and now this weekend I'm going to try salsa and possibly peaches if I can. I love buying bushels and half-bushels of fruit and vegetables and then seeing them lying around the kitchen. Half the time I'm not prepared and buying it a little too early pushes me to get myself organized as there is suddenly a new deadline - get it in a jar before the fruit flies get to it! My mom knew that I was thinking of doing some more canning and was on the look out for me for "free" jars. Sure enough, she was at a friend's house and saw a whole bunch of unused jars sitting around. Now they are at my house! So that was a lot cheaper as I used to buy brand new without even thinking about it. I'm excited to see how much I get done this weekend. Poor kids, they didn't know I had plans for them.....
Bible Quizzing has started up again. Our children are excited to be memorizing Acts this year. Even the ones who are not old enough are doing it. I literally pay the ones who can't quiz as their incentive. My new healthy daughter came bouncing down the stairs yesterday morning - I'm not exaggerating, she is a new person - getting more school done than ever, happier and alive more than ever, getting up without any issues, feeling good - anyway, I'm praising God still......she came down and quickly repeated what she had memorized, the first 3 verses of Acts. I listened and then suddenly it was as if my mind was tweaked by each word she said. I had never read those verses and been impacted by them before, but they jumped off the page at me. I had to go back and read them for myself. Here they are:
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Nothing really jumps out at first, but look closer. After Jesus died and rose again, He didn't just leave them. He stayed and "presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive". Isn't that amazing? He knew He couldn't just rise from the dead and then on the next day take off, so to speak! And how long did He appear to them????? My favourite number.....40 days. And, during this time period of 40 days, He wasn't hanging out and chatting - He was giving them "instructions through the Holy Spirit", speaking about the "Kingdom of God". He knew just what they would need - help, instructions, proof he was alive and not just proof, "CONVINCING" proof. This would have been a great time to just hide away and leave all those sinners that had just killed Him to themselves. His own disciples had rejected Him. He could have left them on their own, too. But He didn't. I quickly saw a parallel to my own life.
I love my early morning chats with Renaissance Man - he grabs his coffee, I have mine and we sit. This is often when I share what I've read in the morning, or we'll pray, or dream....we're so fortunate that he doesn't have to take off on some long commute anymore. This is the greatest gift we have. So I quickly started telling him how the verses had hit me. I explained how Jesus appeared to the lost, sad, disappointed disciples for 40 days - first parallel - we are the lost, sad, disappointed disciples. In a way, I said to him, I feel like we just met with Jesus for 40 days by doing that fast together. During the period of 40 days with the actual disciples, He gave them instructions, through the Holy Spirit. He showed Himself to them over and over, giving them convincing proofs that He was alive, speaking to them about the Kingdom of God. Isn't that what God did for us during those 40 days? He gave many convincing proofs that He was alive and working, from getting that amazing contract that we shouldn't have been given to miracles of money coming in that were completely unexpected. He showed us time and time again, He's alive, in control. So then I realized, God was speaking to me again, showing me how to pray....So I'm asking Him again, to show me, use those 40 days, just like with the apostles. I'm asking Him to give us instructions, through the Holy Spirit, as to what He would have us do. I'm asking that he would continue to give me what I need, convincing proofs that He is alive, that He would present Himself to me. We are still waiting on the Lord for further direction, what He would have us do, be it Kingdom work, debt-reduction, anything. I was encouraged, so encouraged, by those 3 little verses that seemed like such an unlikely place to get encouragement.
Later on that day, we headed off to the library. I always have the radio to the one Christian station we have and for the literal 5 minutes we were in the van, I heard a man speak about dreams. Not the kind you have at night, but dreams we all have of our future, what we long to accomplish. Not discontentment-type of dreams, more restlessness-type of dreams, where you feel you were created to do more and yet you find yourself almost stuck in a mire where you are unable to fulfill this dream or task you know you were created to do. This guy was speaking right to me. Suddenly the radio personality/announcer guy said to his guest speaker, "Would you pray for the person who's out there right now who is feeling stuck, unable to fulfill their dreams?" And so this man started praying, for me. I found myself getting all teary-eyed as he prayed, not knowing there was this woman somewhere out there, me, who was being touched by his prayer. "Lord," he prayed, "give that person out there the resources they need to fulfill the plans you have for them. Help them to not be discouraged as they wait." There was much more, but that was the jist of it. That was it. We were at the library and the radio was off. It was a literal 5 minute conversation I heard and a 30 second prayer, but I felt like it came directly from the heavens above. I love those kinds of moments that feel like they were God-ordained.
After we left the library, I quickly turned on the radio again, hoping for more encouragement and I wasn't disappointed. The next guest on the show was also speaking about our dreams, but how we need to be restful and patient to see how God will work them out. We all long for a formula to follow, but there just isn't one. It confirmed for me once again how important it is to be patient in the process.
So, just as I prayed that morning, that God would instruct me through the Holy Spirit, I felt like I received two little messages from above as the day went along - He knows we have dreams. He knows whether or not we need resources. I need to just keep being faithful in the process and patient. Great reminders.
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