I've been tagged by Meg at No Shadow of Turning to share five things that I like about Jesus. (It's actually called 5 Things I Dig About Jesus but I don't use the word dig unless I'm in the garden so in not using the word dig I have now written it thrice.)
This meme is all over Blogville these days and this is what I have noticed. When I read through these lists, one thing on each list grabs my attention. One. I think this is how we are. We read many words and savor a few. So, because I am not a rule follower (It's so much more interesting to think outside the lines) consider yourself tagged if you have not been tagged already and I will not write about five things that I like about Jesus. I will write about one. And maybe this one thing will go with you as you go about your day. It goes like this...
"Do you think...?" The words came out all in a rush after the words about abuse and alcohol and a lifetime of hardship, a ten year old lifetime. "Do you think that a kid will grow up to be like her Momma and Daddy?"
Stuart was gone this week and Grandkid One stayed for dinner. The children dawdled over their sandwiches and I ate quickly so that I could read a few verses of Luke and we talked about them while they finished their meal. Somehow, this reading and discussing made Grandkid One feel like it was safe, here in my kitchen, to share her story and ask this question, "Do you think...?"
We've been in Luke for weeks and weeks now because we are thorough readers. Slow reading is good for the digestion and in this pokey trip through Luke, I have discovered something. Jesus didn't waste a thing. Words, touch, and minutes, he used, to their best possible advantage. He didn't waste a single opportunity to ask everyone...everyone...sinners and Sadduccees alike....Who do you think I am? It made no difference to him if they came to him in earnestness or hostility. Who do you think I am? was a question they all needed to wrestle with. Baskets of leftovers rested in the arms of the disciples to prove a point. Even human weakness and sin were pressed into service to further His kingdom and accomplish His plan.
This frugality was on my mind when Grandkid One asked me, "Do you think that a child will grow up to be like her Momma and Daddy?"
"Sweetie, this is what I think. I think it is possible for a child to grow up to be like her momma and her daddy but just because it's possible doesn't mean that you necessarily will. You are a wise girl. You see and can explain the difference between our home and yours. You know what a healthy life looks like and you know to look to Jesus for wisdom. Honey, I promise you, if you put your life in His hands, he can take all these messy pieces...all these things that don't seem right and don't seem fair... and put them to good use. I know because this is what he has done with my messy things."
And it's true. My Jesus doesn't waste a thing.
This meme is all over Blogville these days and this is what I have noticed. When I read through these lists, one thing on each list grabs my attention. One. I think this is how we are. We read many words and savor a few. So, because I am not a rule follower (It's so much more interesting to think outside the lines) consider yourself tagged if you have not been tagged already and I will not write about five things that I like about Jesus. I will write about one. And maybe this one thing will go with you as you go about your day. It goes like this...
"Do you think...?" The words came out all in a rush after the words about abuse and alcohol and a lifetime of hardship, a ten year old lifetime. "Do you think that a kid will grow up to be like her Momma and Daddy?"
Stuart was gone this week and Grandkid One stayed for dinner. The children dawdled over their sandwiches and I ate quickly so that I could read a few verses of Luke and we talked about them while they finished their meal. Somehow, this reading and discussing made Grandkid One feel like it was safe, here in my kitchen, to share her story and ask this question, "Do you think...?"
We've been in Luke for weeks and weeks now because we are thorough readers. Slow reading is good for the digestion and in this pokey trip through Luke, I have discovered something. Jesus didn't waste a thing. Words, touch, and minutes, he used, to their best possible advantage. He didn't waste a single opportunity to ask everyone...everyone...sinners and Sadduccees alike....Who do you think I am? It made no difference to him if they came to him in earnestness or hostility. Who do you think I am? was a question they all needed to wrestle with. Baskets of leftovers rested in the arms of the disciples to prove a point. Even human weakness and sin were pressed into service to further His kingdom and accomplish His plan.
This frugality was on my mind when Grandkid One asked me, "Do you think that a child will grow up to be like her Momma and Daddy?"
"Sweetie, this is what I think. I think it is possible for a child to grow up to be like her momma and her daddy but just because it's possible doesn't mean that you necessarily will. You are a wise girl. You see and can explain the difference between our home and yours. You know what a healthy life looks like and you know to look to Jesus for wisdom. Honey, I promise you, if you put your life in His hands, he can take all these messy pieces...all these things that don't seem right and don't seem fair... and put them to good use. I know because this is what he has done with my messy things."
And it's true. My Jesus doesn't waste a thing.
Comments
This was a powerful posts. Powerful words.
steph.