An Unexpected Gift

"I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service..."

~Numbers 18:7b

 

The responsibilities of the priesthood were intense and heavy.  Everything they did was either for God or on behalf of the people--people who were immature and ungrateful.  They risked their lives and gave their all because God chose them for the task.

 

"I give your motherhood to you as a gift for service..."

 

A gift.  For service.  Is this my attitude?  Do I treat motherhood as a gift for service--a gift from God?  Do I show gratitude each day for this gift that gives me the opportunity to die to myself and live for Christ, thus growing closer and closer to the One who did the same for me?  Who gave up everything so I could--serve?  So I could serve.  And serve in love and gratitude, not complaint and self-righteousness. 

 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights..." ~James 1:17

 

Thank you, Lord, for this good gift.  Please forgive my selfishness, and help me to serve with Your love and grace.  Amen.

Graves of Craving

"So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah [literally Graves of Craving], because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving."

~Numbers 11:34

 

In Numbers 11, the people began to complain about the manna, God's perfect provision.  What began as a grumbling about what they had to eat, led to a dissatisfaction with God's provision, which in turn led them to reject and despise God's plan and purpose for them.  Ultimately, they questioned His love and goodness--His character.

 

"...in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ~1 Thessalonians 4:8

 

Lord,

Help me to become a person who is grateful and thankful.  When I start to complain, help me stop short and realize what I'm doing: rejecting You and all You've given.  Complaining about the little things and desiring something other than what I have leads only to destruction--to Graves of Craving.  Help me, instead, to practice the habit of gratitude.  This is Your will for me.

Amen.

Quicksand vs. Puddles

"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

~Romans 8:6

 

This struck me today in my role as a mom.  When I focus on the things of this world--the diapers, the mess, the meal-planning, the early mornings, the sibling rivalry, the crying, the whining--well, the list goes on and on and begins to pull me down.  My day becomes drudgery and I look down the long path ahead--of everyday more of the same--and I lose my joy because how can I do this forever?  And then top all the mundanity with the heavy choices of schooling and friendships and moral training and extra curricular activities and my life becomes quicksand--slow and suffocating.

 

But all of that is to be carnally minded.  To be spiritually minded is to see three little creations of God in my home, each being shaped in his or her own way into the image of their Maker.  God is doing a work in each of them, different from each other, and different from me.  My role is to help guide and shape what He is already doing.  My job is to be a vessel through which they can see and feel and know His love.  God has a purpose and a plan for each of them, and I get to be a part of it--a gentle guide, a counselor, a teacher, a servant.  And my utmost responsibility is to seek after and know Him, the One in charge.

 

To be spiritually minded changes "have to" into "get to."  To be spiritually minded means life looks less like quicksand and more like puddles, messy at times, but a whole lotta fun!  To be spiritually minded means I get to wake up each morning to a new day and witness what God is doing in three little hearts.  That brings joy.  That brings life.  That brings peace.



Update

So, it's been awhile...again.  Before I launch into, hopefully, more regular posts, I thought I'd include a brief update with regards to our foster kids via an excerpt from my last Valentine's Day letter:

For those of you who weren’t aware, a thick and heavy door closed on our family on December 13^th.  On that dark day, we said good-bye to our two foster babies that we’d had in our home and loved for a little over a year.  We had no way of knowing if that door would remain closed forever, or if we would get a phone call one day asking if we could take them back.  This hallway of the unknown seemed long and possibly unending.  It was an incredible exercise in trust as we prayed for their safety and gave our desires over to God’s eternal plan, whatever that might be.  We were met head on with the challenge of praising God in the hallway.  Six weeks later, a door swung wide open, and in a matter of hours our sweet two-year-old boy and 15-month-old girl were back in our home. 

What a journey this has been, and what a Guide we have to lead us!  As my days are filled with all that occupies a mother of 3 little ones in addition to foster mom responsibilities, the time I have left to write is small.  However, I have a few short minutes each morning, in the quiet of my dark and sleeping house, with which to read my Bible and write in my journal.  I think, on occasion, I will share those writings with you, if you care to read them.  Maybe something He says to me will be helpful to you, too.