Last night I called home to tell my husband I would leave here today around noon. Classes end at 4:30 but I’ve done as much as I can without being able to dig into my own fabric stash. Besides, today’s temperature is supposed to go up to a mere -15 C. At home on Monday, with the wind chill factored in, it was -55 C. We have not had such severe weather for many years, and with a slight break, clearer skies, and the roads clear of snow, I am taking advantage before the temperature drops again.
My quilt design is done and ready for fabric. I will be a fairly literal mountain. Since this is an art quilt conference, we were instructed to begin with a concept, then depict that concept in whatever way works. The class I am in is privileged to have an instructor that is not concerned that all the quilts look like hers or that we use the same style of construction. She understood my concept (she was raised in the church but admits she has “lapsed”) and suggested a construction method that not only suits the work but also my personality and way of doing things.
My concept is about looking up to God, that He is there for me. No matter what obstacles lie in my path, I can reach out and find Him. I might be lifted over or above those obstacles, or He may require that I go through them or climb them or somehow experience them. Whatever happens, He is still there and I can look up to Him.
My devotional reading today asks the question, “Is God over-advertised?” Everything else is; is it the same with God? Has He used gimmicks like waffle words and celebrity endorsements to make Him look better than what He has to give? Of course we would say not, but the reading suggests that many of His people seem to live this way. They have not realized or experienced all that the Bible says is ours as God’s people.
Along with the devotional, I also ask why is this so? I’ve noticed it with the few Christians I’ve met here at the conference. It seems as if they do not have His joy, or they are angry with people and not living out the forgiveness He gives to those who ask for it. Some of them seem to worry about many things or complain about their lot in life.
Before I fall into the sin of comparing, I also have known times of sorrow, struggle, and being angry and upset with people or events. I know that these things are not the fault of God, and part of the problem is that I am still (and always) learning that He is enough.
The verse quoted today is 1 Corinthians 2:9 that says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Is that lack of vision because we fail to look up to God? We don’t see the things He gives us because we are too busy fighting life’s circumstances, or worse yet, wallowing in self-pity? My devotional book hints at that, but that isn’t the reason God gives. Verse 10 says, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.”
The things of God, the reality of His care, the notion that God is enough are things we ‘know’ (but they seem to take lifetimes to really ‘know’) are all revelations from God. If a Christian is walking in a fog, it could be that is just where they need to be. Only God understands what is going on in each heart. Only God understands how some of His children might profit from a struggle before He brings them up and over those big boulder in their lives into a greater understanding of Himself.
Today I rejoice that He has helped me look up, and not only that, that He lets me see His care for me, and His supply, and all that He is and does is enough for me. Here in the Rocky Mountains I feel as if I am standing on that mountain in my quilt design, not stumbling over a boulder somewhere down in the foothills. However, I dare not let my heart be lifted up by a sense of personal achievement. Here, or wherever I might be standing, is entirely the Lord’s doing. He knows what is best for me. Tomorrow is another day and who knows what challenges it will bring. Today, I am joyful and content, again because right now I know that God is enough.
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