Bread, Stones and My God of Everything

It is safe to trust Jesus.  It is safe...but it's not easy.  I know that Jesus promises to meet our needs, that He even promises to give "good gifts" to his children.  He says in


Matthew 7:11-Which of you , if his son asks for bread will give him a stone?"
  


So, my question is, what do you do when you feel like He is serving stones and not bread?  What do you do when life does not look the way you thought it would?   When dreams don't play out, when the rug seems to be pulled out from under you...what then?  It can sure feel like a meal of rocks and not bread. 

Perhaps, the meaning has nothing to do with circumstances.  Perhaps, the answer lies in what I decide to pick up.  What I decide to pick up..... What if God, in the midst of the tornado of disillusionment, is still serving bread.  What if it's me that is picking up the stone instead?  What if in the middle of the storm, he's giving me everything I need.  Himself.  Is not my chief end to bring HIM glory?  What if in the middle of the storm I scream out " I Don't UNDERSTAND...but I will  thank you!"    What if the storm has nothing to do with me at all?  What if in choosing bread, it brings Him glory? 

In the night He was betrayed...Jesus took the bread , GAVE THANKS, and broke it.  Jesus...took the bread.  In the midst of turmoil that I can't begin to understand...Jesus took the bread, gave thanks.  He knows...HE knows.....He KNOWS....

If he knows...then I can trust.  I can be assured  that hope in HIM will not disappoint.  I can ask him as I eat the bread, to be the God of my Hope, the God of my need...the God of my everything....

Just Run the Fence Line

Saturday I got the news that I've been afraid of. The news that I had hoped and prayed would not come true. The news that we cannot go active duty. Monty is three yeas to old, and they are accepting no age waivers. It does not matter that he is jump qualified, or prior service. He's 45..and the cut off is 42. Period.

I got the news from Monty's endorser. He called our home number by mistake. I was able to relay to him that Monty was in the desert in Djibouti, doing a desert survival course and would not be available for a few days. He obviously knew that Monty was deployed, just dialed the wrong number. It's been difficult, having this knowledge, when Monty did not.

I'm grateful that Monty IS a chaplain. That he IS serving our country with the National Guard. We're 9 months into his first deployment and I've never seen him more alive. It's just not the dream that we had when we started this journey. I had always hoped to live on a base. To wake up and hear bugle calls, to be involved in the PWOC, to live in an army community. So, I'm grieving the loss of those dreams. It just hurts.

I got off of the phone with the endorser and fell apart. I wept. For a long time. I didn't want the boys to see how upset I was. So I sat in the garage, in the van and wept. I was in rough shape on Sunday morning, and wanted to go to church, but not my church. I wanted to be "lost" in a crowd. So, I took the boys and we visited a different church. Ironically, the sermon that day was on "Praying for a miracle". I wept some more, and prayed some more. I've poured my heart out to the Lord in such raw emotion, longing for a miracle. But, none came. Monday morning I was so exhausted that I took the boys to school, came home and took a 4 hour nap. In the mean time, Oklahoma was hit with the largest Earthquakes on record. Seems fitting. I believe that the Lord could fix this. I just see Him choosing not to, which honestly makes me mad. I'm glad God is big enough to handle my emotions.

It was on Wednesday morning when God spoke to me. I was driving along the Creek Turnpike when I saw two deer. A big buck and a beautiful doe. They had obviously just run across  all 4 lanes of the Turnpike. They were headed towards a beautifully wooded area, when they ran into it. A large, insurmountable fence. They could see the woods, but could not enter them. The doe kept charging the fence with all her might. She would back up...charge into it and bounce right back off. She did this over and over. The buck stood there looking at the fence. Immobile. I knew if they panicked and ran back onto the Turnpike, their chances of survival were slim. Banging in the fence would only injure them and they would not get anywhere. I wanted to stop the van and tell them that if they just ran the fence line, that there was an opening just about a mile down the road. It was not where they had planned to enter, and in a different part of the forest, but they could get in. They didn't have to stand at the fence. They just needed to run to fence line.

I'm not sure what happened to them. But I know that I saw myself in that doe. She kept charging the fence...aching to get in where she thought they were supposed to. I finally got to talk with Monty today. I've known for 5 days, and it was a relief to know that he knew. His endorser spoke with him this morning. Monty is disappointed, but His rock solid faith once again came through. He simply said... "Well, God has something. I don't know what it looks like...but He's got us."

I said, "Yeah, you're right. We just need to follow Jesus along the fence line...."

Puddles

It's been HOT...and I mean HOT. The type of hot that makes you crazy. The kind of hot that makes you do laundry in the dead of night. The kind of hot that keeps you cooped up inside, day after scorching day. The kind of hot that starts to make you crazy. The kind of HOT that makes a McDonald's play land seem like a welcoming oasis in a desert.

Today was the day I had finally HAD IT. I was almost in tears as I saw the mercury rise steadily...again. It was to hot to cook, and the boys had SO much energy to burn, so I took them to the Oasis of McDonald's for dinner tonight. As we all four squeezed around a table for two and ate our meals, I saw it. Lightning...and some clouds. The clouds kept coming. The wind picked up. And it started. Just a few drops on the windows...then a few more. Soon it was raining so hard that water started flowing under the emergency exit doors and into the play land.

An idea formed in my head, and before I could logic my way out of it. I herded the boys out of the play land and into the fairly empty parking lot. Rain was pouring out of the sky, huge puddles formed and rivers of water were racing down towards the street. I threw my purse in the car and told the boys..."Let's play in the Rain!!"

Their eyes widened and smiles flashed across their faces. We raced and ran and splashed and giggled. People in the safety of the dry McDonald's watched us, but I didn't care. I was sharing a moment with my boys. I was feeling the coolness of the rain. I was enjoying the small break in this horridly hot summer.

As we drove home, almost cold as the air conditioned air hit our wet skin and clothes, my heart was filled with joy. I could see the boys smiles in the rear view mirror. I could almost see God's smile and He looked down on us.