What can you expect? Straight talk, laughable humor, real truth, simple living, and passionate yearning...
all regarding the God that still involves Himself in the details of the lives of His people
A calling to write what He leads, no matter how uncomfortable...
Because simple daily Christian living is never what we thought it would be
Did You Ever Give Your Grandma an Ashtray for Christmas?
Of all the cool art projects you made out of clay in school, did you ever make a statue, or a vase, or a bowl? Once they were finished and graded, did they make it to the exhibit on parent teacher conference night? Can you remember one piece in particular that you were really proud of? Did you ever give your grandma an ashtray for Christmas? Well, I did. Funny thing about it is that I didn’t even know what an ashtray was until she explained. Even when I was kneading the clay and rolling it into a long worm-like coil at school, I had no concept of what the object I was building would be used for. After looking at a collection of examples from my teacher, my mind knew exactly how my project would look though. I knew it would be some shade of pink, and that it would have ripples on the edges…like ruffles. And, I knew just where my granny would put it so that everyone could see. She would put it on the stereo shelf in her living room. That ridiculous looking, almost-no-purpose little piece of overworked clay would be the very center of her attention.
And it was. Even though it was lopsided and warped and the ridges really looked more like mistakes in an attempt to even-out the thick edges than like ruffles, Granny made me feel like it served the greatest purpose in the world for her. She put nuts in it while we were playing cards and told me that it was very, very useful. At Easter time the hot pink basket-tray was filled with very small colored eggs and held a position of decorating importance on the organ. Granny did not see things the way most people see them. She looked beyond the appearance of things and saw something deeper.
When Granny looked at my artwork, she saw me. Somehow she saw the hours of class time that I had put into the project. She saw how carefully I had chosen the color and not how bright it had intensified after it had been heated in the kiln. She saw the fingerprint marks in the clay as an added bonus and not as my inability to smooth everything out. When I wrapped it up and handed it to her, she looked at that package as a symbol of my love for her. She already loved it before she ever opened the gift paper. It was not the unwrapped project that she loved; it was me...and my desire to give it. And she grinned.
I stood before the Lord today after working very long and very hard on something. A few years ago He showed me a problem deep within me that He would like to see changed. I had given Him my life and with it the permission to point out flaws. He was gentle and told me that He would help me refine the rough area. I have come to completely understand that everything He does, He does for me. And so, I did not feel criticized. Instead, I recognized what He was showing me, and then felt that I could manipulate a few things to create the needed change.
So I studied it for a few seconds and decided that it needed a pinch here and a pinch there. I tweaked at the situation, added a little pressure here and there and tried to rub out the consequences. Nothing seemed to hold together very long. Each day when I was finished, my project did appear to be changed… it seemed to have taken on an altered look. But, by morning the light revealed cracks in the superficial mending and once again the old characteristics of the problem were perfectly apparent. So, I took it back to the Lord. He smiled. He said that this thing was going to take a lot more than tweaking; that it needed work from deep within.
I thought about this for a few days and then got busy really studying my problem. I even did some research into how others who wanted to achieve this sort of change outlined their progress. So, I started again. This time I was willing to sacrifice what had already been accomplished in an effort to fix the flawed foundation. I knew this in turn would produce a more perfect outcome. I took all the issues and lumped them into a pile; then worked the pile madly until it seemed to become smooth. Then I dissected it into smaller parts and did the same. Before any further action, I made sure to blueprint the perfect outcome in my mind. Then, I began to rebuild it step by step. Literally, this process has taken me years, and I have made some serious headway. At times I can almost be pleased with the changes that have occurred and the new stable characteristics. But then, something like today happens and the entire structure of my desired changes just fall apart.
It doesn’t matter what it is that happened today. The only thing that matters is the fact that everything I have been working toward was destroyed in a few moments. All that work, all that exhausting effort, and I feel that I reacted today no better than I would have five years ago. So here I stand, asking the Lord the same questions that I have asked Him before and feeling absolutely worthless. Am I no different than I was? Is there any hope that I will ever be able to change and solve the problems that you showed me?
And He answered, “No”. He reminded me that He created me and understands exactly how my foundation was formed. He told me that my hope should not lie in my own efforts but in His power to design and cause the change. He talked to me about the details of my making and then warned me of the fragile parts that needed special care. Then, He showed me a picture of what He alone can sculpt me into to…and my breath left me at its beauty. He took my hand and whispered, “I can fix this if you will just leave it with me.”
So I gave Him my overworked attempt at becoming what I thought I was supposed to become. I collected the blueprints and the tools. I wrapped all the deformed and broken pieces into one package which could barely withstand the weight. And when I turned towards Him, He just held out both hands and asked me for the baggage. As I released my hold, He tenderly took it from me.
He did not see my bundle as a worthless gift. Nor did He complain about the strangeness of my package. He did not seem to mind that it was so much worse than it had been originally. He looked straight past what I was giving Him and saw how much I really love Him and how very much I want to please Him. And He grinned.
Today that ridiculous looking, almost-no-purpose little piece of overworked and broken clay became the very center of His attention.
What are you holding onto?
In obedience
Rhonda D Loucks
So I gave Him my overworked attempt at becoming what I thought I was supposed to become. I collected the blueprints and the tools. I wrapped all the deformed and broken pieces into one package which could barely withstand the weight. And when I turned towards Him, He just held out both hands and asked me for the baggage. As I released my hold, He tenderly took it from me.