How did I get here to start with?! I have several recurring themes running through my brain these days and I can't exactly pinpoint where it all started. I have to give a shout out to my good friends Amy, Emily and Angela without whom this blog might not exist or at least not in it's current form.
Things have been tough for the last few years. There's a lot to it, but let's say I've had more than a few moments of despair. Around this same time I started to feel the tickle in my soul that told me that someone was trying to get my attention. I went back and forth between feeling like maybe I should give it some more thought to feeling guilty that my motives were somewhat selfish in seeking peace through a relationship with God to feeling like it was just a crutch because I was feeling helpless. Meanwhile, it seemed that everywhere I turned I was being encouraged either outright or through seeing the grace that the relationship with God brings, to revisit where I stood with Him.
There's an old joke that goes something like this:
It had been raining for days and days, and a terrible flood had come over the land. The waters rose so high that one man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house.As the waters rose higher and higher, a man in a rowboat appeared, and told him to get in. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me."
So the man in the rowboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.The waters rose higher and higher, and suddenly a speedboat appeared. "Climb in!" shouted a man in the boat. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me."
So the man in the speedboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.The waters continued to rise. A helicopter appeared and over the loudspeaker, the pilot announced he would lower a rope to the man on the roof. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me."
So the helicopter went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.The waters rose higher and higher, and eventually they rose so high that the man on the roof was washed away, and alas, the poor man drowned.Upon arriving in heaven, the man marched straight over to God. "Heavenly Father," he said, "I had faith in you, I prayed to you to save me, and yet you did nothing. Why?" God gave him a puzzled look, and replied "I sent you two boats and a helicopter.....
I started to think those people and things were my boats and my helicopter. Ok, Angie you were probably more like an armored tank but I needed it.
In thinking about the theme of reconciliation recently I have to consider my own reconciliation with God. I wonder how or why he would put up with me. I suppose it's the same when someone who has committed murder or otherwise rejected him. I have to ask myself, if my own child committed such a crime or wronged me would I still love him or her and welcome them back into my arms? Absolutely. I would expect that they might suffer their own hardships and punishments at the hands of others, but I would still love them and find joy in them and rejoice at their homecoming each and every time. Would my heart be more full when one child embraced me than another? No.
It seems I've heard this somewhere before....
:)
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