I think often my perception of the world is largely shaped by the things to which I am paying attention. I see what I am permitting myself to see, what I am predisposed to see. But God is a ninja slipping between the cracks of my attention and redirecting me to notice things that may be more important still.
What if God IS sly like that?
:)
And God spoke... and it was good... it was very good
~ Genesis 1
Well you did it again God... you are pretty amazing.
Here I was late, grabbing something to just shove in, to get the boiler rolling... instant oatmeal of all things... already mired in the plans of the day, heck I’m not even sure I let go of them from last night... I’m not really thinking of anything but what’s in my immediate future... the have-to’s and musts, schedules and timelines, articles and reading lists, phone calls, meetings...
And you just
Show Up!
In oatmeal??? How do you do that?!?
It started with the sugar... I am a sucker for sugar, probably too much (we really ought to work on that.) The sweet got my attention and I found myself thinking about how sugar comes to be. sugar cane right?... sugar cane grows... growth takes good soil... soil is good but soil isn’t all...
Rain has to pour... worms have to, well whatever it's called, they have to move around don’t they, pooping as they go... but that’s good too isn’t it.... gross stuff becomes useful and needed for life to thrive... what else is in there deep in the ground?... microbes and chemicals... electrons, atoms... so many interactions all just to make stuff work... you really are pretty good with the chemistry and the physics and the particles and the planets... the stars sure are pretty... haven’t been out to look at them lately... they sure are something in the cool dark sky... I remember laying out just watching for hours... seems like I never really slow down anymore... maybe you could teach me how?
And then there’s the oats... fields upon fields of them... I wonder how many people are fed from some of those really big fields I remember driving by, man that drive was long... it's a really big country out there... but those grains don’t harvest themselves do they... farmers with tractors...mechanics keep the tractors rolling... steel workers to make the steel for the tractors... train workers to bring the ore... there sure is a lot involved... I'm probably forgetting a bunch... Thank you for remembering the forgotten... someone needs to notice them (maybe we should work on that too)... shippers to sail that ore from places I may never see... miners to work it from the ground... kids and wives who lost their dads and husbands to those mines... can you hold them Lord? I bet they could use someone right now.
I really ought to throw that wrapper away... that paper wrapper... logged and hauled trees... I like trees, I bet You do too don’t you Lord... so tall, so sturdy, so strong, they kind of remind me of you... sturdy, majestic, strong... beautiful.
... beautiful... my wife sure is... I don’t think I’ve told her recently, I’m kind of a putz with her... she really does deserve better, I need to work on that... could you kick my ass before I turn into a total prick... maybe then she’d know I love her instead of just pissing her off?... she really does deserve better than that... I really need to be better than that... the world needs so much better than that... Jesus, help me be better than that.
All from oatmeal. I mean seriously... how do you do that?
In my mind it was a day like any other... it was oatmeal...
But with you Lord, breakfast became a bowl full of Creation. You took my distraction and transformed it into a renewed vision of your world. And it is Your world... help me find my place.
All from oatmeal... how do you do that? No, never mind I don’t care... thank you though. I needed it.
... pretty amazing God!
Amen
For those who are more "auditory," the cross link to the AudioPrayer version is here.
Feel free to reSteem this with my gratitude! Consider following along if you found it helpful.
