Yesterday, May 14th, I woke up to find a heavy frost. I checked the plants we had just purchased and planted, then got ready to travel to our 2-year-old granddaughter's birthday party. And this is what we drove through:
This would have been beautiful in December, but in May it was just a nuisance and a disappointment. We had hoped for nice warm weather for the party, but instead we got THIS!
But why the difference in attitude? In the beginning of one season, we celebrate the snow. Toward the end of the next season, we despise it. Why don't we always love it or always hate it?
It is a matter of perspective. At one point we anticipate the beauty of Christmas and the winter season, and our expectation is that we will have snow. In the next season we anticipate the beauty of warmth and flowers. Snow has no part in that scenario.
That makes me wonder: Do I miss the gifts God is giving me today because I don't expect them? Is my anticipation for what I would choose rather than what God wants me to have? How many times do I turn away from the blessings that are falling around me because they seem cold and white when I want warm & bright feelings?
We know that God gives only good gifts. And we know that He loves us. And yet we try to pick and choose what seems good to us. We need to trust God to know what is best and to give us that best, even when it comes in the form of difficult circumstances or people.
We need to believe that He is who He says He is, and we are who He says we are. In other words, we need to be willing to be dependent on God for all things, beginning with our very lives. And that dependence will never end, since He has promised that if we believe in Jesus, our life with Him will be forever.
Lord, I am tired of missing all you have for me. From now on, I will trust you to give me joy in the blessings you pour into my life, in whatever form they may come. Even snow.
But why the difference in attitude? In the beginning of one season, we celebrate the snow. Toward the end of the next season, we despise it. Why don't we always love it or always hate it?
It is a matter of perspective. At one point we anticipate the beauty of Christmas and the winter season, and our expectation is that we will have snow. In the next season we anticipate the beauty of warmth and flowers. Snow has no part in that scenario.
That makes me wonder: Do I miss the gifts God is giving me today because I don't expect them? Is my anticipation for what I would choose rather than what God wants me to have? How many times do I turn away from the blessings that are falling around me because they seem cold and white when I want warm & bright feelings?
We know that God gives only good gifts. And we know that He loves us. And yet we try to pick and choose what seems good to us. We need to trust God to know what is best and to give us that best, even when it comes in the form of difficult circumstances or people.
We need to believe that He is who He says He is, and we are who He says we are. In other words, we need to be willing to be dependent on God for all things, beginning with our very lives. And that dependence will never end, since He has promised that if we believe in Jesus, our life with Him will be forever.
Lord, I am tired of missing all you have for me. From now on, I will trust you to give me joy in the blessings you pour into my life, in whatever form they may come. Even snow.
