My mom has been faithfully sending us packages since shortly after our arrival here. I tell her not to, because it gets expensive. But since when does a mom listen to her daughter about stuff like that? They are packages of love---party mix (which is my kids' ultimate comfort food), granola bars, puzzles, books about whatever character Josh is currently enthralled with (Moonbear, Henry & Mudge, Berenstain Bears...), small things the kids wish they hadn't left behind, etc.
Tucked in one box was a book for me. She'd already read it, passed her copy on to others, and then bought one for me. And one for a mutual friend of ours. Yeah. That's my mom, always giving.
So "Anything," by Jennie Allen, came with high recommendations. I knew she was a blogger, so I checked out her blog first. It made me want to stop blogging and leave that domain to those who know how to do it well. But I got over it...and ended up enjoying both blog and book.
In short, Jennie and her husband Zac prayed one of those dangerous prayers. "God, we will do anything. Anything." Her book is the story of their lives before they abandoned themselves to God, and what has happened since then. That's pretty much all I'll say about it, since you should read it for yourself. I liked it because it reminded me that we are not alone on this journey...that others, too, are committed to say "yes" to God even before the question comes.
The call of God tugs at the heart...We timidly slip our hands up, half-hoping that God will say, "Oh, that's OK, I was just checking to see if you were willing. I see you are, so just go on with life as you know it." But instead, He says, "Yes, I see that hand! And I'll take you up on that!"
With the call come His promises. They are always good. And they are always true. What God promises will absolutely happen, although perhaps not how and when we imagine. But there is some fine print...and that is where the cry of "Was THIS included in the offer of 'anything'?" comes in. When our own dreams are crushed...When our reputation is trashed... When our financial security is lost...When our social networks disintegrate...The days when we want to scream at the sky, "Is this really what I signed up for?"
Perhaps some give up and turn back at this point. Sometimes we wish we could. But there is nothing left, back there, for us. We have seen and tasted of God's goodness, basked in His Presence, watched the fulfillment of some of His promises, seen miraculous happenings, experienced a depth of relationship that we hadn't realized was possible..... There's no pretending that we did not see what we've seen. That we have not been where we've gone. That we do not know what we know. And there is no denying that we want more....it's been just a taste, a mere glimpse. If we can have as much of God as we want, we refuse to be content with "three pounds of God."**
It sometime feels like God crushes our own dreams, but it's so His purposes and dreams can be fulfilled. Our reputations are made as nothing, so we have nothing to protect and His can be lifted up. Our financial security is diminished or lost, in order that we can experience His generosity and provision. Our social networks are shaken, so we can be built into the family He intends, aligned with those who have our best interest at heart.
And the fine print of our "anything" turns out to be God's "everything."
*A shout-out to our home church pastor, Allan Yoder, of Good Shepherd Community Church, for many of these insights!
**Here's an excerpt from Wilbur Reese's poem, 'Three Dollars Worth of God," for those who have never heard it...
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.
Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep,
But just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.
I would like to buy three pounds of God, please.
–Wilbur Reese
Tucked in one box was a book for me. She'd already read it, passed her copy on to others, and then bought one for me. And one for a mutual friend of ours. Yeah. That's my mom, always giving.
So "Anything," by Jennie Allen, came with high recommendations. I knew she was a blogger, so I checked out her blog first. It made me want to stop blogging and leave that domain to those who know how to do it well. But I got over it...and ended up enjoying both blog and book.
In short, Jennie and her husband Zac prayed one of those dangerous prayers. "God, we will do anything. Anything." Her book is the story of their lives before they abandoned themselves to God, and what has happened since then. That's pretty much all I'll say about it, since you should read it for yourself. I liked it because it reminded me that we are not alone on this journey...that others, too, are committed to say "yes" to God even before the question comes.
The call of God tugs at the heart...We timidly slip our hands up, half-hoping that God will say, "Oh, that's OK, I was just checking to see if you were willing. I see you are, so just go on with life as you know it." But instead, He says, "Yes, I see that hand! And I'll take you up on that!"
With the call come His promises. They are always good. And they are always true. What God promises will absolutely happen, although perhaps not how and when we imagine. But there is some fine print...and that is where the cry of "Was THIS included in the offer of 'anything'?" comes in. When our own dreams are crushed...When our reputation is trashed... When our financial security is lost...When our social networks disintegrate...The days when we want to scream at the sky, "Is this really what I signed up for?"
Perhaps some give up and turn back at this point. Sometimes we wish we could. But there is nothing left, back there, for us. We have seen and tasted of God's goodness, basked in His Presence, watched the fulfillment of some of His promises, seen miraculous happenings, experienced a depth of relationship that we hadn't realized was possible..... There's no pretending that we did not see what we've seen. That we have not been where we've gone. That we do not know what we know. And there is no denying that we want more....it's been just a taste, a mere glimpse. If we can have as much of God as we want, we refuse to be content with "three pounds of God."**
It sometime feels like God crushes our own dreams, but it's so His purposes and dreams can be fulfilled. Our reputations are made as nothing, so we have nothing to protect and His can be lifted up. Our financial security is diminished or lost, in order that we can experience His generosity and provision. Our social networks are shaken, so we can be built into the family He intends, aligned with those who have our best interest at heart.
And the fine print of our "anything" turns out to be God's "everything."
*A shout-out to our home church pastor, Allan Yoder, of Good Shepherd Community Church, for many of these insights!
**Here's an excerpt from Wilbur Reese's poem, 'Three Dollars Worth of God," for those who have never heard it...
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.
Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep,
But just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.
I would like to buy three pounds of God, please.
–Wilbur Reese
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