Little Bits and Leftovers

The tension lay thick as a layer of fog over the front end that morning. We were working slowly on a day that demanded we move fast. The baggers were all busy with other tasks, leaving groceries to pile up on the belts. There was a break in the communication flow between managers and their minions, so the customers knew more about the day's sale than the cashiers checking them out. And the incessant yawns of those nearby made me long for a cup of coffee that was decidedly outside the moment's reach. We were stressed out, put out, and just plain grumpy, and it looked like we were headed for a very long day.

And then God came through my line.

He arrived in the guise of a small, bald baby, seated in the front of her mother's cart. Her soft pink arm was raised high as her fingers opened and closed repeatedly in her version of a wave, a huge smile on her face when her lips weren't closed in her attempt to blow kisses my way. She was a 10-month old bundle of joy, and my heart was instantly captivated at the sight of her. The rush of work that had seemed so important just seconds ago stopped completely as I stood transfixed with my hands clasped in front of my chest, and my eyes wide with delight as I took in the sight. Somehow her mother's order was processed and her bags loaded into the cart; I know I didn't help much in the effort. I just knew that I had to absorb every minute of the Son-light that baby radiated, and by the time the cart was pushed away, there was a smile firmly affixed to my soul once more.

He didn't need to explain Himself to me - I got the picture! - but I guess He wanted to emphasize His point. So it wasn't but a few customers later that a woman came through with a bag of chocolate chips that suddenly split open and spilled everywhere. They were on the belt, on the floor, and mixed in with the rest of her groceries. We quickly got her another bag and cleaned up the mess as best we could. But for the next hour or so a chocolate chip would suddenly come down the belt seemingly out of nowhere, knocked loose from a temporary lodging by the multitude of groceries passing by to suddenly catch my eye. I gathered them up with a grin as they came and soon found that my mood was rising as high as the little stack of brown candy by my water bottle. And I got the point.

God doesn't leave us out to dry on our difficult days. His promise to never leave us alone doesn't just apply to what we consider the bigger issues of life. He's in the little things that bother us as well, and He responds in little ways...in little bits of sweetness that He sends our way, hidden in the mix of ordinary moments to suddenly surprise and captivate our hearts...to lift our moods and get us through. Too often we don't see them as the gifts they are, and we brush them aside or kick them out of the way, as some later customers did with the remaining chips they found on the floor. How much happier we would be if we would gather them up with gratitude and drink them in to refresh our thirsty souls.

I did just that the rest of the day. There was the coworker who made me laugh with a funny story in the breakroom...a manager who made a point of saying hi as she went by...a customer's comment about my hair...a friend who waved hi as she waited in another line. When the list became too long for my memory, I grabbed a strip of receipt tape and began jotting them down. You see, God is also into gathering. He instructed His followers to gather manna, fish, souls...even leftovers. Each time after Jesus fed the groups of thousands that were following Him, He gathered up the leftover pieces of fish and bread so they wouldn't be wasted. Leftovers of a blessing are a treasure themselves! Little things matter to God, and at the end of my shift I had a list of the same that brought an abundance of surprise smiles on a day that was a struggle.

When I thought I needed a coffee fix, God sent chocolate chips to give me repeated sips of Living Water instead, and I found that they were what I was thirsty for after all.

“...she said, 'Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.'”

(Matthew 15:27-28 NIV)

For the Love of Lefty

It happened as quickly as the briefest space between words. One minute I was chatting amiably with my coworker, John, as he walked me out to my car, and the next I was flat on my back on the parking lot, wondering how on earth I managed to slip on snow that yet barely covered the ground.

We'd been thinking about the weather all evening, my friend Tracy and I, both of us having landed late-night shifts that day. The storm was supposed to start just before we'd be clocking out, and we wondered what the roads would be like by the time we were ready to leave. Since neither of us are very good at bad-weather driving, we encouraged each other as best we could, pushing aside the negative vibes from customers who told us the snowflakes were already starting to fly. “We're going to be fine,” I told Tracy repeatedly, and she nodded her head in agreement each time.

Later we laughed at the fact that getting home hadn't been the problem at all; for me at least the issue was just getting to my car. After John had helped me up, brushed me off and safely deposited me and my grocery bags at my vehicle, a quick evaluation revealed that my right elbow was not functioning properly, yet somehow I drove one-handed through the increasing storm on snow-covered roads with no problem.

And so began an adventure into left-handedness, a journey I never imagined I'd take, but one that has surprised me with unexpected blessings. My left-handed husband was almost gleeful as he told me in the emergency room a few hours later that I was finally going to learn to see things from his point of view. The registration clerk smiled in agreement as she wrote notes on a pad, likewise with her left hand.

My own left extremity has gamely entered into the fray, accepting the challenge and excelling in its execution. It has conquered a variety of tasks, accepting help from other body parts as needed. From flip-top cans to tightly screwed-on lids to spreading butter on bread to cutting food into bite-sized pieces to safely depositing them into my mouth instead of on my shirt-front...one by one it has accomplished them all. Finding itself responsible for personal hygiene tasks it once sat idly through, it can now squeeze toothpaste onto an unsteady toothbrush, then brush teeth, comb hair, and wash and dress the body like it had been doing so for years. The dogs are still fed, the cat's litter box is clean, sheets are changed, and floors are vacuumed, just as before. As we come to the end of the second week after my injury, I look at my left hand with new-found pride and appreciation.

Funny, I've been looking at my husband the same way. He, too, has stepped into roles he hasn't had to play in the extent of our 34-year marriage, but he has done so with willingness and grace, despite an already busy schedule and full plate. He has sat in emergency rooms, by hospital bedsides and in doctor's offices, despite a distaste for medical procedures of any kind. He canceled meetings, worked on his laptop from home and made up work hours on weekends that used to be spent on his to-do lists, rather than mine. In recent days he's become my chauffeur, personal chef, and fashion advisor, even digging through his own closet for old pajama tops and button-up shirts that could be altered to accommodate a bulky cast. The kicker came when he volunteered to help me curl my hair...not because my looks bothered him, but because the inability to do it myself bothered me. For two weeks straight he has barely given a thought to himself in his efforts to make sure I am safe and supplied with everything I need. Because he has had to step into roles he's never had to play, I've seen sides of him I hadn't ever seen before, and have simply found new things to love about my left-handed man as a result.

Perhaps that is the silver lining to all the difficulties we face; the change in perspective they offer us. We go through our lives on auto-pilot much of the time until something happens that suddenly changes life as we know it and forces us to re-examine that which we formerly took for granted. The blessing of unexpected difficulty is the opportunity it provides to see life in a new way and grow somehow as a result. I've heard it preached many times that if our first instinct is to ask God what we can learn from the situation when trouble strikes, what was a challenge becomes instead a chance to improve ourselves. Suddenly we are faced with a choice as to how we are going to look at the days to come. We can either just survive the situation and strive to get back to where we were, or we can instead use it as a stepping stone to a life of greater victory and happiness on down the road. Every need in our life simply gives us a new view of God as He responds to it and another reason to love Him more. The wisdom behind the Bible's admonition to give thanks in every situation lies in the fact that blessings surround every difficult happenstance if we just have eyes to see them and avail ourselves of the opportunities they present.

Initially I was going to wait till the fast-approaching Valentine holiday to tell my husband how much I love him and have appreciated his care and help in recent days. But that's yet a few weeks away. By then my right arm will be quickly taking on its old tasks and resuming its former dominance, and I don't want to forget the lessons I'm learning along the way. The proper response to any challenge is to first give thanks for its hidden blessings... today.

“God loves to crown difficulty with blessing. He works everything out for good. Our part is to abide in the beauty and power of His love and remain firmly on purpose.”

- Graham Cooke

Baggage Claim Blessings

My best Christmas moment of the season just past occurred when I watched an online video of an elaborate surprise one Canadian airline planned for the passengers on a particular flight. WestJet Airlines set up a large video booth at the flight gate, and while travelers waited to board the plane, they were invited to scan their boarding passes at the machine. Suddenly Santa would appear on the monitor, address the person by name, and ask what they wanted for Christmas.

While the travelers chatted to Santa, a whole army of people was standing by behind the scenes to make their dreams come true. Santa's helpers were listening in and taking notes on each conversation. Then, while the flight was in the air, these troops went to work, madly shopping, wrapping and delivering gifts to the destination airport. The flight landed and the passengers gathered at the baggage claim area. But when the bell sounded, the lights flashed and the conveyor belt began to move, rather than the suitcases they were expecting to come out of the carousel came gift after perfectly wrapped gift, each bearing the name of a person aboard the flight.

Looks of bewildered surprise turned into expressions of incredible delight as the people began reaching for the gifts bearing their names and tearing them open on the spot. “Santa” and his “elves” were present, enjoying the moment every bit as much as the passengers themselves. Some of the travelers cried, they were so touched, while others just stood open-mouthed in disbelief.

Sadly, someone put a damper on the good feelings in a comment posted under the video, saying the money spent on the project should have been given to the poor and needy – that that is what Jesus would have done. The statement echoes one found in the Bible after a woman opened a jar of expensive perfume and poured the contents on Jesus' head. The disciples were incensed at the seeming waste of money. Yet Jesus described her actions as beautiful (Matthew 26:10).

Surely the poor shouldn't be forgotten. It should be noted that when WestJet Airlines posted the video of the event online, they then donated free flights to needy people based on the number of views the video received. But God is present in every expression of love, and we can worship Him by loving on His people, whether they are in need or not.

Afterall, isn't that what God does? He promises that He will supply our needs. Yet He goes beyond that, blessing us simply for the joy He receives in doing so. He reminds us in His Word, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 NIV)

The key word in that sentence is found near its end. God simply wants us to ask. Surely there were those on the flight who didn't bother to spend time in front of the video booth, and thus missed the opportunity to receive a specifically-selected present when the gifts started rolling out at the end.

I noted while watching the video that every person got exactly what they asked for. The boy that asked for the android tablet got an android tablet. The man who asked for nothing but socks and underwear...got nothing but socks and underwear. Yet the couple that honestly stated they wanted a big-screen TV for Christmas – never dreaming it would come to them in such a way – got exactly that, to the cheers of everybody in the area!

Far from suggesting that God endorses greed on our parts, it's the principle in the story above that He wants us to grasp. He wants us to dream big dreams and then ask Him to bring them to pass. As we grow in our relationship with Him, our wish lists change from simply material desires to spiritual ones. The longing of our hearts becomes for things that money can't buy and for God to move in situations in ways that we simply can't. It is these requests that He wants us to put before Him, believing that He is able to do the impossible. Yet we are sometimes hesitant to do so, mistakenly believing that His generosity is limited by our unworthiness rather than loosed by His inherent goodness. And so we ask for socks and underwear spiritually speaking, when God is longing and able to move in big-screen TV ways.

Surely there is a reason during His time on the earth that He asked people so often, “What is it that you would like me to do for you?” Perhaps God's hands of blessing are tied to the size of faith of the believer, as expressed in the framing of the request. The Word says, “As you have believed, so shall it be to you.” What we ask for is a reflection of what we believe about God and who we are in Him. The truth is that we get little because we ask for little. God is daring us to expand our faith, to dream and ask as sons and daughters of an all-powerful King and beloved children of a benevolent Father, that He might pop our eyes and wow our hearts with what He is able and longing to do for us...not just for our delight, but also for His.

  

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

(Matthew 7:7-8 NIV)