we're all trying to guess what building is on fire when cj, in all seriousness, gasps from the backseat:
"maybe it's the missile from North Korea!!"
to which his father and i responded with uproarious laughter...pausing only long enough to let the thought cross our minds [maybe missile attacks shouldn't be a laughing matter in our household]...and then we all laughed again. i mean...seriously...how preciously naive is that little comment? [we should probably make note of this for future counseling sessions]
but that isn't the greatest part of this story...
we neared the source and [while stopped at a light] watched firefighters battle the blaze. it was a precarious situation to say the least.
and before i know it...abby's sweet voice says "i hope no one got hurt. oh! dear God, please help those people to be safe!"
and as we continue down the road, cj's tender heart prompts him to suggest that we pray for the firefighters, and everyone involved.
and my mommy-heart swelled with joy...and [let's just say it] a little relief...
apparently...between all the not-so-great parenting moments and sloppy attempts at this enormous task of molding little humans...amidst those many moments when the depravity of the human heart is so.clearly.demonstrated by my little 'angels'....Jesus stepped in...and made something click...
to which i say.....PHEeeeeeeWWWW!!!
sometimes i just need a little proof it's all working, you know?
but it is. praise Jesus. it is.
all those seeds planted...[you know, the ones not so much gently placed into the soil as dumped there when i trip over my own feet, face plant in the dirt and think 'how am i supposed to be doing this again?!']...those seeds...they're taking root...somewhere...and they will sprout when the time is right.
because...well...that's just what Jesus does...he cultivates.brings life.in the harshest of conditions...
and that's just what God promises...a harvest...because He is the increase-giver...and His seed is good...
and we're not just talking parenting here...
we're talking every.single bigger-than-ourselves thing we attempt as we gather our crude tools.in this messy garden.and do our best to look like we have a clue.working for a harvest of the unseen.
the work is hard.it sprawls endless before us and we tire easily. we're dirty and smelly and fighting against blisters and calluses, both of hands and heart. it's not fleshing out like we thought it would. are those storm clouds forming overhead? we can't see what's happening underneath the surface...if only we could dig up that seed.get just a glimpse of something changing...growing...taking root. but the process...the increase...that's not ours to look after...
not to mention that [i believe] the work is just as much about the fruit in us.as the fruit around us...but that's another blog post...
we're asked to be aware and available...and that's all we can be...other than unspeakably grateful that the seed we throw is fertile...the One in charge all-knowing.all-powerful.all-good.
so let's [all of us] join in the sowing of something eternal.something beyond ourselves in the hearts placed around us. and let's [all of us] keep each other working.even when the task seems heavy and fruitless.
let's find strength in the One with endless reserves...let's believe that for all our shoddy [albeit sincere] workmanship...God's got it taken care of...and let's cling to promises He can't leave unfulfilled...
It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Isaiah 55:11
So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.
Galatians 6:9
One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap. Just as you don't know the path of the wind, or how bones [develop] in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you don't know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don't know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good.
Ecclesiastes 11 :4-6
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