But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!” My future is in your hands. [Psalm 31:14-15a (NLT)]
Sometimes God doesn’t give you what you want not because you don’t deserve it but because you deserve better. [Anonymous Internet wisdom]
Because the nearby bird sanctuary/swamp gets its water from rainfall, the size of its lakes fluctuates substantially with the seasons. During the dry seasons of winter and spring, the swamp’s lakes gradually recede until the summer rains begin. When this annual dry-down occurs in springtime, the wading birds congregate in the shallow lakes. With the fish having no place to hide the shallow water, it’s as easy as catching fish in a rain barrel for the birds!
Anticipating a feeding frenzy as the swamp’s wading birds gathered in the receding lakes, we went out to the bird sanctuary. The dry-down happened faster than we expected. Instead of a shallow lake covered with water lettuce, we found only mud. Rather than a plethora of egrets, herons, wood storks, and roseate spoonbills, we encountered dozens of black vultures enjoying the remains of the stinking fish in the muck! What we got certainly wasn’t what we wanted or expected.
Since vultures are known for projectile vomiting if startled or threatened, I admit to some trepidation as I walked between the perched birds on the boardwalk. Nevertheless, seeing all those vultures was an amazing experience. In spite of our initial disappointment, we were thankful for the opportunity to witness nature’s clean-up crew at work.
In spite of our best-laid plans, we don’t always get what we pray for or expect. Emily Perl Kingsley, a mother of a child with a disability, wrote a beautiful essay titled “Welcome to Holland” in which she likens having a child with a disability to someone planning a fabulous trip to Italy. After months of eager expectation, however, she discovers the flight plan unexpectedly changed and she’s landed in Holland. Even though there’s nothing wrong with Holland, it’s not Italy! Admitting the pain in losing her longed-for destination, Kingsley adds, “But, if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things….about Holland.”
Unlike Kingsley, I’ve never arrived in Holland after expecting to touch down in Italy. Nevertheless, like her, God has changed my flight plans mid-air and I’ve landed in unplanned-for destinations. Sometimes, God’s plan is even better than we imagined and He takes us to Paris or Madrid when all we prayed for was St. Louis or Minneapolis! On the other hand, sometimes God’s plan takes us places we never wanted to visit—Al-Anon meetings, hospital rooms, nursing homes, grave sites, divorce court, or even Holland. Either way, God’s answer to our prayers is the right one—even though it’s different and unexpected. Trusting in God’s infinite love and wisdom, let us accept God’s plan with joy. Whether it’s vultures instead of roseate spoonbills, Keukenhof Gardens instead of the Colosseum, Edam cheese instead of pizza, or a special needs child instead of an honor student, may we seek to appreciate everything in our present situation and be thankful for our many blessings.
It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. [Emily Perl Kingsley]
When reciting the creeds as a youngster, I wondered why I said we believed in the catholic church when we didn’t go to one. My family didn’t attend the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our priest was married, and our service was in English, so why did we attest faith in the catholic church? It wasn’t until my confirmation class that I clearly understood that the creeds weren’t referring to the Roman Catholic church. Coming from the Greek katholikos (derived from kath holos, meaning “throughout the whole”), catholic simply means universal! The term originates from the first century and the words of Ignatius of Antioch: “Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.”
Novelist Salman Rushdie said, “In the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips.” I agree. Granted, life can be as pleasant as a plain sugar cookie but, when you add chocolate chips to the batter or friends to the mix, it becomes something extra special.
My Mother’s Day prayers will include thanks for the mother and mother-in-law God put in my life, the blessings of motherhood and family, the privilege of seeing my children become adults, and the immeasurable joy of being a grandmother! Because those grands wouldn’t be here were it not for the three beautiful daughters (one by birth and two through marriage) with which He blessed me, I’ll thank God for them, as well.
If “daily bread” refers to our necessities and nothing more, then what are the necessities of life? The most obvious answer is food enough to maintain us, water enough to sustain us, along with clothing and shelter enough to protect us. Chances are you are among the fortunate who have all that’s needed to support life (plus a great deal more.) I know I am. Should we then cease asking the Lord for our daily bread? Martin Luther would say, “No.”
A pastor friend told me about returning from a service project with some of his SK8 church youth including Brian, a young man new to the faith. When they stopped for lunch at a taco stand, a street person asked Brian for money. Trying to do what Jesus would want done, the new Christian offered to buy the hard-up man a burrito. It was when Brian ordered two bean burritos that his dining guest loudly complained, “I ain’t eatin’ no $%2#!* bean burrito—I want a steak one!” Brian had little money to spare but, since the man was getting vociferous, he ordered the steak burrito for his guest and a bean one for himself. Apparently, the vagrant wasn’t familiar with the proverbs about beggars not being choosers, half a loaf being better than none, and not looking a gift horse in the mouth!
Devotions of the Heart 