Thursday, March 9, 2023
Immeasurably More
When I was a little girl, my mother would get me involved in some of her holiday and special occasion preparations- especially in the kitchen. As you know, I grew up between two boys in a neighborhood full of boys and I’m certain she wanted to make sure I was adequately trained in more than just the rules of whiffle ball, the fine art of fishing with night crawlers, and the delicate skill of releasing a firecracker before explosion. All very important in their own right, though.
When she was getting ready for a special day, she’d call me inside and find some job that would fit my skill level for my age at the time. If it was the Christmas season, she’d get me to roll her warm cocoon cookies in powdered sugar. If it was someone’s birthday, she might ask me to put the candles on the cake and maybe curl the ribbon on the gift. At Easter, she’d send me to find the placemats and napkins that looked the most like springtime and set the table with the knife blades facing the plate, of course. It was always my job to press the criss-cross into the top of the peanut butter cookies with a fork. I buttered many a brown and serve roll in my childhood, which usually cut into my comic paper reading after church. It fell to me to drop the dollop of mayo on top of many pear salads- a mind boggling concoction I still don’t get to this day. And when my skills were well developed, she’d let me crack the eggs for a cake and, later, I advanced to expert level- separating the egg whites.
At the time, I thought I was really helping her. When we sat down to Easter lunch with the spring placemats and neatly folded napkins or someone bit into a cookie coated with powdered sugar, I felt like I was part of my mother’s big plan for the celebration. I was amazed at what we’d done together- even though she’d done the real work. Of course, as I grew up, I realized my Mama didn’t need my help at all. As most would think of their mother, she’s the best cook I know. She was a home economics major and can cook circles around anybody with her high meringue peaks, rich gravies, and perfect consistency icings. She certainly didn’t need a little girl’s clumsy and unskilled efforts to help her achieve her holiday plan. With a little more maturity, I realized she was really just spending time with me and teaching me things that I couldn’t learn unless she brought me into the process. There are some things you just can’t learn without getting your hands down in it. When the work was done and we’d finally sit down to enjoy the end result, I saw the wonderful things that were possible from following her instructions and learning from her. She’d taken my tiny contribution and made it immeasurably more.
I feel like that’s a good analogy for how God involves us in His work. In a countless number of ways, we’ve likely all felt God tap us for an assignment. There are certain things we feel drawn to do and we’re just sure God is the one pulling us to act. A nudge to befriend a certain person. A gnawing feeling that we should intervene in a situation. An inner push to make a sacrificial gift of time or resources. A calling to serve in a specific capacity. A new idea to use a special skill in a different way. There are a million unique ways God calls us to take part in His plans. In the process of obeying, we spend time with Him and learn so much. While we work, we’ll also likely be reminded of some truths about Him that we’ve always known but have let the noise of everyday living dull our senses to them.
I’ve not shared this on the blog, but, for the last 10 months, I’ve been serving on the Pastor Search Committee at my church. Last week was the busy culmination of all those months and I didn’t make it by here. On Sunday, our church voted to call the pastor we recommended and the confidential process of searching has come to a wonderful and God-glorifying end. Big exhale. In this process, I’ve had a front row seat to some of the amazing ways God can work to accomplish His will. It’s not always a direct path or a smooth one, but it always ends where He sees fit. He used seven imperfect people of different ages and threaded our varying perspectives, gifts, and personalities together to play a small part in bringing the man He’d already chosen to our church. God definitely didn’t need our help to accomplish His plan, but He certainly taught us a lot by involving us in the process. It will always be an experience I remember humbly as one of the most meaningful of my life.
No matter how many times I’ve seen God weave circumstances together to achieve His purposes, it never fails to amaze me. There’s no greater sense of awe than in the moments when I can trace the obvious movement of His hand throughout a situation. But, when He chooses to invite me to clumsily and awkwardly work under His guidance and play a little part in His plan, it’s never anything short of mind-blowing and humbling. When I respond to those nudges and pulls and ideas and act on them, I’m like that little girl whose fumbling fingers are being used by the One who doesn’t need her help at all, but He’s teaching her and growing her while she’s getting her hands down in it.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20
Thanks be to God.
Night, friends.
JONI
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Thank you for sharing this Joni! I love stories of God at work!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this and it resonates with me so much! How wonderful that He lets us be involved, even if it's in a small way. I just need to be aware and more open to that still small voice telling me what I need to do. Thank You for this - I needed it.
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