Reason #376
I polished off the rest of my Grandmother's brownies today. It's a good thing she didn't send the whole pan with me or I would have made myself sick with all of the chocolate goodness. It's the little things, like brownies made specially for you by your Grandmother, that do a heart good. When I eat them, I'm reminded of her love for me and just a bite makes things seem a little better in that moment.
I heard, once, that every time you learn something new you get a wrinkle in your brain. I don't know where I heard this fact or if it is really even a fact, but if it's so, I bet you have one of the wrinkliest brains ever. In fact, I think my brain has had quite a bit of premature wrinkling. I wish tomorrow was Martin Luther King, Jr. day rather than Monday because I am mentally spent. I just need a day to not think. My brain power is operating at zero as I've had far too much to think about and learn over the past couple of weeks.
Learning takes place is so many different forms, and the hardest learning comes from life's lessons, in my opinion. But learning is good for us, as challenges are a necessary part of life. Learning keeps us young and current, and so as long as we have breath, we should be learning something. I'm learning a lot about myself right now. I'm learning more about God, too. I'm a little on information overload and so I'm having to sort it all out. Make sense of what I'm learning and decide what information needs to be retained.
Fortunately, today was a warm, sunny day. Days like these do my heart all sorts of good. I can't stress how much I love warm weather. Hate is a strong word, and I probably shouldn't use it, so I'll say that I strongly dislike winter for so many reasons. Reason #1, it's cold. So today was a much needed break from the cold. Also, the sun is setting later, which brings about much joy, too. My mom called this afternoon to see if we could take a walk after work. This was our offical first walk of 2013, and it was not only incredible to be able to spend an hour enjoying nature, but it was much needed. Never is there a quiet moment on our walks. I use the opportunities to spill my information overload onto her and she helps me sort it out. Put things where they belong and make sense of life's lessons. And she gave me a good thought today. She used an awesome example, one I so needed to hear. Eve.
What about Eve? She kind of gets a bad rap, doesn't she? We all blame her for taking that bite. If only she hadn't. But you know what, if she hadn't, someone else would have. Eve was deceived. A woman who knew only good and fell in to a trap of lies. Here's the thing about deciet, it does an incredible job of disguising itself as good. In fact, it does a great job of disguising itself in any form you so desire. Deceit looks beautiful and captivating. It pulls you in until it's too late. You've gone too far now, the damage is done, there's nothing you can do to fix it, and a wound has been made. Shame, humiliation, disgrace, guilt, regret. The by-products of deceit. And don't you know, once Eve finally came to the realization of what had just happened, that she felt horrible? Don't you know she regretted it the moment her teeth broke the skin of the fruit? Don't you think Eve wished again and again and again that she could take that moment back? I bet you Eve felt dumb, too. I bet you she even hated herself a bit for making that decision. I'm sure she spent way too many days living with guilt and shame and never stopped blaming herself for making a poor choice. But it looked so good at the moment. So wonderful, so enticing, and really what it was all along was heartbreak waiting to happen.
You've taken that bite, too. We all have. At one time or another, we have found ourselves staring at that piece of fruit, curiously contemplating what it would taste like. Desiring a bite even though there were warning signs. But we were fooled into thinking that it would be okay. Duped into actually believing that it would be a good thing, not a harmful thing. And so we, like Eve, opened our mouth and bit off more than we could chew. Maybe we knew it right away, or maybe we found out at a later date. Either way, it was too late. The deed was done and there was no way we could fix what happened. We made our choice and, good or bad, we must live with it. So I feel a lot like Eve, and because of that, I feel serious sympathy for her, too.
But so did God. No, He wasn't thrilled at what Eve did, and as Eve experienced heartbreak over her decision, so did God. His heart broke as He watched Eve allow herself to be deceived into believing the lies. God had warned her but she was to busy being captivated by a piece of shiney fruit that she ignored the protection of her loving Father. Yea, Eve made a poor decision. A decision that she was going to have to live with forever. And so she hid from Him in shame. I've done the same thing, too. But God sought her out. He didn't let her stay in hiding. He cared too much about Eve to leave her alone in her shame and regret. He called her out and He showed her much compassion. He took an animal, sacrificed it on her behalf, and He gave her clothes. He covered her shame rather than making her walk around exposing it to a watching world. She didn't deserve the clothing He gave her, especially since a life was taken so that she could have the clothes. But He loved her that much to do that for her. Even after all what she had done, after the really horrible, heartbreaking situation she had put herself in, and the damage she had caused, God still loved her and He showed His kindness to her by not giving Eve what she actually deserved.
So I'm grateful to serve a God who, even when we mess up and make the wrong choices, won't leave us alone in our shame and regret. I'm grateful that, even though we may beat ourselves up day in and day out for making mistakes, He never does. Rather than pointing out our faults and further humiliating us, I'm thankful He finds a way to remove our shame and cover us with His love. And He did the same thing for us that He did for Eve. He sacrificed His own Son on our behalf so that we didn't have to live a life full of guilt and regret but could receive forgiveness and redemption and move forward in love and freedom. And I'm grateful to serve a God who will come to us and pull us out of our heartbreak. The wounds may not go away as we'd like, and we may face some serious consequences for our decisions, but I'm glad that God will see to it that we move foward with new life. It may look a little differently than we thought or expected, but God is still in control. And even though we may wish things would have gone differently, any chance He gives us at new life is a underserved blessing meant for enjoyment, not guilt or regret.
#376 - Because He removes our shame and guilt so that we can enjoy the life He sacrificed to give us.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” - 1 Peter 2:24
I heard, once, that every time you learn something new you get a wrinkle in your brain. I don't know where I heard this fact or if it is really even a fact, but if it's so, I bet you have one of the wrinkliest brains ever. In fact, I think my brain has had quite a bit of premature wrinkling. I wish tomorrow was Martin Luther King, Jr. day rather than Monday because I am mentally spent. I just need a day to not think. My brain power is operating at zero as I've had far too much to think about and learn over the past couple of weeks.
Learning takes place is so many different forms, and the hardest learning comes from life's lessons, in my opinion. But learning is good for us, as challenges are a necessary part of life. Learning keeps us young and current, and so as long as we have breath, we should be learning something. I'm learning a lot about myself right now. I'm learning more about God, too. I'm a little on information overload and so I'm having to sort it all out. Make sense of what I'm learning and decide what information needs to be retained.
Fortunately, today was a warm, sunny day. Days like these do my heart all sorts of good. I can't stress how much I love warm weather. Hate is a strong word, and I probably shouldn't use it, so I'll say that I strongly dislike winter for so many reasons. Reason #1, it's cold. So today was a much needed break from the cold. Also, the sun is setting later, which brings about much joy, too. My mom called this afternoon to see if we could take a walk after work. This was our offical first walk of 2013, and it was not only incredible to be able to spend an hour enjoying nature, but it was much needed. Never is there a quiet moment on our walks. I use the opportunities to spill my information overload onto her and she helps me sort it out. Put things where they belong and make sense of life's lessons. And she gave me a good thought today. She used an awesome example, one I so needed to hear. Eve.
What about Eve? She kind of gets a bad rap, doesn't she? We all blame her for taking that bite. If only she hadn't. But you know what, if she hadn't, someone else would have. Eve was deceived. A woman who knew only good and fell in to a trap of lies. Here's the thing about deciet, it does an incredible job of disguising itself as good. In fact, it does a great job of disguising itself in any form you so desire. Deceit looks beautiful and captivating. It pulls you in until it's too late. You've gone too far now, the damage is done, there's nothing you can do to fix it, and a wound has been made. Shame, humiliation, disgrace, guilt, regret. The by-products of deceit. And don't you know, once Eve finally came to the realization of what had just happened, that she felt horrible? Don't you know she regretted it the moment her teeth broke the skin of the fruit? Don't you think Eve wished again and again and again that she could take that moment back? I bet you Eve felt dumb, too. I bet you she even hated herself a bit for making that decision. I'm sure she spent way too many days living with guilt and shame and never stopped blaming herself for making a poor choice. But it looked so good at the moment. So wonderful, so enticing, and really what it was all along was heartbreak waiting to happen.
You've taken that bite, too. We all have. At one time or another, we have found ourselves staring at that piece of fruit, curiously contemplating what it would taste like. Desiring a bite even though there were warning signs. But we were fooled into thinking that it would be okay. Duped into actually believing that it would be a good thing, not a harmful thing. And so we, like Eve, opened our mouth and bit off more than we could chew. Maybe we knew it right away, or maybe we found out at a later date. Either way, it was too late. The deed was done and there was no way we could fix what happened. We made our choice and, good or bad, we must live with it. So I feel a lot like Eve, and because of that, I feel serious sympathy for her, too.
But so did God. No, He wasn't thrilled at what Eve did, and as Eve experienced heartbreak over her decision, so did God. His heart broke as He watched Eve allow herself to be deceived into believing the lies. God had warned her but she was to busy being captivated by a piece of shiney fruit that she ignored the protection of her loving Father. Yea, Eve made a poor decision. A decision that she was going to have to live with forever. And so she hid from Him in shame. I've done the same thing, too. But God sought her out. He didn't let her stay in hiding. He cared too much about Eve to leave her alone in her shame and regret. He called her out and He showed her much compassion. He took an animal, sacrificed it on her behalf, and He gave her clothes. He covered her shame rather than making her walk around exposing it to a watching world. She didn't deserve the clothing He gave her, especially since a life was taken so that she could have the clothes. But He loved her that much to do that for her. Even after all what she had done, after the really horrible, heartbreaking situation she had put herself in, and the damage she had caused, God still loved her and He showed His kindness to her by not giving Eve what she actually deserved.
So I'm grateful to serve a God who, even when we mess up and make the wrong choices, won't leave us alone in our shame and regret. I'm grateful that, even though we may beat ourselves up day in and day out for making mistakes, He never does. Rather than pointing out our faults and further humiliating us, I'm thankful He finds a way to remove our shame and cover us with His love. And He did the same thing for us that He did for Eve. He sacrificed His own Son on our behalf so that we didn't have to live a life full of guilt and regret but could receive forgiveness and redemption and move forward in love and freedom. And I'm grateful to serve a God who will come to us and pull us out of our heartbreak. The wounds may not go away as we'd like, and we may face some serious consequences for our decisions, but I'm glad that God will see to it that we move foward with new life. It may look a little differently than we thought or expected, but God is still in control. And even though we may wish things would have gone differently, any chance He gives us at new life is a underserved blessing meant for enjoyment, not guilt or regret.
#376 - Because He removes our shame and guilt so that we can enjoy the life He sacrificed to give us.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” - 1 Peter 2:24
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