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Saturday, May 26, 2007

how we relate to God

So, i've become a mom over the last several months, and am beginning to realize that the way i live my life is no longer just about me. Since David has been born, my mind is taking things about him and relating those baby-->mom things to us-->God. It's a natural progression: a huge life change bringing your thoughts to higher ones. But first a tangent.
Kris and David and i were downtown Mpls at the farmer's market a few weeks ago. Kris was buying a water from one of the stands, and this lady sitting on a bench started talking to me a bit, just kind of pleasant small talk, mostly about KFC. i'm a fan of food and was having fun and then the lady asked if i had a dollar to spare. i hadn't seen it coming at all, but even though i only normally give money to musicians on the street, not just beggars, i still gave her a dollar. Then this lady who was so nice to me said "come on, can't you do any better than that?" And i was like "No, i really don't have any more money." i was beginning to be upset, because she's sitting here asking me for money, not doing anything like playing a nice song, i STILL give her money, and it's not good enough. Kris came back, and we walked away. There were just so many things wrong with this, though. First of all, she asked me flat-out for a dollar. Social graces aren't exactly my forte, but it makes me uncomfortable when people ask for it without doing anything. Then i give her what she asked for, and she didn't thank me. Then also, I GAVE HER WHAT SHE ASKED FOR, and then she was accusing me of holding back. How was i supposed to know, even , if the money would go towards something good for her? Literally every dollar i have is being taken away from my family and David especially. Is that dollar contributing to this lady's drug habit?
On to David. He's this little baby. He sits there, and cries, and poos, and needs to eat constantly. He requires lots of time, money, and energy just to keep his little world going. In no way can he contribute to the family, except for the joy he brings with his little smiles and gurgles and the new things he is learning to do every day. If he doesn't smile or gurgle, though, we still have to feed him, and change his diaper, and all those things. He is this little bundle of constant need, completely unable to do anything for himself. So, that's what we are to God. We need Him for everything. Everything. The thing is, He does all this stuff for us and 99% of the time we don't realize it's Him; we think it's us, you know? And most of the time we don't thank Him for what he does, and we don't even throw him a smile or a gurgle or anything:) Yet He still loves us so frigging much that he sacrificed Himself anyway, knowing most of the time we'd be completely unaware of His contributions to our life. That's a good God to serve. He's not asking for anything back.
So this lady in Mpls. She is just like us to God, too. We don't do ANYTHING for God. We can't help Him out with anything, but we're still asking for stuff all the time. Then when He gives us what we've asked for, it isn't good enough. Or if he were to give us a sandwich instead of a dollar, we complain. But he still does it. Because He knows we need it. When he blesses us, do we take it and use it for good? Or do we take what He meant for good and use it to support our wordly habits? For instance, i've been VERY bad about tithing. Haven't done it in years. i'm going to get started again: make it a priority. Because tithing is using God's blessings for good. All those 10%s i kept for myself the last few years show nothing except in pictures that i was tan, or that i now have more DVD movies. They certainly haven't added a bigger nursery to a church or helped bring people to Christ. But He still blesses, and He still loves. It's amazing. i really like God.

1 comments:

Sarah said...

Jess,

This is awesome. Ir's amazing how we start to understand the love of God (and our need for him) once we become parents, huh?

Being a mom revolutionized my faith.