“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NASB)
I’ve spent a fair portion of this past 2 weeks with ibuprofen and an icepack and I’ll be the first to tell you that mine is still a first-world problem. I’m not downplaying the discomfort, but I did have the icepack and plenty of ibuprofen to address it. I’m expecting to recover relatively easily. The same can’t be said of most of the people on my prayer list. Simple remedies won’t do it this time. They’re on the list because they need help: the kind only God can give.
While I’ve been “confined” and resting, I’ve been painting pumpkins. I started out drawing some with smooth lines and clean, fresh appearances. They’re easy to do and, like most of the ones for sale right now, they appeal to the vast majority of people this time of year.
They’re pretty, but kind of plain and maybe even a bit boring after awhile…at least when you’re drawing them. I mean, I like them, but when I’m buying, I am tend to pick out the ones that have a bit more…”character” to them. I like the ones with interesting stems and unusual colors. Best of all are the lumpy-bumpy ones.
I did a little research and found out that the lumps and bumps can have different causes. Whether it is the result of insect damage, intentional scarring, high sugar content (yes, you CAN actually be too sweet! ha!), or a virus, the results show up on the surface.
Sometimes we’re like that, too. Our scars can show up in ways we didn’t anticipate. The furrowed brow, the snappy attitude, the sharp tone of voice, the withdrawal, the anger, the depression, the fill-in-your-own-blank-here of us manifests on our surfaces, too.
While it’s cool in and on a pumpkin, those lumpy-bumpy things on people make us harder to deal with and, more likely than not, put distance between us and the very ones we need the most. Sometimes we even allow them to put distance between us and God…and that just makes our lumpy-bumpyness even worse.
God presented me with a challenge this week. He’s had me praying for some lumpy-bumpy situations…and some lumpy-bumpy people. I wasn’t really expecting the way He showed up with this assignment,–I mean, confined and painting pumpkins?!–but I should have, since God rarely does anything without a purpose.
As I’ve painted, and prayed for people in truly tough situations this past week, God has reminded me that no matter what we face, He has a solution. Regardless of what caused or is causing our scars, He is our Healer. His Word is still true and His Presence is always available, if we will but pull our eyes off our problems and look up for our Provider.
As a personal bonus just for me (and, maybe, you, as well), He also reminded me that even when I HAVE a lumpy-bumpy assignment in life, I can choose not to BE a lumpy-bumpy assignment to those around me.
It is also just BARELY POSSIBLE that God has also used this week and this post as a way to prepare me (us?!) for NO COMPLAIN NOVEMBER 2022. Think about it. NCN2022 will be here shortly.
Grace and Peace!
quiet ambitions: 