About once a week, I spill coffee grounds. I get so mad at myself! Yet, I refuse to buy the sturdy brand of filters. I buy the paper thin ones that could rip at any second. I drag myself over to the coffee maker every morning and brew myself a pot. When the filter breaks and coffee grounds get all over the floor, you would think that I just broke my arm. It gets me so frustrated...which of course sets the tone for the whole day. (This little ditty just makes me cheap and lazy!)
As the new year starts, I have been reflecting on what I want 2014 to look like. What are some things that I can focus on? One consistent lesson that has been coming to mind is contentment. We have had some set-backs and sadness in 2013, but who hasn't? We are beyond blessed. However, I lose my joy and contentment in the every day, mundane grind. I lose it when I'm expecting Blake to be home at a certain time and he calls to tell me that he's going to be late (the audacity of him wanting to get his hair cut!!). It's the early mornings when I really want to sleep a little longer, but my little dude wants to be up before the sun. It's having to sweep up coffee grounds again, or having to run and buy diapers because I didn't plan ahead and we ran out. All of those little things steal my joy.
A friend shared with our Sunday School class some lessons she had learned out of Psalm 106. It is one of the historical Psalms that talks about God's faithfulness to His people. It is a look back at the history of their sin and failure to acknowledge Him. Then after they suffer the consequences, they return to Him and are restored. And then before you know it, they have lost focus again, and are back to doing the old things that got them in trouble in the first place. It is a picture of our own hearts and thankfully, it is also a picture of God's loving kindness.
I am such a flake. My heart wanders, and then I am gently guided back to God through His Word. I hear a sermon or read a Scripture that reminds me of how greatly I am blessed. My heart comes back to Him and then I spill my coffee grounds. And I'm back to grumbling and complaining. So, so petty.
When we lived in Africa, we had the opportunity to travel to many beautiful places. My favorite, by far, was Innsbruck, Austria. The town reminded me a lot of Norman in it's size and in the fact that there was a university in the town. But what set Innsbruck apart was that it was completely surrounded by mountains. It is a beautiful little town in the middle of the Tyrolean Alps.
Everywhere we went in this town, we were looking at the mountains. We were so silly...we could not get enough of them! If we ate a restaurant, we tried to eat at a table with a clear view of the mountains. We would sit on a bench for an hour and just look at them. Every evening, we sat by the river and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. Even after it was dark, we were in awe of the barely visible shape of the mountains. They were beautiful and we were enchanted.
I started to think about the people who lived there. Did they not realize how beautiful their scenery was? A bus would go by full of people who were looking at newspapers or at phones and not gazing at the mountains. They would scurry about to their jobs and to their schools without looking up once. It made me sad and I thought, "How long would it take for me to get used the the mountains and quit noticing them?" It saddens my heart, but I think it would be quicker than I wish it would.
You see, it is the same in my life. I have amazing blessings from God. I have a husband who loves me and works hard to provide for our family. I have a sweet little boy who makes me laugh and gives the greatest hugs. The list goes on...my church, my family, my friends, my home, my neighborhood...all are blessings from Almighty God and yet I scurry around, getting caught up in the messes. I never look up in awe and rejoice at God's majesty and beauty. I get so caught up in those coffee grounds on the floor, that I forget to savor the God who gives me the ability to taste the coffee beans that he created.
God, help me to remember to look up. Help me not to get caught up in the messiness of life so that I miss the majesty of who You are and what You have done for me.
As the new year starts, I have been reflecting on what I want 2014 to look like. What are some things that I can focus on? One consistent lesson that has been coming to mind is contentment. We have had some set-backs and sadness in 2013, but who hasn't? We are beyond blessed. However, I lose my joy and contentment in the every day, mundane grind. I lose it when I'm expecting Blake to be home at a certain time and he calls to tell me that he's going to be late (the audacity of him wanting to get his hair cut!!). It's the early mornings when I really want to sleep a little longer, but my little dude wants to be up before the sun. It's having to sweep up coffee grounds again, or having to run and buy diapers because I didn't plan ahead and we ran out. All of those little things steal my joy.
A friend shared with our Sunday School class some lessons she had learned out of Psalm 106. It is one of the historical Psalms that talks about God's faithfulness to His people. It is a look back at the history of their sin and failure to acknowledge Him. Then after they suffer the consequences, they return to Him and are restored. And then before you know it, they have lost focus again, and are back to doing the old things that got them in trouble in the first place. It is a picture of our own hearts and thankfully, it is also a picture of God's loving kindness.
I am such a flake. My heart wanders, and then I am gently guided back to God through His Word. I hear a sermon or read a Scripture that reminds me of how greatly I am blessed. My heart comes back to Him and then I spill my coffee grounds. And I'm back to grumbling and complaining. So, so petty.
When we lived in Africa, we had the opportunity to travel to many beautiful places. My favorite, by far, was Innsbruck, Austria. The town reminded me a lot of Norman in it's size and in the fact that there was a university in the town. But what set Innsbruck apart was that it was completely surrounded by mountains. It is a beautiful little town in the middle of the Tyrolean Alps.
Everywhere we went in this town, we were looking at the mountains. We were so silly...we could not get enough of them! If we ate a restaurant, we tried to eat at a table with a clear view of the mountains. We would sit on a bench for an hour and just look at them. Every evening, we sat by the river and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. Even after it was dark, we were in awe of the barely visible shape of the mountains. They were beautiful and we were enchanted.
I started to think about the people who lived there. Did they not realize how beautiful their scenery was? A bus would go by full of people who were looking at newspapers or at phones and not gazing at the mountains. They would scurry about to their jobs and to their schools without looking up once. It made me sad and I thought, "How long would it take for me to get used the the mountains and quit noticing them?" It saddens my heart, but I think it would be quicker than I wish it would.
You see, it is the same in my life. I have amazing blessings from God. I have a husband who loves me and works hard to provide for our family. I have a sweet little boy who makes me laugh and gives the greatest hugs. The list goes on...my church, my family, my friends, my home, my neighborhood...all are blessings from Almighty God and yet I scurry around, getting caught up in the messes. I never look up in awe and rejoice at God's majesty and beauty. I get so caught up in those coffee grounds on the floor, that I forget to savor the God who gives me the ability to taste the coffee beans that he created.
God, help me to remember to look up. Help me not to get caught up in the messiness of life so that I miss the majesty of who You are and what You have done for me.
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