Eyes Drenched In Faith…

I don’t know God’s rules for how He chooses to hand out miracles…
I wish I understood better. 

My son, daughter-in-law, and I arrived in Colorado after a few flight delays due to storms. 
My sister picked us up and we headed to dinner. Unfortunately, the blizzard hit a bit early and we were caught in it as we climbed the hills to her home. 
She was steady. 
It was a white-out. 
I felt bad that I had somehow put her in this situation. She and I are both fair-weather drivers…
I prayed for our safety hoping I wasn’t “using up” too many of God’s allotted blessings for me. 
I needed them all for the next day…

Again-
I’m sure that’s not how exactly how God works…😉

The mysteries of God-
Truly, the unknowns that cannot be explained. 
How does He choose whom to and when to help?

I see everyday the effects of living in a fallen world. 
I see seemingly senseless suffering. 
I see faithful people fall into grief from prayers yet to be answered. 

I believe in ‘God knowing everything for everyone’. 
But it’s hard to sort through the pain of His timing and His perfect love and how that brings joy to some and pain to others. 

I could get lost in the questions. 
It’s ‘trending’ that so many seem to choose the questions over the answers…
How we sort through it with our imperfect mortal minds can send us on a trajectory that may or may not serve us well. 

When my boys were little, we had a couple of toy chests in their room. 
We also had several plastic containers on their closet shelf.  
Sometimes, I would enter the room, which should have been marked with caution tape, and attempt to organize the chaos. 

One particular day, I remember clearly.
The boys were summoned to help me. 
We sat around the pile of dumped out toys in the room and attempted to organize it.
I realized we saw the task differently. 

My brain saw-
Legos
Batman figures
Matchbox cars
Blocks
Train set 
Books….

Distinct groups of toys. 
Each could be placed with their own kind and tucked neatly into size appropriate containers. 

The boys-
They saw an interlocking kingdom. 
All of these pieces worked together to become platforms, and planets, and heroes, and transportation, and buildings, and forts, and fortresses…
They were all together. Not separate. 
I could spend all day “sorting through” their toys to restore order…
But they didn’t  play with the same variables of order as I saw. 
I was reminded that all things work together in the playroom for the good and the imagination of any who choose to engage.

Riding in the backseat of my sister’s car as she calmly drove us down the driveway to her home amidst a snow storm-
I wondered how God sorted through when He sees fit to grant the pleadings of our hearts and when He has to say “not this time…”

The truth is-
My mortal mind doesn’t (get to) know that answer. 
But my spirit can choose to connect with God.

I can choose to feel His perfect love for me all of the time.
I can work to understand that my brain can try and sort all I want…

But in God’s kingdom-
Everything works together for our “good”…

It’s a “good” we can’t always understand. 
It’s a “good” that often hurts or feels chaotic.
It’s a “good” that can only be seen by eyes drenched in faith. 
And by a heart amplified with hope…

We can choose-
To lean into God, choose to pray— not knowing how those prayers will be answered…
Or to pull away from Him…
Letting doubt, reason, and some version of reality rule our mind…

I laid in a warm bed in my sister’s beautiful home-
I was safe. 
I felt at peace. 
I uttered a prayer of gratitude and a special request that Bry and Jodi could continue to identify God’s miracles and His “good” in their lives.  

My alarm was set for 4 am…

-JC

S’mores Bites

Graham Mixture:
1 cup crushed graham crackers
¼ cup powdered sugar
Dash of salt
6 tablespoons melted butter

Additional ingredients:
10 standard size marshmallows cut into half
3 ½  (1.55oz) milk chocolate Hershey Bars

Stir together graham crackers, powdered sugar and salt. Add melted butter and mix until mixture has a consistent texture.
Spray mini muffin tins with baking spray. Spoon in a scant Tablespoon of the Graham Mixture and gently press it down into 20 mini muffin cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add a small chocolate square to each tin.  Top with ½ of a standard sized marshmallow. Broil in the oven for a few seconds until marshmallow tops are toasted.
Melt remaining Hershey Bars in a freezer strength Ziploc and drizzle the tops.
Let set. Share!