"My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours. Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I,of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories, in all their particularity,as I have long believed and often said, that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally." -Frederick Buechner



Friday, January 14, 2011

I want to remember!

As I sit in my quiet morning spot I see a basket with a bottle of olive oil and a pouch of flour.  A very dear friend gave me this very dear reminder at a very hard time in my life.  She told me that just like God took care of the widow He would take care of my and my family.  That story comes from I Kings 17. I read it again recently and saw something I hadn't seen before. (Funny how God can do that - just keep showing you stuff from the same story!)

This woman and her son were about to have their last meal when Elijah showed up, said he was a man of God and she was supposed to make supper for him. After a bit of a conversation she must of thought, what do I have to lose this was going to be our last meal anyway. So she made Elijah and there was "food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family." I Kings 17:15 NIV  Verse 17 starts with "Some time later" we don't know how long her son became very ill.   During that "some time" the provision of God, a miracle became ordinary to the widow. When her son stopped breathing she lashed out at Elijah, "What have you against me man of God?"  How quickly she forgot how God was taking care of them.  The short version of this story is Elijah went into the boys room, prayed to God for him and God spared her son.  The widow's response? "NOW I know that you are a man of God and that the word fo the Lord from your mouth is the truth." (verse 24)  Hmmm.  Think about that. I'm like that too but when you read it here it seems so obvious. God miraculously replenished her food supply day after day and it became ordinary in her life. The newness of the miracle wore off some where in the daily-ness of life. It took another crisis to prove to her (again) that God could provide for her.

I don't know about you but I really don't want to have to have crisis after crisis in my life for me to learn that God can provide for me.  I don't want it to become so ordinary that God provides for me that I forget.  What does this remind you of today?
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2 comments:

  1. The Other KathyJanuary 20, 2011 at 9:38 PM

    Oh, thank you for sharing this Jody....I am a little behind on your blog and just got to read this tonight which turns out to be perfect timing. I think I need to get out some oil and flour myself....how quickly I forget about God's provisions in my life. The shadows of today can too easily darken the sunshine of yesterday.

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  2. Treasure Chest MinistriesJanuary 22, 2011 at 9:52 AM

    Absolutely but take heart. God's mercies are "new every morning" Let's just walk this journey called life together, learning as we go. If we share as we learn, none of us have to do every single step alone. We can share and help each other!

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