When the Menu is Manna

   Surrender… sometimes it just plain hurts. If you are anything like me, you can recall those specific times when God has had to practically pry certain things from your grip. Though the stuff you clung to so tightly may not have been necessarily bad, but because He knows you so intimately, these things were not aligned with His will for your life. I know from experience how easy it is to hold things that I do not value very loosely but try to take things that have significant meaning from me; I hang on for dear life! It's hard to give up our "stuff."  In the book of Mark, Chapter 10, a wealthy young man travels to meet Jesus. He is definitely a man with a lot of possessions.   Perhaps he had heard ahead of time that Jesus was speaking, as he came with a pressing question. What could he do to inherit eternal life? Jesus not only saw him coming, but the Scriptures say that He loved him and knew his heart as the young man offered his accomplishments perhaps to buy ete...

  "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. " Zechariah 4:10 Baby steps. As a young mother, I eagerly awaited the day my firstborn would take her first steps. I was only 25 and unsure how I thought this milestone would occur. I had virtually no point of reference, mentor, or experience with babies, but I could not wait for that day to come! Surprisingly, it didn't happen exactly as I had imagined. There was no taking off one day without any former signs. I began to notice the pulling up on things, then came steady footing, followed by a look that seemed to say, "I really want to go over there. But how?" This was followed by a calculated release and letting go only to dive, sometimes face-first into the carpet. Occasionally, a case of stubbornness would arise, and the decision to plop down and sit this one out would take over. It wasn't worth the risk of getting from point A to point B. Then, when least expected, she...

  Patience. Sometimes, I lack any measure of such. I wish this problem was in only one area of my life and that I could easily say - "Ah ha, that's the problem," but it's not so. Truthfully, I struggle with waiting in almost every area of my life. It's often unrecognizable to others as I mask it quite well most of the time. But yet it is there. It manifests itself in many ways. For starters, I am easily distracted when required to read lengthy directions to assemble something.    Sometimes, my impatience shows in the occasional thinking that I remember a recipe only to recall the need for that third cup of flour too late. At other times, I am reminded of my problem when I grit my teeth so as not to lash out at that "one thing." (We all have one, don't we?) In fact, I have a kitchen drawer that includes extra screws, bolts, washers, and other things from such projects. I don't know what to do with them, but they all rest safely in the drawer shoul...