OOPS!
SORRY!
IF YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING, I WON'T!
In Psalm 11 we read, "The Lord probes the righteous and the wicked, and the lover of havoc, He utterly hates." Utterly hates? By His essential being, He hates the lover of havoc? I do not consider myself a lover of havoc but sadly, often feel like I am a prisoner to it...or so I think. There are times when I come close to ordering my life, but somehow it always seems to be beyond my reach. I manage to sabotage my plans by swerving off course, ever so slightly; by stopping to rest when it is not time; by becoming distracted by the many things that fascinate me along the way, rather than staying my course. You can talk all you want, walk many places, understand it all so well; yet if you do not go far enough, it will bring you to naught...and that is havoc.
Looking around us and within, there is no doubt that we have a God "whose interest in beauty and detail must be unquestioned." I love Franky Schaeffer's words:
"We could live in a flat uninteresting world, one that had the bare minimum of gray ingredients to support life, one whose diversity was only enough to provide minimum existence. Instead, we live in a riotous explosion of diversity and beauty. We live in a world full of "useless" beauty, we live in a world of millions of species, we live in a world peopled by individuals of infinite variety, talents, abilities, and this is only on our own planet. When one looks heavenward and sees the complexity of the reaches of space above, the mind boggles at the creativity of our God." (Addicted to Mediocrity)
What can we possess so that we might stay our course and not be distraced in these "riotous explosions of diversity and beauty."
Look deeper. Behind the beauty we see a world of perfect order. Who knows but the weaver herself of the patterns of textures and colours, woven into her cloth, patterns woven with much labour and knowing...knowing of each individual fibre selected. Each fibre must be carefully selected and spun with the appropriate method to be of value in the weaving process or one can easily obliterate its inherent characteristics. A lofty wool waiting to be fluffed out does not want to be beaten into submission into a functional rug on the loom.
I grew up in a most ordered home. Our meals were punctual at precisely the same time each day. Sunday breakfast was fried eggs and bacon; Sunday lunch was always homemade soup; Sunday supper was always roast beef and yorkshire pudding; Monday supper was roast beef warmed up with gravy; Tuesday was cold roast beef. And so the meals presented themselves throughout the week with great predictability. There were few family outings except our weekly trip to town on a Friday evening to grocery shop and visit the laundry mat. Without question, Sundays always found us sitting in the same seats, in the same pew in church and we all knew not to forget where we sat. Nothing could disturb my little child's heart more than for someone to accidentally or unknowingly sit in our seats. In our home, books were never left out to tempt or tease; unfinished laundry piles...well there never were unfinished laundry piles; dust was never left to gather in the corners or on the ledges. It was a life of dreariness (or so I thought) where adults were obsessed with the mundane things of life and I was determined to seek out a different path to wander.
Fondly I remember how every Saturday evening without fail, my father would gather up every shoe and boot in the house to polish them. And each Sunday morning, our boots and shoes would be lined up at the top of the stairs, so neatly and perfectly polished, for us to wear to church. What one might be tempted to think was a boring unimportant task, remains a beautiful image in my mind some forty years later...an image of a simple act of duty carried out with joy and faithfulness, and an image that I cannot claim for my life, no matter how hard I try.
Oh...I practice at daily and weekly routines. I have my favourite cups that I sip tea out of and my favourite seats to read and knit and write. I have my favourite bible books and commentaries which I read in no certain order but grab up as I feel inspired or led to. I generally claim the morning with its brightness to enjoy my favourite tasks and what you all do so well, overwhelms me because I lack order in my life.
Am I to be continually "off to the hills like a bird," escaping the dreariness of life, off on some adventure. I do love adventures, but no....I will keep trying to stay my course as best I can, remembering the tasks that God has whispered to me to do because just maybe in time, I may touch someone's life for Him. There is nothing mere chance or accidental about the beautiful things of this world. They were created on the foundations of time, the passing of days, months and years- walking with God. You might at times feel things are not right or that you are in need of a vision but know that behind it all runs a thread which takes us to our final destination. Our failures and disappointments are woven into the fabric of our lives and make it beautiful. The weaving will take its form from the presence of Christ in our lives. We have nothing to lose by trying. We are all His tapestries. Let us keep our hearts tender and let Him order our steps.
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