These days I’m often meeting with people about joining the effort to match the Challenge Gift for our own space. On a recent morning I was running a couple of minutes late for an appointment (which is one of my persistent character defects), and I dashed out the door without the lunch I had packed. I was frustrated with myself when I realized what I had done. Now I’d have to either go back to the house or hit a drive-through after the meeting. Ugh!
The person I met with was gracious, encouraging and very helpful. Yet I couldn’t quiet the voice in my head that talked to me about the sandwich I’d left in the fridge. Was it going to be easier to trek back home or stop somewhere? I didn’t have time to do either without putting myself further behind. And I know better than to skip lunch or I pay dearly with a huge energy drop by mid-afternoon. How aggravating!
It wasn’t until I was gathering my things after the meeting that I realized the obvious: I was sitting in a coffee-sandwich establishment! I laughed at myself and gratefully chose a “pick two.”
Too many times I miss the obvious. I’m too distracted to notice God’s provision. So self-reliant that I assume I have to make everything happen myself. Too doubting for faith to be a comfortable skin.
Then God opens my eyes to my surroundings and I discover I’m in standing in the middle of rich provision. There are the spiritual resources of enough trust to take the next step forward, a sweet fragrance of God’s presence or the comforting words of a friend.
And then there are the very tangible provisions of simple, everyday needs like a sandwich on a busy day. I thought of God’s reminder to Israel, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it” Psalm 81: 10 (ISV).
With gratitude, I added a cookie to my order.
Marnie C. Ferree