Weekly Wildflowers #14
A Little Grace, 3 Quick Takes, Not a Tame God
Friends,
I’m sitting in a dappled coffee shop waiting for the clock to strike 10 am so I can go be a sub for my daughter’s history class this week.
So while I have the time, I’m scribbling down some ideas and soaking in this Spring time sunlight, despite it being Lent, and a very Lent-y Lent at that.
Yesterday the kids and I spent over 4 hours on appointments. The first was PT, a regular standing appointment. The next however was over 3 hours at the Shriners near us. It felt like it would never end and ate up all our extra time. Everything I had planned to do yesterday afternoon was left undone.
In fact most of Lent so far has been so jammed packed I feel as if I’m drowning a bit and since I knew this was likely I picked fairly ‘easy’ sacrifices and prayer practices this year.
I’m so glad I did. I have been able to (mostly) keep up with them, and not feel super guilty because I forgot, or ran out of time.
As I told another friend recently, sometimes life is Lent, and instead of beating yourself up for not doing more, give yourself some real grace and invite God into that mess and ask Him for some grace to persevere.
P.S. - Don’t forget to check out the free subscriber chat today where we will discuss the questions after the devotional and other topics!
3 Quick Takes
Our garden is in its third year here in SC. I am SO excited. I love gardening, and so does my husband. So much so that even though we’ve lived in 7 different homes the past 13 years, we’ve had a garden at each. Sadly only one other time have we made it to the third season with a garden and this is why I’m thrilled! The third season is when the magic starts. The strawberries are coming soon, as little while flowers peak out from the leafy green. Our peach and apple trees are blooming, and the peas have poked their heads just barely above the soil, testing the weather to see if it’s time to shoot up or wait another week. The blueberries have set their blooms and slate green leaves edged in red out, while the raspberries are perking up, and the elderberries are putting on lime green leaves in earnest.
We’re using engagement with faith based content on social media as a stand in for actually practicing our faith. Hear me out. I’m sure you’ve done this and I’ve been guilty of this too, I see a delicious meal made on Instagram (or Facebook), I save it and then it is lost to the ‘saved’ folder forever, never made or eaten. Yet, I still feel like I accomplished something - though I can never quite say what that something is. The same is true with faith based content peddled to us online by influencers. If we aren’t careful to keep that kind of content in its place (mainly only consuming it sparingly) we risk using our precious time only saving the inspiration of those faith practices instead of choosing a few and actually doing them.
A challenge to you - pick up a book again. Look, I say this as someone who only in the past year joined a book club, the Well-read Mom, and it’s been a struggle some months. I haven’t liked or even finished every book on the list for the year. Still it has been so refreshing to read fully thought out ideas (not the hot takes from online or memes) and to explore new places, view points and experiences. Even fun, quick middle grade books with not a heavy topic in sight (honestly these are some of my favorites!) are a great option to get started again. Maybe I’m speaking to the choir on this one, but I really think our mental health as a society would improve dramatically if we spent less time online and more time in books.
Devotional Corner
I was sitting in the pew at Mass about a month ago or so and the priest said something that immediately caught my attention, he talked about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a question. One of the characters, Susan, asks Mr. Beaver “Is he quite safe?” referring to Aslan, the lion. Mr. Beaver responds “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.”
Then the pointed connection arose in the pause and everyone shifted in their seats as they went from the description of Aslan to Jesus silently in their minds.
“Of course He isn’t safe. But He’s good.”
The priest went on to talk about the wild and untamed nature of God. I wish it was recorded because it was that good of a homily.
It was a really uncomfortable place to be for the next 15 minutes because so many of us have been told, directly or not so directly by society, churches, and pastors that God is tame, that He is safe, that He is timid, or small or shy in some way.
We have become so comfortable with this ‘safe’ God who is portrayed as our friend, our pal, and only wants us to be close Him, no conditions. He definitely will not ask too much of us. Safe. Tame. Mild.
‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.
Spend ten minutes in the Old or New Testament and you get a completely different picture. A wild God, asking unthinkable things, dangerous, and very very unsafe.
He is the God who asked a father to sacrifice his beloved son, and then in an act of profound mercy provided a ram in his stead. He is the God who spoke through a burning bush and called a man, ready or not, to free a whole people from the Egyptians. The God who called a man to build an ark to save his family, and animals of the earth ahead of a world wide flood.
He is the God who took on human flesh, called men to himself, asking them to abandon everything for Him. Who promised persecution in His name. Who flipped tables. He is the God who picked up the cross and endured many sufferings, and calls us to do the same, in His name.
Today. Not some day.
He is the God calling us to Himself not by having us stay comfortably as we are but by challenging us to pick up our own cross and transform, to become like Him.
How do we handle a wild, untamed God full of fire and life? I think in many ways modern life has attempted to temper this reality, subtly hiding the truth of God’s nature. Yet during this Lent, as we continue in our sacrifices, in our prayers, and in giving alms, let’s remember we worship a God who is not tame, but is good. Who will challenge us to grow in holiness and that process will be uncomfortable and even painful at times.
Let’s not look for the safe God that has been peddled to us by watered down teachings but for the real and living God who is calling us to Himself each and everyday.
Discussion Questions
This section is a starting off point to help you go deeper with topics discussed above.
In what ways in God asking you to risk your comfort? In what ways is He asking you to stretch beyond what you consider safe? Are you willing to go where He leads you?
In what ways have you presumed God was tame but in reality He is not? Make a list and pray over it asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. For me it was the blurring of the lines between friend and true God. Making sure I approach Him in my heart with due respect and fear (not the emotion but biblical fear1).
Quote of the Week
“There was a man who dwelt in the east centuries ago, and now I cannot look at a sheep or a sparrow, a sunset or a mountain, without thinking of him.”
G.K. Chesterton
Would you rather travel to the Past or the Future?
This was a fun question to ask because there are so many takes on it. A friend mentioned to me when I told her the Past is winning out “looks like a lot of people want to go back and change some decisions!”
I definitely didn’t think of it that way, but it could be an interesting option. I chose the past because I’ve always loved history, learning about it, what people did, what they wore or thought about a topic. It’s fascinating to see just how much we haven’t really changed as people, even over the centuries.
Check out this week’s poll here.
❤️👍🏽🙏
I enjoyed this post. Peace and blessings.