Sandwiches are Beautiful....

When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is make a cup of coffee, in my one cup coffee maker.  As I walked through my coffee ritual this particular Saturday morning, I found the stove top covered with the remnants of making a quick lunch.   My eldest has to work today.   He has to bring enough food to eat for an entire day and leaving the farm to fetch a burger isn’t an option.   At times I give the maternal prod to make lunch the night before, but one must recognize the fine line when one has said this often enough for it to take hold.  And so one holds one’s tongue.  

The Nutella jar sat on the middle of the stove top, the knife lay beside it (Nutella side down), and the crumbs were scattered all around; a typical vignette of adolescence. 

 

In the fridge is a container of freshly opened packages of cold cuts.  Their sole purpose is to be combined with various condiments and toppings into lovely sub sandwiches: Support materials to facilitate the maternal prod.  He could have had a great lunch (that he would have enjoyed immensely) if he had given himself a little time and recognized the resources nearby. Instead, he reached for the only thing he could think of while he was pressed for time on his way out the door. Typical teenager. It’s food and he’s not fussy. 

Isn’t life just like that sometimes?

Many times we are on our way somewhere, or have to do something important, and we just do it quickly with what we know we have at hand.   We also do the tasks that we sense God nudging us toward.  We carry out the job with what we know; not always stopping to realize that God has so many more resources at the ready if we only ask and give it time.  His time. His Way.   When He gives the prod…He also stands ready with the resources to facilitate it!  He equips the called.

Imagine yourself being filmed for a day…as a reality show contestant…24/7  The camera pans in on all the creative things that you unknowingly walk past because you’re heading to the cupboard to grab the usual, the trusted.  It will get the job done.  I wonder what we must miss out on once in a while: what we’d see if we could have a look at the whole picture.   How much more it could be…and conversely, how much more fulfilling it can be when we do His work with the resources He has in mind.

Today I let my mind wander while my hands were busy with Saturday morning household chores, made fun because we do them together…well…at the same time anyway.  I thought about the project I am working on and how easily I could do it all by myself and enjoy every minute of it. I would enjoy it, but be exhausted.   Then I thought about asking some people who are really gifted in various areas, and how much enriching their contributions would be….hmmm.  They would add their bits and we would enjoy it, even more…together.   That might be exactly what God has in mind.

I wonder what will be in this boy's lunch tomorrow….    If he were to read this, I think he'd suggest I add my bits and we’d enjoy the enriched experience together….