Today was a lovely day of encouragement for me. (And, oh sweet blessing, my family cooked dinner tonight so I didn’t have to.) Worship was great this morning and was followed by an all-church potluck lunch and winter-themed party for the little ones. Tasha was happy as a clam because she had more to eat than just pork and sweet potatoes. Tom and I had a lovely conversation with 3 friends over {their} lunch. I was a little in awe that somehow I was completely unfazed by the variety of food that I would otherwise have dug into. It is so funny how the Lord seems to protect us from our normal cravings during this month.
The encouragement points came mostly during our lunchtime conversation. We were blessed with kind words about our FFE project and the blog. It was really lovely to confirm that people are following along and being moved by it in one way or another. One friend commented that sweet potatoes were never something that she ate much before, and now she’s given them a try. Another shared how she came home after reading our first post (the one about the ridiculous number of matchless socks we had accumulated) to find that her daughter had lined up stuffed animals, 3 rows deep, across the length of their sofa.
Another blessing is that I remembered in conversation something that I have reflected on and prayed about in the past, and how FFE is a clear answer to prayer. I had just never really connected the dots specifically until this conversation. Tom and I have been called to do some things in our life together that required a bold yes or no – adopting and moving to a smaller house. In a way that is at odds with both of our cautious, measured personalities, we never hesitated to choose obedience and not look back. On the other hand, I have long realized that I am far from intentional in my day-in-day-out living to seek the Lord’s will and to follow it. For example, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to ask Him, “Should I buy myself and my kids drinks and treats from Starbucks?” “Should I go to Target to buy a new pack of clean white socks because we can find the right matches?” “Should I run to Cub at 10:45pm to get frozen waffles and yogurt because we’re out and someone will probably want them for breakfast?”
The answer to my prayer is coming at me big-time with FFE. I felt the Spirit pretty much conk me on my head to dive into this thing without looking back, hesitating, or negotiating anything. Committing to FFE has meant radically shifting my behaviors, my frame of reference, and my priorities for daily living. Gone are any options to just blithely run off to the grocery store in search of the missing ingredient. I’d be a liar if I claimed that I consulted God on every meal I cooked this month, but I have with God’s help stayed within the Spirit-led guidelines we agreed to for the month. It’s gotten easier rather than harder over the month, thankfully.
I guess I think that FFE is starting to pick away at two things for which I say good riddance: material, practical excess and, more importantly, excess me. By that I mean that FFE is right-sizing me to serve our out-sized God, and not the other way around.
To Him be the glory, forever.
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