old writing + new revelation = good stuff!

I was looking through past writings of mine and found an old "tattle-on-myself story" that ending up working perfectly with what I was reading last night in the Bible. Fun how that works out! :-) 

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The stove.

The dials for each burner are clearly labeled: front left, front right, back left, back right. Diagrams are next to each dial in case pictures work better for you than words. You’d imagine no one could get it wrong.

And then I walk up to it.

Before going further, let me make a disclaimer. While in school, a quarter without my name on the honor roll was like blue grass or purple skies. I graduated from college with honors and have held down a job within my field of interest since then.

To be more succinct: I’m smart.

But for some reason, when it comes to the daily tasks of life, my brain doesn’t always add 1 + 2 and get 3. Case in point: once I was making quesadillas for dinner and highly anticipating the smile on my husband’s face as he cleaned his dinner plate, grateful for an amazing wife who is thoughtful enough to prepare dinner each night for him.

The quesadillas were in the pan, heating up, as my husband played with our puppy. Five minutes pass, then ten. After twenty minutes, I was flustered and concerned. Every time I flipped the quesadillas, nothing changed. No golden brown touched the tortilla and the cheese wasn’t even melting - yet I could feel heat emanating from the stove. It was so strange!

I started to complain to my husband. “These quesadillas are taking forever! You’d think they’ve be done by now!” 

"Is the burner on?"

"Of course it is! I can feel the heat!"

Then it dawned on me. The heat was coming from the burner behind my pan, not the one underneath it.

After an “oops” slipped out of my mouth, I explained the situation to my husband with blushing cheeks. Dinner was ready 3 minutes later.

Sometimes the things we need most in life are right in front of us. For me, lately, it has been God’s faithfulness. I know God is faithful, and I have remembered it time and again over these past few years. But over the past few weeks, I’ve forgotten it. It's as though I moved my hopes and dreams from the burner of His faithfulness and grace to the burner of the circumstances I see. As a result, my hope and dreams were sitting there, inactive, not "cooking" as they should be.

  

according to google, this is a rampart! 

Thankfully, last night I read Psalm 91 and the last part of verse 4 stuck out to me: “…his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” I then realized, when I find myself in God – think about Him, pray, am conscious of Him throughout the day – the reminder of His faithfulness actually can shield me from the situations I face.  I know He is faithful to His Word, truth, and love, and as a result, He will actually carry me through difficulty and bring me peace, no matter what situation I face. 

By the way, dictionary.com defines “rampart” as “a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.”

Basically, the fact that God is faithful shields, surrounds, and protects me through every situation.

I love that.

So when your hopes and dreams aren't "cooking" on the stove as planned and you're ready to throw up your hands and give up, don’t get flustered and upset. Step back and remind yourself of what is right before you: God is faithful. When you place yourself in His care, He will bring you through the situation in a way that only He can.