Monday, June 3, 2013

In our human nature, we want certainty–not Questions

 

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Yesterday I was talking with our neighbors…a father and his 5 year old son.  So many memories flooded back as this boy asked question after question after almost every comment that was said in our conversation. “Why did you go there?  Why did you do that?”  That was just like our son at that age… and it hasn’t stopped yet. 

I just love that he asks questions. 

When we ask questions though, more than often, we want answers NOW…and the answer to be just the way we want it to be.

This morning I opened the devotion book I’ve slowly been working through the past 2 years during the summer months, not knowing yet what gift He has waiting for me today.  This week’s theme: 

Questions.

And that I have many of for Him.

In our human lives, we want certainty.  

But Jesus offers us a journey of faith.  Jesus doesn’t give us many answers; he tells us what the right questions are, what questions the human soul has to wrestle with to stumble onto Christ and the truth.” (Richard Rohr Simplicity)

These words also resonated in me and maybe you to?

There are questions, lots of questions.  And it is good to live in the question.  A pat answer is closed, it is finished; that’s it.  It goes no where and leaves little room for hope.  A question, the mystery, opens the space for us.  It is full of possibility.  It gives hope of life and even more abundant lifeOur faith, solid as it might be is full of questions.  And therefore full of life and hope.         (emphasis added  M. Basil Pennington in Living in the Question)

As we ask God questions, be specific.  Don’t hold back.  Be honest.  Be vulnerable.  Listen. Obey.  And thank God for the gift of questions.

O God, Creator of all that is, give us the courage to wrestle with the questions you ask us rather than jumping to some immediate answer  – thereby cutting off any possibility or real growth of struggle. Help us stay in the question long enough to hear what it is You have for us there.  Help us not to assume conclusions before the answer has been given.  Help us to not give up hope that the question will never be answered.  Help us to have hope that the waiting time will be worth it.  Help us to be open to change while we wait for your perfectly timed answer.   God, let us hear your Voice as we listen.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen. 

 

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted joys and thanksgivings but I’ve still been counting… 

#1409  gift picked up – a book at the book store to be a gift for someone else

#1410  a week of groceries

#1411  my favorite flower bloomed – gardenias!

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#1412  yellow finch OK and flew away after hitting the window (and I could get a picture of it before he left)

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#1413  a weekend of no plans (the first in months)

#1414  worship songs at church Great is thy Faithfulness and Halleluiah

#1415  cut first roses to take inside

#1416  the fragrance of our roses

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#1417  lunch with a new friend

#1418  husband’s encouragement

#1419  gift of laughter – daughter saying “I think I’m a mosquito’s buffet”

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#1420  gift of laughter – daughter wearing “lambs ears” leaves as earrings.  Hey…it reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God!

#1421  anticipation of a baby bird’s first flight

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#1422  lights on the porch late one night

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#1423  hearing summertime crickets

#1424  seeing first lightning bugs of the season

#1425  playing tag with the family in the backyard

#1426  family strawberry picking and learning there are different kinds of strawberries!

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#1427  a big bucket of fresh strawberries

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#1428  the irresistibly of a strawberry you pull off the bush

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#1429  seeing and hearing birds protect their eggs and next in a strawberry field

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#1430  husband and son went to a concert together…and even when it was not dad’s favorite type of music.  but they sang about Jesus and that’s what matters!

#1431  a new idea/dream

#1432  running into a friend at Target at the right time

#1433  a snapping turtle stuck in our fence (although the turtle probably didn’t find that a joy)

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#1434  lesson learned from that turtle about snapping.

#1435  the snapping turtle untangled itself from the soccer net

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#1436  the gift of questions…even though they seem to be taking forever to be answered.

 

multitudesonmondaysbutton2-1 Joining in today with Ann Voskamp

4 comments:

  1. Gorgeous photos and a great list of gifts. :)

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    1. Thank you Tammy...thanks so much for stopping by again and that encouragement!

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  2. Hi Beth. Love the list. You must be in the South, too? We missed the strawberry field this season. Looks like you have a fun family! Thanks for stopping by.

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    1. Yep in NC...and you? We missed strawberry picking last year so it was especially nice this time. Thanks for stopping by!

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