I hope all of you are well and happy! In the Pacific Northwest, we have been enjoying many days of sunshine! Oh how I enjoy Spring Sunshine! My flowers are blooming and I love that part. I will soon have some flowers for me to bring into my house in vases. Happy me! So if you don’t have Spring weather where you are and want something fun to make you smile and to enjoy, hop over to my photography website and look around. It will lift you up, I think; JoAnnShiley.com.
But to share what is on my heart today…
I would like to ask you if you have ever been rubbed the wrong way by a person or circumstance. Have you? I know that I sure have! It may be something someone said, it may be a hurt from a friend, or loss of a friendship, or any number of circumstances we have to deal with. Sometimes I deal with it well, and other times I am talking to myself; quite loudly. But… going deeper with God means that I have come to understand that God has big shoulders and comforting arms. It may not be the way I would like it to be, but I know even the hard rubs are good for me. Let me share an example that I believe God gave me last week.
My sweetheart just got back from a trip to Israel. He enjoyed learning about living where Jesus lived, walking where Jesus walked and preached, where He was betrayed and crucified, and the history surrounding those areas. What a fascinating time he had! One of the activities the small group got to take part in was communion together in Bethlehem. When they were done with communion, they got to keep the small communion cup that is made of olive wood. Such a sweet cup. I had told Terry before he left to look for olive wood communion cups, and if he found them, to get one for each of us. So he did that, plus a couple more, and brought them back home with him. They are gorgeous olive wood cups, each of them from one piece of wood. However, when I saw them, they were really light, almost bleached looking. You didn’t really notice the beauty of the wood grain because of how light they were. But, I have some wood treatment that is food friendly, and you can use it on wooden spoons and cutting boards to keep them from getting dry. I got that and rubbed the communion cups with it, and wow!!!! What a gorgeous difference it made in the wood!! I couldn’t believe it! The rich color and interesting veins that I could now see, are a characteristic of the olive wood. As I was expressing how beautiful they were, God spoke to my spirit about how my life is like that. He created something beautiful. But in the beginning, I was quite pale and maybe even shallow in my walk with God. However, as our relationship deepens, and I learn to depend on Him more and more, it is like that treatment I put on the wood; the best in me comes out and hopefully, I am showing my best character. If it hurts sometimes to be rubbed and polished, He told me to consider it all good because He is at work in me. What a lesson as I looked at this beautiful set of cups before me and actually saw the difference of before and after! My life resembles those cups in many ways. God is so good to show us in ways we can understand. I had to bleach out the photo a bit to show you how it looked before I rubbed them out. Unfortunately, when I got that message from the Holy Spirit, I had already rubbed out both cups. 🙂 But, it gives you an idea of what they looked like before. So if you are feeling rubbed the wrong way, it might just be that you are being rubbed in the RIGHT way, and it’s from God. He is bringing out the beauty of the grain He created in us. He is nourishing us through His Word so that our best self shows up and reveals His glory. I will always remember this lesson, every time I use this cup.
Don’t let the friction of a little bit of rubbing dull your belief that God loves you, and has what is best for you in mind! What we use the communion cups for in our communion time, is the same message only reversed. We come to God with sins in our lives that make us feel dirty, and He gives us the cleansing of His forgiveness so that we can shine before men and women. I am going to let my little cup shine!
How about you? Feeling the rub? Thank God that He is working in you! Look for the grain and beauty and ask Him to show it to you. He wants to bring it to the surface and do a great work in your life. Thanks for coming back to read the blog and please leave a comment if there is a rub you need prayer for. If you don’t have that circumstance now, share what good things He is going. Blessings!
Walking the journey with you…
journeysofmyheart.com 