Pedicure

My polished toes are itching for a pedicure. I've been treated with a couple of them this summer, and I have to say, I could get pretty used to that kind of pampering.

But there is a big difference between what I want, and what I need. Mark and I have come across this many times through the years, as we strive to make financial decisions that please Him. More times than not, we stumble around between the need to have something and the idea of doing without. I think the enemy will have us believing that a want is really more of a need. Anybody hearing this?

I was thinking today about some of the ways God has freed me over the past couple of months. It has had nothing to do with fancy toes. Even the things I dream up like writing Bible studies and working in the ministry pale in comparison to the wholeness I've experienced. The funny thing is, the parts of my heart where I feel most fulfilled are places where I am brokenly doing without.

This "great big stupid world" tells me that I need to have this or that before I can be happy. A perfectly clean house, an enormous wardrobe - and yes, perfectly polished toes. Then there are things that don't come across as carnal, but are still not necessities. Like harmony in all relationships, every fiery trial snuffed out and a detailed map of the next five years.

These things though nice, are not what gives me pure and lasting joy. The things that I can see, do have potential to bring a temporary high. But one flick of the switch and those warm and fuzzy feelings disappear.

God is teaching me the importance of simplifying - on so many different levels. Getting back to the basics means letting go of everyone else's idea of what "life should be like". Today's sermon pointed to Jesus' warning about tribulation. When you get a taste of what Jesus promises, you'll notice that a life of pampering ease is not included.

But what He does promise is hope amidst the chaos of life, certainty in the uncertain and beauty in the middle of an ash heap. Our job is not to sit pretty on a raft of ease - His instructions are to be ready.

Be ready . . . for what? What should we be ready for? I don't think it is so much about God making an appearance because the truth is - He is already here.

So how can we recognize Jesus amidst the clamour? My experience has been - one unpolished step at a time.