Today I was shoveling the snow in the at my grandparents house. This is the first year that it has been my job to do the shoveling because the person who usually does it had surgery. I was excited for the challenge, though, and my grandparents very graciously asked me to do it.
I only had thin gloves on and about 1/3 of the way through the job my fingers were so cold they were hurting pretty bad. I started to grumble on the inside and feel sorry for myself, finding reasons to justify my inward complaints (my fingers hurt really bad, I don't have good enough gloves, my brothers should've volunteered to do this ((yes, very un-feminist of me)), why does G-d make winter so cold, etc.).
I was reminded of Brother Yun and all that he endured without complaining, constantly singing praises to the L-rd throughout all his circumstances. The one time he complained to G-d (which was actually a night that he had to spend out in the cold) he immediately repented of his complaint. Thinking about this, I felt convicted about my bad attitude in circumstances that paled in comparison to Brother Yun's experiences, ones that He endured with praise in his heart. I began to sing worship songs as I shoveled the snow.
To my surprise, as I was singing I noticed that my fingers were literally beginning to warm! Seriously. I was so blown away by this! I was filled with joy and continued to worship as I shoveled the snow. My fingers remained warm for the rest of the job as did my joy remain as well.
Thank you L-rd for doing a little miracle that brought the lesson home. It was a good reminder of the "prison to praise" message. Please help me remember this in the future when my challenge isn't as simple as shoveling snow.
Philippians 2:14
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world"
P.S.- The more I journey into the L-rd, the cheesier and more cliche I talk. I have always hated "Christianese"....yet there are concepts and experiences I talk about now for which I know only one "nomenclature." It's natural for me to talk about my walk in a churchy way because I learned it from a young age, but I don't like it. Thoughts? Suggestions?... Threats? Bribes?
4 comments:
are you wanting help on not being cheesy? if so, i am not the person to help you tackle this task.
Tom
G-d is faithful to challenge us to trust, and yet when we step out a little (which seems like a lot) He is quick to encourage. Don't you love how He delights in being present with us, and not being like an idol, eyes but not seeing, ears but not hearing?
As far as cliches go, I think if we were around when they were first introduced they would seem so accurate and great. Since most Christianese words/sayings and cliches have been around longer than us they seem overused, but are no less appropriate. So don't throw the baby our with the bathwater, go ahead and use them.
first off what a great testimony! I try to put on Ihop when I clean and I am always amazed at how it gives me energy to get done what needs to get done.
ps I like you just the way you are whether it is cliche or super sophicated.
What a great story and good job Kaitie! Also I have a friend that was inprisioned in China because he refused to deny the L-rd. Once he was about to break while carrying buckets of water up a hill. The only other beliver in the whole camp walked past him and said the joy of the L-rd is my strenght. My friend was able to carry on and had the joy of the L-rd. It's interesting to me how the L-rd can bring joy in the midst of such harsh circumstances. The fact that he does it over and over again speaks highly of His character and His heart. What a G-d we serve.
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