I enjoy eating all kinds of pie except one. When my 6 year old self asked my Mom what we were having for dinner she answered, “Pie.” I was so excited that we were skipping the boring part of dinner which inevitably included rice and going straight to the good stuff! As I happily anticipated my next meal I eventually thought to ask my mother what kind of pie was baking in the oven. Meanwhile visions of apple or blueberry slices with ice cream danced in my head. I’m sure I was just too distracted to hear her. She answered me but the information from her mouth didn’t compute in my head.
"Cheeseburger Pie,” she stated matter-of-factly.I protested, “That’s not pie!” My mouth hung open while dismay covered my face.
Surprised by my outburst she showed me the recipe on the back of the box of Bisquick. The photo of a hamburger, cheese, biscuit and onion pie stared back at me. I hated onions. And I didn’t want cheese. But my mom assured me I liked all of these ingredients when they were mixed together. She even went so far as to claim she had made it before and I had gobbled it up and told her I loved it. I must have been sick, because I KNEW this time I wasn’t even going to like it.
The funny thing about this story is how true to life it still is now. When I am expecting or anticipating one thing and another thing happens I tend to not be happy about it. Even if I actually like the new option, what I’m really struggling with is my disappointed expectation. In bible speak, we might say, my hope delayed makes my heart sick (see Proverbs 13:12) and sometimes my attitude becomes pouty or angry. But our world and our lives are full of delays and changes: some caused by situations and some caused by people. Since these changes are an inevitable part of life, how does God want me to deal with this?
Jeremiah 17:6-8 The Message (MSG)
5-6God's Message:
"Cursed is the strong one
who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
and sets God aside as dead weight.
He's like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
in a land where nothing grows.
7-8"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They're like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Written by Mary M. Wilkins
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.
Wow, when I am depending on myself alone or on the strength of people around me I am cursed? That’s what it says. To be cursed is the opposite of to be blessed, it means to have great evil brought upon you. I don’t want to be like a tumbleweed at the mercy of every changing wind. I want to be blessed. Don’t we all?
Dear Lord, I believe Your Word and I ask for Your help and Your strength in all I do. I choose to trust you and stick by you. I believe as I do that I will be growing spiritual roots that will keep me steady, fresh and ready no matter what changes come or what disappointments I may face. You, Lord, will never change (see Hebrews 13:8). In Jesus name, amen.
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