I've started rationing. Not butter. Not toilet paper. Nor the elusive rubbing alcohol. I ration a product I'll call the magic cereal!
I have a regularly scheduled "hang-out" with a five year old who thrives on magic cereal. Actually my observation is she just eats the marshmallow like shapes. Yet yesterday the standard operating procedure of proving any adult opinion wrong kicked in. She ate the cereal twice!
After a couple days at Gammy's house, Gammy made an evaluation of the cereal's nutritional value, and her budget, and put a limit on the amount of cereal consumed in a day. Granted the designated ration is still within the over indulgent grandmother standard. I do have an image to maintain.
Observing a full bowl of magic cereal prior to her consumption gave me a flashback memory. A period of teenage angst when I blurted out "If this is all life is, it's not worth it!" Fortunately, I unloaded this dark matter on my mother who gave me a cooling off period and then soothingly gave an alternate view of life.
For the past several years, I've pondered my past life. There's more in the rear view mirror than I'd like to admit. The fragment of a verse which has nudged me through my adult years is John 10:10b. "I came so that they may have life and have it abundantly." (NASB) or the version I re-read today in Living Bible "My purpose is to give life in all its fullness."
This fraction of a verse has rattled through my thinking often as I have traveled the more mature season of life. I have concluded Jesus has given me and is giving me a full life. I'm amazed at what my life is at this point and I'm satisfied. It's been good, really good. A far cry from the darkness of a teenage girl in the 1960s and 1970s.
My next blog quest will be exploration of the abundant life, life in all its fullness. What does it look life? Do I have it? If so how did I get it? Can I share any advice with others? I am fairly well traveled with minor scarring.
A couple weeks ago we drove through a new favorite frozen dessert restaurant. Unfortunately when we arrived home and opened the bag, our order was not complete. One carton was absent. One was the wrong flavor. Rather than drive the 20 minutes back, I called, hoping for a simple refund. The friendly manager on duty offered to rectify the error if we returned. I explained the length of the drive and she offered to mail me a coupon. I was satisfied with the offer of a coupon for the missing carton.
Two days later abundance arrived in an envelope! We received the apology letter enclosing the promised coupon. I expected the coupon to grant us one carton of frozen enjoyment. I hoped it would cover two cartons, as the original purchase included an error in the flavor. To our delight the coupon was for 8, yes that is correct four times my wish! We've told everyone this story. The friendly manager surely secured lifelong customers in us.
So, does God ration? Jesus promised His disciples and me, and you, life to the fullest.
I'm going to explore this topic for a while. Join my quest, I'm expecting life to include lots of those memorable marshmallow moments along with character building nutrition. This journey may include the darkness the "world" so desperately wants me to embrace. I've lived long enough to smell that trick and realize the temporal nature. What the world offers is short lived and ultimately empty. God has given me, is giving me and will give me a full life. I just know it.
Malachi 3:10 warns and promises. God's blessing will be so great I won't have room! Our mini-sized freezer had difficulty holding the bounty of frozen delight! Good thing I'm a collector of baskets. I'll surely be able to store up the flood of blessings. Or will I? Perhaps there will be sharing...............
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