Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Sandcastles

I am currently in three different studies and have been completely amazed at how for four weeks in a row these totally unrelated studies (except that they are Christian based) have had almost EXACTLY the same thing to say to me.  Two Sundays in a row, I had to show the person in the pew next to me the note I had written just a few hours earlier.  The note was almost word for word what the pastor had just said!

Now there could be all sorts of arguments of why this is happening. One is that it's what I'm wanting to hear. I KNOW this isn't true because I am being filleted open and left like a pile of goo on the floor.  Definitely NOT what I want to hear. I prefer to believe it is God operating in my life.  This last week a note that I had taken in my "Sunday morning conversations" and was repeated at my church service has given me an image of what God is doing in my life at the moment.

The note: Repentance only occurs when we change our direction.  Turning to face God and move in his direction. Recognize God's voice and realize when you're not going in his direction.  Like the small child who is wondering around and his daddy calls his name. The child may not hear his name right away before turning and running to Him.

The image: Picture a little girl playing in the sandbox at the park.  Her daddy sits on a nearby park bench.  She is busily working on her task at hand.  She is building a sandcastle. In her mind, she is going to build the most beautiful castle, with turrets and a moat. But it's a sandbox, the sand keeps drying out and crumbling. She takes her little bucket, runs to the water fountain to get a trickle of water. Then runs back to the sandbox.  Back and forth she goes.  Then she concentrates on the task again, building, building.  Every once in a while she looks up to see her daddy sitting on the bench, smiling at her.  "He must be pleased with me", she thinks. She gets back to work. She hears her daddy say her name.  She looks up. He speaks but she can't hear him so she assumes that he is speaking praise at her busy work. He motions for her to come to him to hear what he said. She doesn't have time,  she's busy. Argh a turret crumbled, dry sand again. She runs, runs, and runs; to the fountain, to the sandbox, to the fountain, to the sandbox.  Daddy says something, he must be encouraging her to run faster. Getting back to work, so close, just a couple of more rooms, then the moat... She hears her daddy say her name.  Looking up she sees him walking to her. NO! I'm not done yet! As he gets to her and holds out his hand he says, "Take my hand, let's go to the beach where the sand is better for building sandcastles and I will help you build it.  The sandbox is too little for me to build in." She reaches up and takes her daddy's hand as they head to the beach.


I'm skipping along, holding my daddy's hand, heading to the beach!
I'm living on the eighth day, right now!