the glory of God....part 1/Serendipity
Months ago, I bought a book written by the great John Piper called: Reading the Bible Supernaturally.....Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture. It has taken me a while to get going in it....it is heavy stuff for me. I can read a bit, then think about it awhile, chew it up like bubble gum, and then when I feel like I have grasped a concept, I can turn the page and chew some more. This week I began to read more intentionally and to also ask God to show me His Glory in my days. I have praised Him for the glory He possesses and shares, I have thanked Him over and over for blessings like legs to walk, a heart to feel, a mind to think, eyes to see and ears to hear.....I don't want to take any of it for granted.
John Piper said this in the book, as he was explaining glorify as it can also mean magnify....."Magnify. Yes, that is a good word for glorify. But it is ambiguous. We do not magnify him the way a microscope magnifies. We magnify him the way a telescope magnifies. A microscope makes tiny things look bigger than they are. Telescopes make huge things, which already look tiny, appear more like what they really are. That is why he is coming back; finally to be shown and seen and enjoyed for who he really is." I know its deep. Don't overthink it. It's not as deep as it reads. We do not need to magnify the glory of God as much as we need to telescope it, to study it and to see it for what it is.....His Glory is enough and His Glory is more than we can see or explain....but we are called to try. I want to try.
Tonight I took Precious and Joe to the county fair. I hate the fair. I usually try to avoid it and not talk about it. Sometimes we are on vacation so its a non-issue. I'm afraid that after this year, the littles now know about the fair. Precious' friend Avery was showing a pig at the fair tonight at 6:30pm. She told Precious about it so I decided we should go and cheer for her and support her good friend. We left the house at 6 to make sure we could park and find the arena and find Avery.....I should mention here that in northwest Iowa today, we are under a heat advisory with temps in the high 90s.....and some heat index thing that is over 100 degrees.....so we go to the county 4H fair tonight in the heat of the day. The fair is a place where kids show their pigs and cows and goats and rabbits and horses and get judged and can advance to the state fair....and there is a lot of pride in agriculture here and also cash value to winners. Ag-Business is no joke. Kids also do crafts and wood-working and lots of cool life skills and get recognized for their efforts. The concept is spot-on amazing.....and the kids are so great. They are. My issue is not with the fair itself, or the kids.....or the animals really.....well, maybe a bit about the animals because they poop. Everywhere. It is hot and it smells so bad. If I grew up on a farm it would feel like home and heaven and comfort and goodness....but I grew up in town. We bag our dog poop if it lands on a neighbor's yard. The fair smells bad. Sweaty kids are all flirting with other sweaty kids from around the county. They charge $4.00 for a snow cone and you have to put your own syrup on it! Granted, Josiah did get a free soft serve cone because he was 5 and under.....he and I left because the pig showing was behind schedule. Precious stayed and watched her friend.
Here is where the glory of the Lord comes in....sorry. Sometimes it takes me a bit. I have some friends who are big county fair people. I love them. Yesterday they had a tragedy in their lives, on their farm, and lost someone important to them. they had to "cowboy up" and do the fair today even though their hearts were breaking and they were feeling lost. They are Christians and they have a rock-solid faith, so that wasn't a problem....but trying to figure out how to deal with their grief and the chaos of the event, and still do the youth county fair for their kids was really stressful. I saw them tonight and gave a hug and talked to them a bit. I noticed that my friend's mom was walking with her the first time I saw them, and later, when we were at a picnic bench in the shade eating a snow cone, her dad was sitting beside them.
The glory of the Lord is telescoped when you see a mother and a father walking with their daughter and her husband and children while they are suffering and struggling to do life in the midst of tragedy and sorrow. Today. The glory of the Lord is demonstrated in parents who care about their children so so much, just like God himself cares for us. Hard things happen in life and God is right there beside us, walking with us as we struggle through it. Parents don't necessarily rescue their children from every hard thing. Sometimes they just quietly walk beside their children and offer advice and support and love. The glory of the Lord showed up for me tonight at the stinky hot county fair and gave me a visual that I will not soon forget.
Avery showed her pig. Precious stayed to watch . It was almost 9pm when she finally showed that pig. Roger went to get her from the fair afterwards on the motorcycle which is always a treat. Precious came home smelling really bad, like she had rolled around with that pig in its pen. She had a snack and a shower.....come to think of it, as I am sitting her typing late at night, I kind of smell like livestock myself. Oh well.....you never know.....I may show up at the fair again tomorrow just to see what lessons God may have saved for me there. (or not).
Serendipity is a curious thing. I used this word this week....and it is worth sharing again.....serendipity says that God can teach a lesson anywhere. If the glory of God can cross paths with serendipity.....well....that would just be way too much fun.
John Piper said this in the book, as he was explaining glorify as it can also mean magnify....."Magnify. Yes, that is a good word for glorify. But it is ambiguous. We do not magnify him the way a microscope magnifies. We magnify him the way a telescope magnifies. A microscope makes tiny things look bigger than they are. Telescopes make huge things, which already look tiny, appear more like what they really are. That is why he is coming back; finally to be shown and seen and enjoyed for who he really is." I know its deep. Don't overthink it. It's not as deep as it reads. We do not need to magnify the glory of God as much as we need to telescope it, to study it and to see it for what it is.....His Glory is enough and His Glory is more than we can see or explain....but we are called to try. I want to try.
Tonight I took Precious and Joe to the county fair. I hate the fair. I usually try to avoid it and not talk about it. Sometimes we are on vacation so its a non-issue. I'm afraid that after this year, the littles now know about the fair. Precious' friend Avery was showing a pig at the fair tonight at 6:30pm. She told Precious about it so I decided we should go and cheer for her and support her good friend. We left the house at 6 to make sure we could park and find the arena and find Avery.....I should mention here that in northwest Iowa today, we are under a heat advisory with temps in the high 90s.....and some heat index thing that is over 100 degrees.....so we go to the county 4H fair tonight in the heat of the day. The fair is a place where kids show their pigs and cows and goats and rabbits and horses and get judged and can advance to the state fair....and there is a lot of pride in agriculture here and also cash value to winners. Ag-Business is no joke. Kids also do crafts and wood-working and lots of cool life skills and get recognized for their efforts. The concept is spot-on amazing.....and the kids are so great. They are. My issue is not with the fair itself, or the kids.....or the animals really.....well, maybe a bit about the animals because they poop. Everywhere. It is hot and it smells so bad. If I grew up on a farm it would feel like home and heaven and comfort and goodness....but I grew up in town. We bag our dog poop if it lands on a neighbor's yard. The fair smells bad. Sweaty kids are all flirting with other sweaty kids from around the county. They charge $4.00 for a snow cone and you have to put your own syrup on it! Granted, Josiah did get a free soft serve cone because he was 5 and under.....he and I left because the pig showing was behind schedule. Precious stayed and watched her friend.
Here is where the glory of the Lord comes in....sorry. Sometimes it takes me a bit. I have some friends who are big county fair people. I love them. Yesterday they had a tragedy in their lives, on their farm, and lost someone important to them. they had to "cowboy up" and do the fair today even though their hearts were breaking and they were feeling lost. They are Christians and they have a rock-solid faith, so that wasn't a problem....but trying to figure out how to deal with their grief and the chaos of the event, and still do the youth county fair for their kids was really stressful. I saw them tonight and gave a hug and talked to them a bit. I noticed that my friend's mom was walking with her the first time I saw them, and later, when we were at a picnic bench in the shade eating a snow cone, her dad was sitting beside them.
The glory of the Lord is telescoped when you see a mother and a father walking with their daughter and her husband and children while they are suffering and struggling to do life in the midst of tragedy and sorrow. Today. The glory of the Lord is demonstrated in parents who care about their children so so much, just like God himself cares for us. Hard things happen in life and God is right there beside us, walking with us as we struggle through it. Parents don't necessarily rescue their children from every hard thing. Sometimes they just quietly walk beside their children and offer advice and support and love. The glory of the Lord showed up for me tonight at the stinky hot county fair and gave me a visual that I will not soon forget.
Avery showed her pig. Precious stayed to watch . It was almost 9pm when she finally showed that pig. Roger went to get her from the fair afterwards on the motorcycle which is always a treat. Precious came home smelling really bad, like she had rolled around with that pig in its pen. She had a snack and a shower.....come to think of it, as I am sitting her typing late at night, I kind of smell like livestock myself. Oh well.....you never know.....I may show up at the fair again tomorrow just to see what lessons God may have saved for me there. (or not).
Serendipity is a curious thing. I used this word this week....and it is worth sharing again.....serendipity says that God can teach a lesson anywhere. If the glory of God can cross paths with serendipity.....well....that would just be way too much fun.
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