Sunday Afternoon Tea - Every little thing is written

I live far enough north that I tend to view the Instagram photos of southern friends and long for the color to return to my own part of the world.  It seems that the waiting is forever when in reality, it is usually a matter of weeks according to how warm Spring is that year.

I can look out the kitchen window now and see daffodils growing and very tiny yellow buds on one of the bushes.  The grass is just beginning to show some green but otherwise, the outside world is showing more Winter than Spring.  However, I know by looking on the calendar that it takes only a very warm week to flip the scenery to more Spring-like.

I have never liked waiting for anything but God must have thought I needed to learn since it seems a large part of my days have been in the waiting room of life.  I expect most people feel this way.  

I will admit that it is in the waiting that we usually learn what He wants us to know.  It is that period of time between the first of many prayers and the answers that we truly grow in Christ.  Over time, as we repeat the cycle of answered prayer, our faith muscles strengthen and we find ourselves able to trust Him so much more than in the early years.

I have also noticed that the answers quite often come in a form that looked very different than I thought they would.  It would be easy to think prayers were never answered if we were not willing to see that He did provide for us in a way that takes a while to comprehend.

I have asked God for a very long time to speak to me through dreams.  Mainly because I am so easily distracted when awake.  I can usually tell when it is a "God dream" when it is quite vibrant and I actually remember it.  Recently, he taught me a lesson that involved waiting in a dream.  Although, it did take a couple of hours after awakening for me to have that Ah-ha moment!

In that way that He has of using objects familiar to us, I was waiting on a stage to award a bowl to someone for work well done.  I know, I thought my red and slightly scratched up Pyrex bowl was an odd prize.  As I stood there, I knew the person was making their way to the stage but I waited and waited and not so patiently waited some more.

I began to notice the bowl was filling with something like slips of paper.  Just when the person, whether a man or woman I couldn't tell, walked up to the stage... I woke up.  All I heard at that time was, "What you are now is the accumulation of every decision you have made in life.".

Well, that was kind of deep... and baffling.  Was it a true ""God dream" or was it just vibrant because it contained a Pyrex bowl?  These are important questions, you know.

It wasn't until I had turned the Keurig on, put away the dishes in the drainer from the night before, added a packet of sugar and cream to my coffee, and had a chance to sit in the recliner with a cat in my lap and actually relax for the first time, did I think of the meaning and ask God what I was missing.

I got it almost immediately.  It was a "God dream" and He was teaching me an important lesson that I very much needed to understand.  The pieces of paper were the decisions the person was making in their life that were pleasing to God.  Those times when their actions were exactly what He was leading them to do.

The pieces of paper were mostly small because so many of these actions didn't seem all that important to the person at the time.  They were simply making the decision to follow what Christ would ask of them, whether giving a drink of water to a thirsty soul, preparing a meal, going to work each day to provide for their family, or writing a letter to a friend to share the peace of God in a crisis.

That was also why the bowl was filling up with those pieces of paper as I was waiting for the person to make their way to the stage.  For making their way to the stage was actually them living each day for Him and the stage was when they stepped into Eternity.

I knew then that He was showing me every action we do in this world... because we follow Christ... is noticed.  While I can assume these are not written down on little pieces of paper folded up in a Pyrex bowl, the Bible does tell us He has a book for such a purpose.  

Just what kind of actions are we talking about? All the big decisions and all the small decisions and the tiniest of all decisions to follow Christ will follow us to that Day when rewards are given.

Those times that we were waiting for an answer and didn't get upset and leave the faith... it is written.  

Those long years of waiting and praying for the prodigal to return... it is written.  

The years we stayed in a difficult relationship... it is written.  

When we shared the Gospel with another even though we were nervous... it is written. 

When we sat aside what we had planned to have coffee with a friend and listen to them... it is written.

When we gave money to someone in need when we could have spent it on ourselves... it is written. 

The times when we gave up something we wanted to do to help a friend or family member achieve their goal... it is written.

I believe even the too numerous to count meals we prepared over the years were of more importance than we would think in light of Eternity and... it is written.

I have come to believe that so many of what we thought were the small things we did in life actually had eternal consequences. There are no small actions.  If we think only the big stuff matters, we have it all wrong.  

I had to wonder how many important small actions did I overlook while I was looking for the big stuff.  You know, the stuff that would get noticed.  

Just as when Jesus taught parables to the people using the objects around them that were familiar... growing and planting and harvesting, water and fish and fishermen, taxes and those who collect taxes, little children, loaves and fishes, coins that belong to Caesar... He knew that I would never forget that lesson when using the red and slightly scratched Pyrex bowl again.