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| Par-tay! (Also known as Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir, of course) |
Last week in church, in the course of our conversation in class time, one fella said something that struck me as so very true: God doesn’t want to bless us a little–He wants to bless us completely. He doesn’t want to give us some–He wants to give us everything. But we so often can’t accept it. Won’t accept it. Then sit around wondering why we always seem to lack.
Today is my mother-in-law’s birthday, Sunday is my Xoe’s 7th birthday party, Tuesday her actual day. And as I prepare myself for dinners and cake and fondant and present-wrapping, I have to pause and consider the blessing they are to me.
And as one part of my mind considers those dinners and cakes and fondants and presents, there’s that other part of my mind looking at the outline for my work-in-progress and realizing I’m so, so close to the climax. That if I just had a few solid hours, I could get there. Get ‘er done. Wrap it up.
Some days (many days, LOL), those two sides have some friction. They rub against each other, they cause conflict. Some days (most days), I wish I had nice, neat compartments for them. That Family Time would be an uninterrupted chunk, and that Writing Time would have its own. I find myself wishing for something different, and usually when we wish for something different, it takes the tone of wanting more.
But you know what just hit me? This is the more.
When I was a girl, there were two things I wanted above all: to fall head over heels in love with my Prince Charming and have a family with him, and to write novels. I had no intentions of settling for anything else, and in the clarity of a child’s mind, I never even considered that I may have to do so. And I didn’t. I wrote my books, and I found my love. (Not that I can take credit for that part, mind you. That was all God, bringing me and David together so early in life!)
God has given me my heart’s desires. God, in His love for us, always does. But we have to take them. Accept them. Cherish them. Take care of them. We have to work for them.
Here I sit with my awesome, adorable, crazy-wonderful family—but how easy would it be to lose my focus on what a gift they are and instead complain about how much work they bring me? Here I sit with a growing career, a fabulous agent, an amazing editor, a ton of prospects, and an awesome editing calling with WhiteFire too–but how easy would it be to take a prideful misstep and end up back at square one?
Here I sit with it all–but how often do I complain about being overwhelmed? Short on time, short on energy, short on focus? How many times do we have it all and think we need more–yet neglect or misuse or even just plain not-appreciate what we have?
God wants to give us that crazy-big, over-the-top, filled-to-overflowing blessing. He does. He wants us to be complete, to want for nothing, to be blissfully happy. But He wants us to be all that in Him. He wants us to take Joy from the things He gives, not complain when He sends manna that He didn’t also send meat.
We often chant about how God won’t give us more (in terms of challenges or burdens) than we can handle. But you know, that goes for blessings too. He won’t give us more than we can appreciate. He won’t give us more than we can accept from His hands with the right attitude.
So as I go through these last couple weeks of my Busy Month and tackle countless projects, as I dash about, miss some sleep, and occasionally whimper that I need a clone, I’m going to have a new motto.
I have Nothing Less.
Nothing Less than what I need. Nothing Less that what I’ve earned. Nothing Less than what I can handle. Nothing Less than what God has given.
I have Nothing Less than everything. I have Nothing Less than the More I always wanted. I have Nothing Less than a reason to smile, laugh, shout, and be over-the-top, crazy-big, filled-to-overflowing happy.
I have Nothing Less than Him.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
What an awesome post. I really gives me something more to ponder. It has such a great message. Maybe you should write devotionals too.:D
I really love thoughtful Thursdays 🙂 it can be so hard to remember how blessed we are. Especially for me , I'm like you and want to marry Prince Charming, have a family, and be a writer BUT none of those have happened. I'm glad you realize you we're lucky in being young, I have no idea where my guy is….he may be walking on foot from Alaska! But when those are the things you want it creates challenges in seeing that you have other blessings too & like you God blesses fully. He gives what we need and more even when He makes us wait for what we want
So very true – and a reminder I NEED. Exceedingly and abundantly more than we can imagine or think.
Nothing Less