(Original appeared May 22, 2016)
Have you ever felt as though something was difficult beyond your abilities until you had to endure it, and then having met the challenge later realized that it wasn’t as bad as you had thought? An experience like that can reset your perception of where your limits or tolerance might be. The process can open your eyes to more possibilities, and encourage you when you face the next trial.
Years ago, our family was visiting my aunt, uncle and cousins in North Carolina. We went to a seafood joint near the beach for some of the best seafood chowder in the world. I learned that the proper way to ‘dress up’ chowder was with hot sauce. Until this day, I was a wimp when it came to spicy foods and so I feared anything hotter than tabasco. The hot sauce we used on the chowder was extremely hot and I initially thought I might suffer in two ways after ingesting it if you catch my drift.
After this experience, tabasco didn’t seem so hot any more. I began to try new and hotter hot sauces over time and eventually came to appreciate this original chowder hot sauce as being merely flavorful rather than spicy.
Life experiences can be just like this. For instance, public speaking isn’t as bad the 10th time you do it as it was the first. High school isn’t as bad compared to grad school. A “boo boo” on the elbow when you were 6 years old now pales in comparison to the dislocated shoulder earned in a pick up football game.
And so it goes with our experiences with Jacob. The troubles 6 weeks ago have raised our tolerance for the new troubles that show up. This weekend was not a good one for him. His abdominal issue which Deb mentioned in her earlier post is a primary concern at the moment. He faces likely surgery early this week. That alone is enough to cause grave worry for us. And yet, we are more peaceful about it because we realize the value of knowing he had a serious issue that was just discovered before it could get worse. This is comforting. We are able to appreciate this new hot sauce.
I’ll leave you with this. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5.
Notice it doesn’t say “Love God…when times are good.” Or “…when loving God is easy.” We are to love him with everything we’ve got ALL the time. And so we will praise Him in this storm, knowing He holds Jacob and us; knowing this hot sauce is part of His plan for our growth and the continued formation of faith within our hearts. We lean on Him more now than ever. And, that really is the whole point right? -R
Jacobs Ripples 