...factoids...

Lent, Day 19

Little known factoid about me...

I heart PB&J sandwiches, but I am very picky on how they are made.  I love the peanut butter and jelly to be evenly spread out on their slice of bread so that there is the even taste of both in each bite.

This morning, as I packed my lunch...I made my sandwich with as much love as is possible for a...sandwich.  I packed my perfectly made creation into a baggie and put in my favorite side...a bag of Doritos.  Top it off with a fruit cup and...ohmigoodness yum! A lunch fit for a princess...and this princess was already looking forward to lunch time. 

So...you can imagine my surprise when God whispered "Give your lunch to that guy on the curb."

I had stopped to grab a quick Snapple...the drink to complete lunch-o-perfection...and he was sitting by the entrance.  I had gotten into the store without him saying anything to me, as I walked behind the column he was leaning up against.  But it was while I grabbed the plastic bottle from the cooler that I heard the request fall...and I instantly brushed it off.

"He wants cigarettes or a beer, Lord.  He doesn't want my lunch."

You can imagine the weight that comes in to land on you when arguing with God while waiting in line...and as I drove out of the parking lot, I felt the release of His hand from my neck.  I would love to finish up here and say that I gave the guy my lunch and had the best of attitudes about following after His calling. 

Yeah...no.

I did give the man my lunch...and I was right that he wanted a drink more than he wanted my lunch, BUT I actually had a great interaction with him as I gave him my brown bagged yumminess.  That isn't the bad part.  You see, I then spent the rest of my drive to my nanny-ing job complaining about not having a lunch to eat.  I mean, I was joking (kind of), but I just wasn't all that impressed with what just happened. 

I know...
I know...
I KNOW!!! 

It is awful and oh-so-embarrassing to admit, but I have to in order to share the real ending of this story for me today.

Fast forward an hour...
little man is asleep in his bed and the Bible app is open on my phone...
my heart is kind of open and my whining has been put aside for now. 

Then...like the 2x4 I oh-so-often need...the words of Jesus jumped out of my phone and into my heart.  They caused me to stop...realize my mistake...and moved me to confess my rotten attitude over what happened in that parking lot.

"Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus,"Rabbi, eat something."
But Jesus replied,"I have a kind of food you know nothing about. 
My nourishment come from doing the will of God,
who sent Me, and from finishing His work."
John 4:31-32, 34

Bigger known factoid about me...
I am far from perfect when it comes to following the calling of my Lord, often led astray by worry, pride or frustration...but when as I read His words today, spoken in a moment of teaching to His disciples, I can't help but fall in love all over again with a Lord who not only invites me to share in His love for others BUT also allows a stubborn heart like mine another chance at His grace.

For more information about this celebration of Lent on the pad

and why there are no comments allowed,

click here to read the first post Lent, Day 0

Looking up as always...
...bina...