Macaroni & Cheese Faith

Eating lunch with my daughter today reminded me of what faith looks like. 

This girl loves macaroni and cheese like no one else I know (and that's saying something because a love of cheesy pasta runs deep in this family). Even at 2, she knows how to savor something good. She murmurs "mmmm" and other appreciative noises as she closes her eyes and takes another bite. She is not at all concerned that the macaroni and cheese will run out before she has had her fill. She has faith that more will appear when she needs it, 

I envy this ability she has, and I want to cultivate it in my life. 

See, I know that God will provide all of my needs (Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus), but I don't live like it. Instead of savoring the good gifts God gives me, I tend to either hoard them in fear of losing them, or I don't even pay attention to them. I'm blinded to his provisions because I'm focused on my will and desires rather than His. 

So, how do we cultivate this macaroni and cheese kind of faith? How do we learn to savor God's good gifts? I think there are several ways. 

First, begin our days with thanksgiving. When we get into the habit of identifying and verbalizing the things we are grateful for, our hearts and minds will being to be more focused on God's provision than our perceived lack. 

Second, spend time studying and meditating on God's Word. Throughout Scripture we see evidence of God's gracious provisions, and we can trust that just as God provided mana for a bunch of ungrateful Israelites, so too will he provide for us. We may not always get the same amount of macaroni and cheese that we want. In fact, we may not even get any, but we can always trust that whatever God gives or withholds is for our good and His glory.

Rainbows

Our church is having VBS this week, and I've had the pleasure of being there to help with registration and other various tasks. Last night, while the kids were all in their assigned stations, a gorgeous rainbow appeared in the sky in front of the chuch. It was probably the most perfect rainbow I've ever seen in my life-- vibrant enough to see every color, visible from one end to the other, and a double! Several other adults and I went out to take pictures and remarked on how infrequently we have had the pleasure of seeing such a perfect rainbow. It was a beautiful reminder of God's goodness, which incidentally, is the theme of VBS this year (if you visit us any time soon, you will hear my boys recitinv some version of "When life is ____, God is good!").

Shortly before the rainbow disappeared, Davyd's group went outside to see it. By this point only part of it was visible and it was very light, but they were still astounded by it. On the way home, the boys and I talked about rainbows being signs of God's promise to never again destroy the earth by a flood, like He did in the time of Noah. They both thought it was "super cool" for God to make a promise like that. Later, while we recounted all of this to Matt, Davyd told us that seeing the rainbow assured him that God is real (no, my 6 year old did not use the word "assured", but I can't remember his exact words, so I'm paraphrasing). 

As I reflected on that conversation later, I was touched by the way that God came close to Davyd last night and revealed Himself to him. He does this for all of us in one way or another. The thing is, He doesn't have to. He doesn't need us, or anything for that matter. He is all-sufficient, lacking in nothing, but He desires to be near His people. What a blessing it was to witness my son recognizing God's presence! May I pause often and long enough to do the same.