John 15:7 "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you."
There is nothing new about this story. It is as old as the garden...
Once upon a time, any time, maybe even today... there were two little children, a brother and sister, who lived in a little village of no significance and had a quiet little life. They had a grandma who lived just a mile away from them, in a little woods and every day they walked to her house and she welcomed them joyously having prepared all kinds of fresh baked goodies and delicious treats. They would eat and play and sit on her lap while she told them fascinating stories and sang beautiful songs. By the time they left it was dark but she gave them a lamp which lit their way home and kept them warm and safe.
One year the children started school. They were so busy! They made new friends and joined sports teams and clubs. Soon they stopped going to their grandma's house every day because they didn't have enough time. After a couple days they missed the freshly made sweets and goodies but they went to the store and bought cookies with their friends. And they still walked to grandma's every week, on Sunday. But their visits had changed. Now they were full of their own stories of school and friends. They would tell her their troubles and problems and she is full of wonderful answers. Sometimes they stop and listen to her but mostly they just talk. And they must leave before dark now because they are so busy on Monday! So they no longer needed the lamp to light their way and they ran home fast to keep warm.
One Sunday they missed their visit. Friends invited them over and, "it's just this one time," they tell each other. But for the rest of the week they feel bad. They think of their grandma waiting all day with fresh sweets. How she must be disappointed in them! Maybe she is angry because they did not come see her. They've never seen her angry so they must imagine what it is like and it is terrible! As the next Sunday approaches they begin to fill up with dread... they imagine her at the door waiting to judge them for missing their weekly visit. Surely she won't have baked anything for them this time! Maybe she won't even let them into her house. They don't deserve to go there anyway, or enjoy the treats or listen to the wonderful stories and songs. They feel a twinge of longing but the guilt wins over. They should wait, give themselves a time out for their bad behavior- two weeks of staying away from grandmas, they decide.
Well, two weeks turns into two months and more. They still think of grandma's house in the woods, so near yet so hard to get to... oh the yummy treats! They begin to desire them again but they cannot make the journey. Maybe if they will write to her she will understand! So they write a letter explaining in great detail how busy they have become and apologizing over and over and over. At the end they ask her to send them a few treats. Nothing much or fresh, just anything leftover in her cupboard. They wait and in a few days they receive a package full of all their favorite sweets. They are not warm or fresh but still good and as they eat they are filled with thankfulness. (But they only express their gratefulness to each other, and when the sweets are gone they soon forget.)
This goes on for years. Sometimes when the children crave goodies they write to their grandma and usually they receive a package. They are thankful but always too guilty to visit her. A few times, when they run into trouble, they write a long, desperate letter for help. And she writes them back, sometimes with advice but usually with stories like she used to tell them. They are too busy to read them and discover the answers that are buried inside.
So their lives went by in this way. They never went back to her house. They sometimes wish for the days when they were young and visited her every day... ohhh but that ONE week they missed! She would never forgive them for that. And as they neared the end of their lives they thought of making the trip, just once more... but maybe not today, maybe tomorrow. Or next year.
What do you think they do not know? That their grandma stands at her door every single day of their life? That every single day she made fresh sweets and brought out interesting things to show them. She made her home ready and prepared lamps, bright and shining for them. She stood at her door looking, waiting for her beloved ones. Every day she waits.
Every day He loves.
You are always longed for, never rejected. Push delete and go back to the house.
You are much loved.
Keep running!
LM
No comments:
Post a Comment