Grains of Sand

I accidentally grew three sunflowers in my balcony planter this summer. They were probably the result of some stray bird seed, but nevertheless there they were. In the beginning the sunflowers were quite pretty. But their beauty didn’t last long. Very quickly they petals began to dry up and turn brown. I wondered if the soil wasn’t deep enough for them or if they were lacking water. Then I realized that the death of one part of the plant was a natural part of the process that was bringing life to another part of the plant—the sunflowers seeds. As the petals died, the seeds were bring produced in the heart of the flower. I was reading John’s account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4 this morning. When the disciples returned from hunting up some lunch, they discovered that Jesus had been busy doing ministry. They thought they had left Him to rest by the well. They were concerned. “ ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothi...

1 Samuel 21-24  Continuing on yesterday's theme of complicated relatives, today's reading finds David running all over the place being pursued by his father-in-law, Saul. The object is not to hug him and invite him to dinner—unless of course there is hemlock in the wine! Then comes this line, tucked away among all the murder and mayhem: " Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands " —1 Samuel 23:14. David's life was anything but easy. Sometimes our lives get a little, or a lot, on the complicated side. And I ask, when those complicated moments come, if I remind myself that unless God chooses to do so to accomplish some divine purpose, he will not allow me to fall into any hands that don't contribute to that purpose for my life. Doubting God's benevolence, coupled with the idea that God has such control over what does or does not happen to us, might make us break out into a cold sweat. I wonder if David ever sweat...