We had a deep long discussion, the children and I...about the fish. It goes this way...no, wait, it goes that way...no, wait...
When I felt they adequately understood which way the ichthus should go on the rear of our family car, I shooed them to the front yard to have their daddy affix the fish. I didn't give it much thought, until the children were huddled around the back of the car before we left to go to school. The younger one smiled happily at the handiwork of she and her daddy, the elder child, with the slightest hint of attitude breathed heavily with a small stomp of her foot. The problem? The fish.was.on.wrong.
A former version of myself would have immediately gone storming to find my husband, but the "me" that God is working on, is relegating responses like that to my past and seeking to find more Christlike approaches to all things. I left the fish, as is, not moving it, because it is a great reminder of when I swim against the current, against a great big God, who seeks only to love me.
That small fish reminds me that in my desire to "change" the way that the fish appears, it is me and not the fish that needs to change! The positioning of our fish reminds me of my lack of perfection and more importantly, God's perfect plan that we would depend more heavily on Him, than on our own thoughts and abilities. That little fish is an outward reminder of an inward struggle, a visible bookmark that even with the best intentions, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way we envision. And so, our grace is necessary.
Just as HIS grace is necessary. How often do we require His grace?
"All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:15-18
What is the Lord using in your life to change your heart? How can we be less concerned with outward appearances and more concerned with inward growth? Praying that you and I are able to find those unseen eternal events that radically change our reactions and our story.
1 comment:
I love this....my 18 year old son was so excited to buy his Ichthys and put it on his truck, but that soon turned to disappointment when he realized he had put it on backwards. It has been bothering him for over 3 years now (he tried to take it off and replace it, but it was pulling the paint off his truck). I was looking on the internet to see if it REALLY mattered which way the fish was pointed (he was afraid it meant that he agreed with Darwinism...lol). Anyway, I found your blog and read it to him. You should have seen the smile that came across his face.
This just goes to show you that even though its something little, God can use you to really make a difference in somebody's life. Thank you.
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