As the cold weather steadily encroaches, I’ve been grumbling about the dubious wisdom of living here in what seems to be God’s icebox. Happily, my pessimistic thought processes have been somewhat soothed by remembering author Max Lucado’s sweet message (maybe you’ve heard it before) that “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!”
I do think if God had a fridge, yes, my picture would be on it. And not just my retouched professional portrait, either, but some real photos of me in action – with all my flaws and all my beauty plain to see, each facet of me treasured by my Father. I also think all the photos I have ever taken and all the photos I have wanted to take would be there – the ones I remember and the ones I can’t. Not only that, but I think that God’s fridge would display my other kinds of pictures too: the stick-figure art I have created for Him in all my human fumbling with the gifts and tools He has given me. Because when I have offered these almost-nothings (these broken prayers, these small deeds, these clumsy relationships) to Him, he has lovingly accepted them better than any mom with a kitchen full of tissue-paper butterflies and popsicle-stick puppets. And He has glorified each one of them by His tender mercies…His personal love…His unbending insistence that everything, everything, everything be saved.
God bless you, friends!
And big congratulations to all our brothers and sisters in the Lord who received the Holy Spirit in a particular way on this special day! Grace and peace!
Marian Bart
Evangelization Coordinator