I love looking out of the window—especially when it's snowing like it is right now.
Everything is quiet and slow, peaceful and bright. A cheerful frosting slowly trickling down from the sky. Like on a bundt cake. Or in a snow globe.
My ideal Winter day looks like this: Bible study, writing, and learning Hebrew in the morning; sledding, reading, and drinking tea in the afternoon! Of course, there are also other things to do, and not everything is always fun. But I enjoy it when I am healthy and can discover what God has prepared for me. And a snowy forest is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Like in Narnia. All you need is a good pair of snow pants and a sled.
I have always found it easier to find God in solitude. I can talk to him and feel very close to him.
But I also enjoy being around people. It's just that sometimes I can feel lost there. It happens that I focus too much on people and lose sight of myself and God. There is so much to hear and see and feel and say. To think and reflect and react... That's why I asked God to help me to be able to hear Him properly even when I'm among people. That is my great desire for growth in my next stage of development. And recently, a thought from a devotional book helped me a lot. It's nothing really new, but suddenly I understood it better. Once again, it was a word whose meaning showed me new ways of thinking: catering. I didn´t know that this is not only a word for food service, but also a verb for reacting to people. When we are around people, we tend to cater to their expectations – real or imagined. We want to please people —which dims our awareness of God's presence. Our efforts to meet their expectations exhaust us. And we're not even offering them anything good: it's just dry crumbs instead of the living water flowing through us!
I want to learn to stay connected to God even in my busiest moments. I want to live in His presence, to feel Him, even when there is turmoil around me. And I have already experienced this a few times recently, when I suddenly could pause and ask myself whether I am offering people bread crusts or living water. Because we are caterers after all: The question is just, what we offer and why. Do I want to please the people at the buffet, or the one who ordered and paid for the food? Where do I get my supplies? Can I draw from abundance, or do I have to scrape together leftovers? Is it quality or quantity?
Jesus turned water into wine. (I don't like wine, but that's not the point of the story.) God gives good gifts that we can distribute generously. He gives enough to celebrate. Others can be satisfied and content without us having to be left empty and exhausted. Because he provides everything. And because he is not a slave driver, but our good Father. That is catering God's way. Good for me and good for others.
The snow keeps falling and falling, and the clouds show no sign of clearing. Joy in white, just for me!
If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.
Johannes 7: 38 (MSG)