and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the LORD, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing."
Psalm 34:7-9
The Bible tells us to "taste and see that the Lord is good." In modern language you could say: "Try Him out! You'll like Him!" The other day I was clothes shopping and the seller offered for me to try on the clothing. Since this was a street vendor my first thought was "Where?", but they can be pretty ingenious! He had rigged up a corner of his stall with some sheets to form a little changing booth. So, I tried on the skirt and blouse. He knew that there would be a better chance of me purchasing the outfit if I only tried it out. The place didn't even have a mirror, but the feel of a new outfit, and the approval of my husband :-), led to a sale for this vendor. You see, he knew that if I only tried it out, I would like it. The Psalmist knew the same thing! If you only taste, try out, a bit of the Lord, you will see that He is good!
I have already shared with you throughout the month of November the huge blessing that the women's retreat in Acapulco was, not only for the 141 women who attended, but for myself personally. I then shared with you the story of my best Thanksgiving ever due to the sacrificial love of two of our staff members and my children. But, this past weekend has led me to feel totally spoiled by God!
Victor and I had been wanting to take an overnighter together for over a month. Now, when I was growing up, my parents, on every President's Day in February, would go on an overnighter together. My brother and I got to spend the night with a wonderful lady from church, Marilyn Chinnis, who would take us cross country skiing and other fun stuff to keep us distracted from the fact that Mom and Dad weren't around. As much as I hated being without my parents, I knew that time was important to their marriage and, hence, to our family. I thank the Lord, on nearly a daily basis, that my parents have a strong marriage after 38 years together and for the example they were to my brother and I as to how to care for and work in, and on, a marriage. But, if we do the math, they got an overnighter once a year and had two children. I have twelve children. That means I get an overnighter with my husband six times a year, right? :-)
So, Victor and I decided to spend our time in a quaint town nestled in the shadow of some very impressive cliffs in the state of Morelos, about 45 minutes from Refuge Ranch, Tepoztlan. (We took several work groups there to visit this summer.) We looked online and found what appeared to be a nice little "hotel" and made our reservation. It turned out to be an incredible gift from God!
We arrived by driving over cobblestone streets that got increasingly narrower, bumpier and further away from the center of the village. (Exactly what we wanted- away from people!) We pulled up to the huge metal gate, knocked, and were let into a mini paradise! The hotel turned out to be a conglomeration of several different buildings spread throughout beautifully cared for gardens and lawns. The retired owner had lived on the property in his own beautiful home for several years, but, seeing the beauty of his surroundings and the cost of upkeep on such a large and gorgeous home, decided to turn the property into a romantic getaway.
Victor and I stayed in a precious cabin set away from the other buildings. (Check out the website at: http://www.quintalospinostepoz.com/ My camera is broken and the website wouldn't let me copy pictures.)
I really don't think that I am going to be able to accurately describe what those 36 hours meant for me or did for me! God is simply just so good! We arrived and settled in, took a nap, went down to the village where Victor bought me three new outfits of my favorite style of clothing (long skirts and typical blouses) and a beautiful floral arrangement with my favorite flowers (Cala Lilies). We had a nice afternoon dinner with a gorgeous view of the cliffs, then spent part of the evening sitting in the heated jacuzzi under God's incredible starry expanse. From there, we retired to the cabin where there was a fire in the fireplace and ate pizza! On Saturday, we slept in, had a delicious breakfast, read for awhile and then went back into town to start some Christmas shopping.
God spoiled me so much that when the cook brought out our breakfast, she had served Victor's eggs with tortillas and refried beans and mine with toast! Here, nobody can eat without their tortillas. While I like tortillas, fried eggs are not complete without toast to sop up the egg yolk! However, I am very used to having to look after myself and hunt down the bread and toast it at home or, at a restaurant, having to order toast and getting it long after my eggs are cold, or eaten. The cook/waitress/cleaning lady came out of the kitchen and I asked for toast....she was already bringing it out before I had even asked for it! Do you see what I mean when I say that I was spoiled by God? He even gave me perfectly toasted toast without asking for it! I mean, really! God loves me so much that He made sure I had hot toast with breakfast! He is the Creator of the universe, the Savior of the world and He paid attention to my toast!
Without wanting to sound like Paul, but following his example: I have lived in Mexico for over 7 years. I have spent Christmas after Christmas, Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving without my extended family. I missed by grandfather's funeral. I have a niece who is a year and a half old whom I have never met. I spent my honeymoon picking up missionaries at the border, getting bit by gnats in Alabama (Lousiana? Arkansas? Who knows - I really don't want to remember the place.); rescuing a drowning man while wearing a white sundress and sandals; and outdriving a tornado. We slept on the living room floor of a borrowed apartment for our first week of married life, after the lovely honeymoon and then, the day we were to move into our mobile home, discovered the water heater had malfunctioned and the place had flooded. By the age of 21 I was helping my fiancee plant a church and was basically copastoring with him by the age of 22. I have done laundry for 6 by hand, hunted down medical care for broken bones, eaten cow's head tacos and watched the most beautiful sunrises over volcanoes and beaches. If you add the ages of my biological children and the number of years that we have had each of our adopted children, I have a total of over 50 years of parenting experience. (Check out 2 Corinthians 11 and 12!)
However, this is craziness, my intention in sharing this is to say that the last 13 years of life have not been years in the lap of luxury, nor a walk down easy street. But, in the moment in which I want to complain, or even worst, boast, I cannot - because Christ has given so much more for me! I cannot - because others give so much more than me! In the moment that I am tempted to think: "I deserve a bit of pampering", the Holy Spirit reins me in and nearly shouts at me: "Hold it there! Deserve? You want to talk about deserving? You deserve hell and condemnation." It is only by the grace of God.....! It is only by the grace of God that I am who I am. It is only by the grace of God that I am were I am. It is only by the grace of God that I do what I do. It is only by the grace of God that any good comes out of my life!
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
I stand in awe of the fact that I deserve hell and condemnation, but in His grace, God offers me His love, forgiveness and eternal life. And He doesn't stop there! Not only does he grant me freely His mercy, but He gives me the incredible privilege to be an instrument of His grace in the lives of others! Then, not only does He grant me the incredible privilege to be used by Him (by His grace only), but then He spoils me like this past month!
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17
This past month felt like living out Isaiah 35:1-2, 6-7:
"The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow."
While God is sooooo good and has spoiled me soooo much, His goodness simply prompts me to want to be even better and serve Him even more!
2 comments:
Wow Julie, this is an absolutely AMAZING post! Hallelujah :) I am so rejoicing for the incredible, blessed time away God gave you two.
Julie - I just love reading the blogs about life in Mexico. I miss it a lot and I was only there for a measly seven days! Hope you have a very merry Christmas!
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