Do you have any idea what the object is in the above picture? Perhaps you have seen those “tests”: “Can you recognize everyday objects close-up?” They are always fun to try. Those objects (literally) remind me that much of our understanding is all about perspective- how limited we are in our knowledge and understanding of the world around us and in the why’s and how come’s of our lives.

I like the following quote: God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knows”. Tim Keller (from his book on prayer)

Again, it is a reminder that I know nothing about the big picture of life. Thank goodness I do not know. There have been times in my life when I asked for a specific thing for either myself or for others: housing; jobs; health; relationships; peace. Sometimes the prayers were answered in the way that “I thought” they should and other times they were answered not at all how I was expecting. Some times the answers were better than expected and others, I must admit, were gravely disappointing.

The thing is, having more years behind me then ahead, I know now that many times those disappointing answers were short-lived. Sometimes I had the blessing of seeing the answers unfold- starting out a disappointment but when seen in its entirety, with other lives entwined, I can say that the prayers were answered in the best way.

The first Sunday in January (the 7th), my nephew gave a good sermon (imho) https://asburytulsa.org/media/sermons/ addressing the idea of God working things out for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. He used the illustration of Joseph- the favored son who was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, thought dead by his father, wrongfully accused of sexual harassment and rape, and imprisoned only to eventually become highly regarded by Pharaoh. He became second in charge of all of Egypt and under his excellent administrative skills, saved the Egyptians and surrounding countries (even those brothers who betrayed him) from a horrible famine.

The question the story asks - are we willing to trust the omniscient God with the situation of our lives and the lives of those around us? Can we believe that He is working things out for our good even if we perceive that things are horrible, or, like the many years Joseph endured, that things are actually bad/difficult for us.

There are so many stories of people whose difficult situations were blessings in disguise. I always think of Corrie ten Boom, the great Christian evangelist (not that she ever planned to be one) who having been imprisoned in a concentration camp during WWII for hiding Jews in her family home in Netherlands, was grateful for fleas in the camp. Because she and the prisoners were infested with fleas, the guards didn’t do the regular checks (for fear that they too would become infested). It allowed Corrie and her sister Betsy to have Bible studies and meetings with the women in their barracks without reprisal.

Starting out this year, I most definitely need this reminder- that things will be okay both individually and societally. While I am concerned about certain things for myself and family, I am also alarmed about our country and the world stage. When things seem insurmountable and without any resolution, how in the world can God work things together for good?

I think it comes down to trust- do we trust that the God of the universe is faithful? Hasn’t God been faithful to us, individually and as humans, in the past? Certainly we all have our moments of doubt. Even the psalmist David complained at times, “Are his promises at an end for all times?” (Psalm 77: 8) In other words, he wonders- where are You, God and what have you done for me lately?”

But if I look in context of the whole- for both myself as an individual and for humankind- and remember God’s goodness I see that He has worked things together for good. The psalmist almost immediately after going through his diatribe of “where are you God”, recognizes God’s goodness and faithfulness. “You are the god who works wonders.” (Psalm 77: 14)

What about you? How are you viewing your life? Your situation? Can you see it in context of others around you? Or is your situation so difficult that it looms large?

The story of Joseph should encourage us. It is a story of good eventually winning over evil on both the individual and global level. As Joseph tells his brothers “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

Sometimes we just need a little perspective- a little pulling back of the lens- in order to see the bigger picture of God’s goodness.

Guess what the picture at the top of the blog, represented? The seeds of a pepper.

The dog days of summer. It is at this point, every year where the bounty of the harvest begins and keeps going: tomatoes, zucchini, raspberries, hydrangeas. Nature has a way of producing so so much.

My father always planted a vegetable garden. From his small patch of turned over dirt, he could produce a fairly big yield. One vegetable that he grew in vast quantities were tomatoes. Every year he would buy extra tomato plants. “Just in case some don’t live”. The thing is, I do not remember ever a time when a plant died. They always all lived. Consequently, around this time in August, there would be tomatoes galore. My mother and my grandmother (who lived nearby) would have marathon canning days. I remember the sounds of those days: the hissing of the pressure cooker, the wiggling of the inverted jars in the big roasting “sanitizing” pans, the boiling rumble of tops and rubber gaskets. It seemed that the smell of cooked tomatoes would permeate the house for days afterwards.

Because Dad planted so many tomatoes, those not eaten by family and friends nor canned by Mom and Grandma were sold at a table stand at the end of our street. It seemed to me that I was always the one stuck sitting behind the table, selling to neighbors and passers-by. Paper bags, pad of paper and pencils, kitchen scale and formerly-cigar-now-cash box were my tools of the trade. (Plus a library book to keep me company). Lined up with stem side down, the various sized tomatoes were grouped in pristine rows (no stacking for fear of soft spots). The tomatoes were sold by weight. Much as I hated the selling process it was a good exercise in math: learning to weigh the tomatoes and then multiply the weight by price per pound. I also had to learn to give change. I still remember the older boys who lived around the corner. For some reason they reminded me of the Beach Boys. (Probably just an association at that specific time: my brother was listening to the Beach Boys and these neighbors looked like surfers.) They would walk across the street, buy tomatoes and then eat them like an apple. Never seen that before or since.

Alas, due to our tree-lined yard I do not have the ability to have the vegetable garden like my dad’s. I may not been able to enjoy my own home grown tomatoes, but I do have tons of hydrangeas.

I have found that with nature, you cannot out give it. It is always producing and giving its produce to you. The more your cut and take away, the more it gives. It seems if I cut the hydrangeas to give away, I end up with more blooms on that bush. Same with our raspberries. I pick the branch and there seems to be more produced.

Makes me think of God and His generosity. The physical world through nature is his expression of His personality and character. He is good and generous. One cannot out give God. He loves to lavish on His children. And, there is always more from Him. He doesn’t run out of goodness. There isn’t a fund or ledger of limited amounts of goodness: “don’t ask for too much or you will use it up.” On the contrary Jesus tells us to “ask and it shall be given to you.” (Matthew 7: 7)

He just gives and gives and gives.

Not only does He give but we are called to join him in generosity. “Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands--all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you." (Luke 6: 38)

What about you? Have you ever experienced the abundance of nature? What is your experience with God’s abundance? Do you ever feel that there is a limit to what you are given? Talent? Monetary objects? Time? Are you afraid that once given away, you won’t receive more? Do you wait to get from God first before you give or do you just give freely?

For me, sometimes I forget that I need to pick the raspberries in order to have more. It is if the bush is willing me, pushing me to take and give. To share what I have with others in order for me to have room for more. Just like the raspberries, that process of having more is a sign of growth and development.

Same applies with all the blessings that I have- to give in order to receive. After all, only empty and open hands can be filled.