Meditation Monday: Counting the Hairs

I have some random meditation going on lately...

This morning I looked at the baby sleeping and while he was still decided to count - or try to - the number of eyelashes he had on one eye. I got to around 75 but likely missed a bunch. There were all different lengths and sizes and thicknesses. 

29"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31

I don't have much to say on this except Wow. I know that the number of hairs on my head are a lot, so to think that He knows how many each person has (or doesn't!) is mind-blowing to me.  

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A second thought, from a discussion after Liturgy yesterday. I have been looking at our stuff and determining what to keep and what to get rid of lately. And that verse keeps coming back - you've seen it on here before, the story of the rich young man: 

20And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up."21Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.…

Mark 10: 20-22 

I always took the words in verse 22 to mean that he failed in the challenge. But as my friend pointed out yesterday, the Bible leaves the actual outcome to the imagination. And the fact is that he could have done it later. It never specifies. We are all redeemable. It is taking a lot of thought and working-up-to for me to get things out of my house. And compared to those days, I am "rich", right? Who is to say it never happened? Enlightening.

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Finally, a story to illustrate God's sense of humor, which I truly believes He has, otherwise our antics would have him crying I think. But I really do believe God laughs and scoffs at our absolutes, our "nevers" and our "always-es". I said I would "never" have kids of my own, now I have six; The White Knight said he would "never" join the military and "especially" not the Air Force, now he is hitting the 20-year mark; I said I would stay in the military for 20 years and "never" stay home as a wife, I've been at home for the last 13. Keep laughing, God. I get it. And I am laughing with You.

I do most of my business work on my iPhone. I have been rewarded for my efforts, and yet I have begun to feel increasingly unsettled these last few weeks. I have begun to feel out of balance because my phone is always with me, and I can check in at any time. So my stewardship has been eating at me lately. I don't feel like I have been paying enough attention to what I need to do with our finances, our time scheduling, or that sort of thing.

So I began to pray about it. That I would be able to get my time and scheduling under control. This really does play into the ideas above about getting rid of stuff. Next thing you know, my cell phone gets the screens - front and back - cracked. I decided to replace them myself. It's not hard, for the record, but time consuming. And lo and behold, I managed to hook something back in wrong and now the battery charger port won't register that it's being charged at all, so I've got to open it up again. 

God is upstairs laughing at me. The lesson?

Always mind what you ask for, you'll likely have the request granted in unexpected ways. Never give God an absolute. He will find a way to show you who is really in charge.  Take it all in stride. He will also never abandon you, never leave you behind and will always do what is truly in your best interest. Even when the lesson is on the painful side.