Salt The Walnuts

I looked down at my once-navy shirt, now boasting a white flour band around my middle.

Oh yeah.

I thought back to a couple nights ago as bacon grease popped out of the pan and onto my shirt.

I really ought to use that apron more often.

Violin music floated through the air and I glanced over at one boy who was supposed to be finishing a task. My Procrastinator Professionale. He blinked. I nodded. He grinned.

I wrapped up the pastry dough and stuck it in the freezer. Hopefully I’d remember to take it out before it was too frozen for dinner.

There was a section of Brambly Hedge the other day that especially tickled me -

‘Look, my dear,’ said Mr Apple, ‘if the sea mice can manage to get the salt all the way up to us, I’m sure Dusty can sail downstream to fetch it.’
‘I can’t think of why we’ve run out,’ said Mrs Apple. ‘It’s never happened before. Perhaps I shouldn’t have salted all those walnuts.’
‘Stop worrying,’ said Mr Apple. ‘Look, they’re about to leave.’
(The Complete Brambly Hedge, pg. 193)

You don’t to have read the whole story to get the point here, though it might help to know that Brambly Hedge takes place in the world of rodents and some needed to sail downstream to Purslane and Thrift Saltapple to acquire more salt for their baking endeavors.

But how can the salt have run out? The walnuts, surely those darn walnuts. Shouldn’t have salted them.

Where did those rolls of tape go? Walls. Beds. Cardboard boxes. I should’ve known better.

How can there be no clean laundry? Simply, people kept wearing clothing. And I have not added any more to the washing machine.

How can this child’s shoes be too small? Well, dear me, he grew while I wasn’t looking.

These mice are so relatable.

Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.
Proverbs 14:4

It turns out that children are messy, keeping a home is hard work, and sometimes, to everyone’s shock and horror, things escape a mom’s mind. The trough could be clean though, think of it – cabinets with no fingerprints, walls with no dents, books with no missing pages. Imagine a day.

Yet those fingerprints came from nosy little babies and toddlers. The wall dent (which one?)? A child’s head, naturally. The books missing pages are often ones that have been read and re-read. Life without these memories would be sterile and void. We’ve all been made better by each season and situation. These little people will grow up to add to the Lord’s world in their own ways. What great increase!

Go ahead, make the effort. Do the things. Salt the walnuts. And don’t forget to pull the dough out of the freezer for dinner.

It Is Well

He got the news from his wife, “saved alone…” Their four daughters had drowned, pulled out of their mother’s arms by the strong current. Only she had survived. Not long before, the couple had lost their only son. All of their children, gone in the blink of an eye.

As he traveled to meet up with his wife, he passed the place where his daughters had lost their lives. Grieving, he tucked himself away and began to write.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford wrote this poem in the late 1800s, and it was turned into a song that is still sung today. Amy Carmichael once said, “a cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred.” Surely Spafford was suddenly, intensely jarred - and sweet water was spilled.

If you are jarred, dear Christian, what will you spill? When the waves of life jostle you to spill a drop, or many drops - will the water be bitter or sweet?

If it be bitter, take heart. Repent and be comforted by His forgiveness. It is hard to imagine spilling sweet water after devastating loss, such as Spafford experienced. Sweet water from the depths of our beings must come from complete satisfaction and trust in our Lord. It cannot be manufactured on our own; there will be trials far beyond what we can muster strength and grace for.

Has He saved you? Taken your sins and nailed them to the cross, that you bear them no more? If He can conquer this feat, He is trustworthy for all the rest.

He who made the stars, does He not know the hairs on our heads? He who tells the wind to blow, the sun to shine - does He not see our frames and know our trials before they arrive? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Rest in Him.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

The Gift of Time || Friday Magnify

“Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!”
Psalm 34:3

The pot full of dill caught my eye, and I plucked a stem and spun the flower between my fingers. I hadn’t planted it myself; my six-year-old son had dumped way too many seeds in a starter pot, months ago, and per usual they all sprouted. I laughed, thinking of his natural green thumb. Even the morning glories he had placed along the fence were forcefully pushing their way through the weeds I’ve been neglecting.

As I watch my children grow, it amazes me to see that everything they are has been there since the beginning. One boy studying nature, and trying to defy gravity every chance he gets. One who is forever building, with all the things, and asking all the questions. And though we will always be learning about each child, the interests of our younger two are still emerging. One tells me about animals as he’s gaining words in his vocabulary. The baby (yes, there are four kiddos now!) goes with the flow and grins and speaks his mind when needed.

Each stage with each child is new and exciting. Each child is similar to those dill seeds, formed with all their potential right from the beginning. Time is a beautiful thing, a gift to watch each flower bloom.

Does He Not Care?

“On that day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’”
Mark 4:35-41

“Lord! Do You not care?”

This passage struck me so deeply the other day. Without saying it aloud, I have whimpered: “Lord, do You not care? Do You not see this – do You not see me?”

We need this reminder – Jesus looked at His disciples, who were full of fear and forgetfulness, and He reminded them Who He is.

“Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” He asked them.

We often look for Him to change our circumstances, and it would be tempting to read this passage as proof that He will change things if only we have faith enough. Yet as He rebukes the wind and waves, He takes the emphasis off of the circumstance and turns their attention to Himself.

“Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey Him?” they marvel.

Can you hear their reverent awe? Who is this God, who commands obedience from even nature? How mighty, how powerful, how above-all must He be? Who is this God, who can sleep through storms with complete peace? Who is He, that He knows the future and spends His days without worry – for Himself or for us?

Like the disciples, we forget that He is all we need. He alone is wholly sufficient.

“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘“The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’” and they ask me, ‘“What is His name?’“ what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘“I am has sent me to you.’”’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘“The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’” This is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’”
Exodus 3:13-15

He is I AM. He is too lofty for us to understand, too wonderful to comprehend. He is great. He knows the beginning and the end of every circumstance and He is present as we walk through them all. There is no day that He has not already seen, nothing He does not already know. Do the winds and the waves still seem so troublesome?

Take heart, dear Christian.

“Do You not care?” – Oh, but He does! Let your cares be cast upon Him, “because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

The mighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever; He is sufficient. These storms that try us - they come by His allowance and do not leave us stripped bare. We may have only Him left – but friend! We have Him!

“I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little water, and lifting up her hands, she said, as a blessing, What! all this, and Christ too?”
C.H. Spurgeon

Let us remember who He is! We have Him, and He is all we need.

“The Name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”
Proverbs 18:10