Living metaphorically …

This morning has already been a whirlwind of activity and errand running, with still a laundry list of things yet to do and get done before dinner time tonight. With only a week left of summer vacation left for me to, both, endure and savor all at the same time, I  was prepping for my husband’s favorite Chocolate Mint Flourless Cake when I started to reflect upon life’s twists, the seemingly insignificant daily occurences that come our way, and how I am no longer able to view them through the same eyes.

It’s been some time since I believed in coincidences, and to be perfectly honest, I really can’t imagine there not being real purpose, an eternal plan behind those “obviously trivial” goings on we encounter everyday. From the way I’ve run into friends not seen or heard from in almost 19 years, to the way the adorable neighbor down the street just “showed up” a few days ago and has become a fixture here, to the incredible timing leading us to another church … I’m living with metaphors in mind.

Not just any metaphor, mind you. I’m talking about the spiritual kind, where everything in my life, as well as my mind’s eye, is being reframed in the light of God’s plan and purpose, and His desire to see me grow and learn. Always wondering what it is God is trying to teach or show me, I just can’t help but think that there’s more to what’s really going on than that which is limited to my narrow way of thinking or limited vision. For this last year and a half, God has invested a great deal of time trying to show me just how capable, in control, loving, graceful, forgiving, and big “beyond what I was able to comprehend” He really is.

This is amazing when you consider that the God of the universe, the God of all creation finds me special and valuable enough to spend countless hours arranging circumstances, contriving lessons, weaving people and experience into my life, and  pulling together ways in which He can reveal to me the very spiritual plane on which we dwell … There is so much more than meets the eye. There is so much more to life than going through the motions in an attempt to get through the week and finally reach any cheaply manufactured Sunday experience. Everyday has the potential to be everything we’ve been led to believe Sunday “should be”, and to think I’ve been settling for an overwhelmingly small portion all these years is sad.

I’m framing my life metaphorically these days, and I think I’m starting to get a tiny bit of the bigger picture because of it. When Caleb came to me yesterday and said I yell too much, I had to stop and really consider how that reflected God, grace, love, patience, and mercy to him. No matter how much he upsets me, if I have no self-control, how does that affect my child’s desire to fall madly in love with the God I keep telling him is able to radically change and alter lives? Is this the reality of or a picture of my life and relationship with Christ, or am I still struggling with seeing Him as the task master, ready to jump all over my mistakes and misgivings? He NEVER yells at me no matter how deserving I am.

I love this new practice of looking at my relationship with Christ in every situation I encounter, in  each little, everyday occurence … It is in these that He gets to show and teach me who He really is, who I really am, how He wants to change my heart, and just where we stand with one another. My life is a microcosm of the bigger picture and, like a 7 year old who’s just unearthed a brand new nugget of wisdom “all by himself”, I love the joy of all of these new discoveries God and I are making together … Metaphorically speaking, of course

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