Celebrations of Life

Yesterday morning I woke up with my usual anticipation of Thursday morning mountain biking at Bent Creek with my buddy Mike. The forecast called for rain and biking through Bent Creek is miserable in the rain, so after a quick (and I mean quick) ride through a connector trail, we hit the forest road and began climbing one of Bent Creek's many mountains. Around the top, at an area called Ledford Gap, the trees thinned and the view was unreal. Clouds and mist were rising up in the valley and I was overwhelmed with the imagination of God. The attention He pays to detail and beauty is beyond words. This was grace, because even in a fallen state, where the creation itself groans and works in rebellion to God, her beauty is unsurpassed.

Yesterday was also my oldest son's 3rd birthday. In the afternoon, my wife and I took him to the toy store so that he could pick out a modest birthday gift. He played with several things in the aisle before we laid some of the appropriate toys out and asked him to pick one. He chose a simple race track and carried it with delight to the checkout lane. After we paid for his toy, I remember looking down at my son and I was taken with his expression of contentment and expectation. I love giving gifts to my kids and it was a reminder of how God delights to lavish upon His beloved good things from above.

My kid is playing with his new toy today and it is already a source of frustrtation. It is loud and obnoxious. What was supposed to be a token celebrating the life that God has graciously given to my wife and me has become a token of strife. Probably, I need to chill about the noise it makes and my son needs to chill about having it run 24/7. This scenario illustrates how often good gifts that God gives become our pursuits that actually drive us away from God. He grants us things to point out to us how good He truly is and in our sin and rebellion we become obsessed with the gifts and give God the finger. For this I am thankful for Christ and His redemptive work on the cross so that when I meet God there, I witness the Divine spanking, receive the Spirit and am restored to a right relationship. I am undone, Spirit change me.