Substance

It seems like a productive day; at least on the outside. The washing machine is running, the kitchen table is full of folded clothes soon to be put away. The turkey's in the oven, the sweet aroma of french bread will soon be filling the kitchen, not to mention two kids are napping and another two are upstairs (mostly) giggling over a hand-me-down bag of boys dress up costumes from GG.

But on the inside I started to dwell on things that would be nice to have that we don't have, like a warm fireplace, or more bedrooms to fill more little ones, or blinds on our patio door. My "wanter radar" as one of the kids books calls it was running sky high. When my eyes began to fill with a few tears, I knew a heart check was in order. Off to my knees in the most quiet place I can think of right now, my bedroom floor. In that place, I confessed my seemingly increasing dissatisfaction with what we have been given, and then turned to the daily devo I committed to reading for the next thirty-one days. Maybe none of this would have occurred if I would have read it this morning instead of at 1:30 in the afternoon :)

In 'Pierced by the Word', Piper points to Psalm 135:15-18: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them".  Earlier in the devo he said, "It is our created nature to make much of God....When we fulfill this reason for being, we have substance. Not to fulfill this purpose for human existance is to be a mere shadow of the substance we were created to make. Pray along with me that God would make us "feel the suicidal faith in innocent idols and give us fresh freedom from all hallow gems".