Snow Globe

It is a small reminder of Christmas...often times with a nativity scene as the visual focus, but most times with a Santa or snoopy or some varied symbol of the Christmas season as produced by the commercial trinket industry.  But this week as we were visiting with my New York kids, Rebecka, my daughter in law, said that her little Emma, age 1 and a half was given a little plastic snow globe and became totally frustrated with it because she wanted to get inside of it. It was not the snow effect that caught her interest, once seen that was enough, but now she wanted to touch the inside. What she didn't realize was that the magic would disappear if the snow globe was disassembled; she was too young for the concept that it is for shaking and watching and the wonder that it generates as the snow falls.

I found a small analogy with this, beginning with the wonder of God; His presence, and His grace.  In the vastness of this universe, we are posed and positioned for God's purposes and His glory, though we often get sidetracked and think the universe is posed and positioned just for us and our glory. God, robed in all of hIs majesty and authority, releases his overwhelming grace and goodness throughout his eternal time.  It is only through our faithfulness that we are able to contend with the reality that God shakes us up thought our adversity and trials, but in the shake up, his loving faithfulness rains down upon us, no matter how darkened our days might be.  He sees through he glass dome of our hearts, and knows just when to shake us up and remind us of His presence.

In a sermon yesterday at Tom and Rebecka's church, the pastor relayed a quote that we all can relate to: "God never gives us more than we can handle."  And the pastor's immediate response was: that that quote is dead wrong.  And I waited for the explanation.  He said God wants us to be dependent on Him not on ourselves and as long as we contend that we are able to handle anything, be it grand scale or small, without His input, overseeing wisdom and guidance, we are not activating the very wonder of His riches, and are missing out on being the bearer of His royal inheritance of love, wisdom, strength, perseverance, courage, faith, grace etc.         

Many years ago, my mom gave me a very large beautiful musical snow globe; she gave one to each of my siblings. And I could wind up that sweet Christmas music and turn the globe upside down and sit and watch it time and time again in wonder. And one day, a little someone, who also found it intriguing tried to pick it up and turn it upside down, but it was too heavy and too slippery and it fell to the ground breaking into tiny pieces and in total disrepair. The inside was now exposed, the snow scattered on the floor, and the display of characters had lost its sense of wonder, but this was an earthly, manufactured, fragile and temporary creation that could break, and did not have the strength to withstand a great fall.  It was a tangible reflection of wonder, but God displays his sense of wonder all through our days and nights.  

His love is not encased in a glass bubble that can be broken, his love abounds to the ends of this earth, and more importantly his love abides in the hearts of each of us who believe in him. We, on the other hand,  can withstand a great fall because we are encased in the protective bubble of God's love.  When we consciously encase ourselves in God's love, and depend on His strength to keep us tightly secured in His ways, we can be turned upside down and shaken with great might only to find that it is His grace that will sprinkled down upon us. The wonder of His peace will manifest a peace of its own into our own hearts, as we look to HIm for provision, support, comfort, understanding, forgiveness and a valued sense of appreciation for who he is and what he has done through his son Jesus Christ.  His love cannot be broken no matter how we mishandle it, disrespect it, ignore it, snub it or deny it.  For the wonder of His love  has no bounds and nothing on this earth can manipulate it or break the seal that Christ was sent to cover.  

I know it was just a snow globe, but I think that the next time I see one, I will consider the fact that unless it is shaken and turned upside down, we will not see the significance of the very ingredient that gives it the essence of the magic.  It is very much the same with us, unless we are shaken and turned upside down we will seldom really appreciate the sprinkling of God's grace that falls down upon us from His heavens, and experience the wonder of His love.  

Isaiah 55:9-11

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Dear Lord, Thank you for sprinkling us daily with your love.  May we acknowledge it, appreciate it, accept is and embrace it.  And Lord, help us to be the reflectors of it in the words that we say, and the deeds that we do.  Amen               

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!