A Moment Aside for 9 March 2021

 A Moment Aside --- 9 March 2021

       

     There’s nothing wrong with a little humour now and again. Such humour often carries wisdom in it. These two graphics carry such wisdom couched in humour and poetry.

The Elijah story is this: But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” ⁸ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God… (1 Kings 19:4-8) Elijah is on the run from King Ahab and Jezebel who had killed all the prophet of the Lord. Following this nap-and-snack encounter, Elijah encounters God directly in a quiet sound and is re-energized for his ministry.

I don’t think we should discount the strength of small yet powerful things in our lives. The story of Elijah illustrates this. The second graphic, the one counseling getting enough rest among other things, says almost the same thing. In tough times like these, permitting ourselves a break now and again might be just the thing to keep us sharp. Understanding that we cannot do it all - all day, every day – does toss us into the loving hands of God. At such times, we need to be kind to others… and to ourselves. It’s easy to be hard on ourselves, to blame ourselves, and to despise our weakness, a weakness we might overlook in someone else. Leaving judgement to God also includes judging ourselves. Honesty is needed for sure, as is trust in God.

Years ago, I worked with a man who spouted simple aphorisms all the time. Some were forgetable, but at least one was not. He’d often say “Always do your level best; God will always do the rest.” Simple words with a profound message.

Who knows? After a nap and a few crackers, like Elijah, we too might come to encounter the Almighty in a small, quiet sound.