28/11/2016 17:46

A few times a week I have an egg for breakfast. First I poach it in the microwave. Next I mash it well. Then I mix in some salt and pepper. Finally I add bits of cheddar cheese to complete the delicious paste. Now, I’m ready to eat it. I spread the mixture on my rice cakes and enjoy every mouthful. Delicious. I've learnt a different way of saying grace during breakfast. Grace is before a meal, right? Not my newest kind of grace though. I thank God while I'm  munching away with relish. “THANK YOU God” I say to Him at the end of my meal. Constant thanksgiving creates sweet fellowship.

 

One day not long ago, one of my kitchen bowls broke into two as I was washing it. I found a replacement in the shops, but then …I had a strong impulse to buy a second bowl. A smaller one with a flat middle. I had no idea why I needed it, but the compulsion to buy it was very strong. Back home next day, I decided to try mashing my egg in my new flat bowl. To my satisfaction, I discovered that the process was much easier in the new bowl than in my former round-bottomed dish. It's obvious now that a fork can work far better on a flat surface, rather than a round one. 

 

Why then had I always mashed food in round containers? As I mash my egg these days I marvel at my lack of common sense for the 30 years. Shape matters, doesn’t it? And … if you don’t mind my asking, here’s a question for you.

 

What is your shape? And are you happy with it?

 

We human beings are a strange lot. Usually we hanker after things we don’t have. I've heard women with wavy hair say they wanted straight hair and those with straight hair long to have wavy locks. I've had thin people tell me they want to put on weight and well-filled people lament their size. I've done a lot of weeping and wailing over my own proportions of recent years—my ill health has caused my exercise to lessen dramatically with an equally dramatic packing on of kilos. Aaarrggh!

The truth is that God loves us just the way we are. Yes, we need to work on whatever needs to be changed. I need to keep plugging away at my health so I can get leaner and stronger. But if I think I am not good enough the way I am, I need to think again. God loves me just the way I am. Fat, thin, tall, short, dimpled, pimpled, plump, cute, not so cute, funny, bald, skinny, big, gigantic, itsy bitsy, drooping, long legged, short legged, muscled … God loves me, full stop. Not when I get leaner or when I put on some muscle. Nothing I can do can make Him love me more than He does right now. His love is unconditional. And will last forever.

 

Don’t forget that chubby arms create comforting hugs. Don’t forget that lean arms are often wiry and energetic. Don’t forget that true beauty is what’s inside and will spill out like a squeezed ripe mango dripping delicious juice. Don’t forget that it was God Himself who made you, unique, special and dearly loved. Don’t forget that if you are doing our best to live well under God’s direction, it's enough.

And more importantly, what’s the shape of your heart? Is it always open to allow God’s love to keep flowing in? Does its valve work perfectly so that His compassion can flow out of you to a hurting world? Take a long hard look at yourself today. Smile at that beautiful or handsome face in the mirror. Accept that youthful or aging body. Know with joy that it’s a container for the LIVING GOD. We are each the perfect shape for the Holy Spirit. After all, He made us. And God knows what He’s doing.

 

Go on ... be YOU!

You’re the perfect shape for God’s dwelling place.

 

 

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power

 is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

“So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, 

continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him 

strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and 

overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6