Chips, Spam, and Jesus

I have an emergency supply of potato chips and Chili Cheese Fritos in my desk. The mini-one size-serving-bags have been tucked safely away for several months.  No worries.  They have a shelf life similar to that of radium.  And they are nearly as dangerous.  They will not nuke your system but they will certainly corrode your internal power plant.  Still, I keep them around for desperate moments.  I have not opened even one bag so far.  I have been satisfied to take them from the drawer and stroke their plasticized packaging.  Each bag contains a one ounce serving.  Each ounce contains ten grams of fat.  One ounce.  Ten grams.  I'm playing with fire.  There use to be a drawer reserved for Twinkies and Hostess Cup Cakes but ... well...

Seems like there are a lot of things we hold in reserve for an emergency.  We don't use credit cards when we can avoid it at our house but there is always an empty one available "just in case."  (Don't tell Dave Ramsey.)  We do not stockpile food but I suspect we could survive a couple of weeks on the canned goods and frozen items that have been tucked away since we got married back in '77.  Honestly, some of this is stuff we will never eat unless there is an emergency.  Come on over.  We'll have roasted Spam with a bowl of Cream of Shoe Lace soup.  Yummy.  I avoid digging to the bottom of the food pile.  We lost track of a hamster back when the kids were small.  I've always wondered... never mind.  We have enough blankets and "throws" to supply a Red Cross relief shelter.  You get the idea.  We are not planning for the apocalypse.  But if it comes we won't have a line drawn through our names in the first week.

And then there is God. Yes, God.  I was having some much needed time alone with Him shortly after this new year kicked-off.  I love sitting in my home office, quieting my spinning mind, opening my Bible, listening to some quiet worshipful music, and inviting Him to come and sit with me.  Often times He takes me up on my offer.  We might just sit silently ... enjoying the moment.  Occasionally He speaks clearly (though inaudibly.)  I love those moments.  What could be better than knowing the Living God is speaking into your heart?  When He speaks it is always good news.  Even when He is correcting you.  To hear God speak means there is hope!  To realize that in all of creation He has singled you out to sit and engage in conversation with ... it just does not get much better than that.  It was such an energizing moment.  Positively transforming.  And it made me wonder ... why do I sometimes keep God on the back burner?  Why don't I give Him the best moments of my day every day?  Could it be that I fall into the trap of making God my fail-safe?  You know what I mean.  "If everything else fails, at least God will be there."  I do not do that on purpose.  But that does not mean that I do not do it.

I do.

And so I am going to stop.  God is not the Red Cross.  He does not just rush in when we have a moment of crises, working to get our lives back up and running until He has us stabilized and then retreat back to fund raising in preparation for our next major cataclysmic event.  What a horrible way to short-change God!  He is the lover of our souls.  The joy of our hearts.  The originator of our first breath.  The giver of second chances.  And third chances.  And fourth chances.  And one millionth chances.  He is our sanity.  Our balance.  Our reason to get up and face the world.  He is ... God.

If I do nothing else worthwhile in 2013 I will love God with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength.  I will dance as He sings over me (Zephaniah 3: 17.)  I will shed tears of joy as He writes my name on the Palm of His Hand (Isaiah 49: 16.)

God.  If I have kept you hidden in the drawers of my life like a bag of potato chips or unwanted Spam, please, please, please, forgive me.  Come into the light, take my hand, and lead me into moments of unspeakable wonder and joy as we spend this year together.  This life I live was created by you and you are welcome to take it and mold it in any way that pleases you.  And you do not need to ask me first.  Yes, you are the potter.  I am the clay.

It's amazing what you can learn from a bag of chips.