Ponderings
I have always been a ponderer, as was my dad before me. Dad
would spend much time thinking of things and planning things he might do. Since
he was an avid fisherman, he often conjured ways to make his fishing more
successful even though he was the best fisherman I ever knew. My dad often
thought of ways to keep warm on those long winter days when fishing from a hole
in the ice. Often he would catch enough fish to have a fish fry in the middle
of the fiercest winter. I remember a little “ice hut” he constructed to keep
the winter winds at bay and provide a warm place to sit while pulling fish from
under the ice.
For myself, even as a little girl, I would sit for hours
pondering about many things, but the one thing I remember thinking about for an
entire summer was having a grand parade. Of course, I was the grand leader of
my colorful caravan, riding a beautiful Palamino with a jeweled bridle and
saddle. I dreamed of my cowgirl outfit, also adorned with sequence and flash,
not to mention colorful boots with spurs. Sometimes I would imagine unusual
animals marching down the street wowing all who watched, like elephants and giraffes.
My mind even thought of how I would get these creatures to walk happily in my
imaginary parade. I was sure upon hearing, a zookeeper somewhere would
volunteer to bring these animals to the event of the century. I could spend
hours pondering these things.
I am still a ponderer! But now, it is God’s voice that I
strain to hear. To some, my ponderings seem nearly as far off as my elaborate
plans for the parade. They may seem crazy or impossible, but I know the God who
knew me in my mother’s womb and made plans for me even in my old age. So Jeremiah,
though he thought himself too young instead of too old, sent a message to me
this morning as I pondered my age and my work yet to do here on earth.
The Lord said to me, I knew you before you were formed
within your mother’s womb; before you were born, I sanctified you and appointed
you as my spokesman to the world.
O Lord God, I said, “I can’t do that; I’m far too young (or
old). Don’t say that, he replied, for you will go wherever I tell you to go.
And don’t be afraid, for I the Lord will be with you and see you through. Then
He touched my mouth and said, “See, I have put my words in your mouth! Today
your work begins.”
Jeremiah 1:4-10
You need not worry about my pondering; it includes not one
elephant, though it might seem slightly lofty for an old gal like me. But remembering
that God touched my mouth with his words and said, your work begins, I go
forward.
Someday, instead of an elaborate parade, I will have a grand
entrance as the Bible describes in 2 Peter.
For in this way there will be richly provided for you an
entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter
1:11 ESV
