Valerie Rae Hanneman
Deuteronomy 4:35 (NIV) “You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides Him there is no other.”
I love to drink fruit smoothies. I have a preference for just one flavor at a time in the glass - peach is my favorite - but I have also been known to go for two combined flavors. And I really like it when there is cream to mix into the blended fruit & ice. My friend at work brought in some homemade smoothies, it had several flavors in it - truly a unique combination. It was an ugly color - so I looked at it with trepidation - but she is my friend and although it was an ugly looking thing I was fairly confident that it wasn’t intended to poison me. In fact, Sherry said that it was very healthy for me (now I am not so confident - but she is my friend!). I took a little sip and it wasn’t half bad. It wasn’t as sweet as the ones you buy in restaurants and juice bars, probably because there wasn’t any added sugars, but I was able to finish it with no problem.
I have been working a lot of hours lately. I go through this every year at this same time. I work for a non-profit corporation and we are required to have an annual audit done. In addition, every one of our funding sources has a report (or two) due in either January or early February. As the CFO I am responsible to make sure that everything gets done on time. I don’t mind the extra hours at this time of the year because I have a great deal of flexibility during the rest of the year. This year, though, it seems to be harder than ever before, and I feel more tired than I ever have before. Dealing with a couple of health issues have just made things even more complicated. I come home from work and fall asleep almost immediately, then I hit the snooze alarm in the morning until I am right on the borderline and have to jump out of bed and rush to get ready to go to work. There has been another new side effect as well. I am not my normal upbeat self. I am irritable and irritating, making comments that are just this side of nasty-mean, having little patience with myself, and even less patience with others. I definitely have not been exhibiting the fruit of the Spirt. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control don’t seem to be part of my vocabulary or lifestyle anymore. This is not a good thing. I am not being a good witness for Christ when I am acting like this and I am harming my witness to others - particularly to those who know me as a Christian.
What I need is a fruit of the Spirit smoothie every morning. Wouldn’t that be just the thing? To mix up fresh fruit of the Spirit with milk, ice and maybe a dollop of whipping creme on the top to finish it off? I could drink it down then all day long I would react to every situation with love, joy peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. No matter how tired I was from working, or stressed from the health concerns, it would never show to the world. My witness for Christ would remain strong. Is this just a great idea? I think it is - in fact I think it is such a great idea that I am going to suggest it to Father.
And then it hit me - just when was I going to do that? In the few minutes late at night when I mumble - through my yawns - and routinely thank Father for my day? Or in the morning when I hit the snooze alarm and sleep rather than spend my accustomed time with Him? Somehow I don’t think that “Oh, lord! I’m late again!” qualifies as heartfelt morning communication with God. I know, I will look up that verse - it is in one of Paul’s epistles - and bring my idea to Father then. Only I have been so busy I haven’t been in the Word in awhile - do I even know where my hard copy Bible is?
What I wanted was a quick fix to what I am going through - a fruit of the Spirit smoothie - that would make me feel right again - make me normal again. What I realized was that I was so wrapped up in the things of the world that I was ignoring the things that are my world. The vitalness of my relationship with the Living God, the sweetness of time spent in His presence just talking to Him, the power that is in His Words to me - recorded in the Bible.
My change in attitude is not caused by my working extra hours or by my health concerns. It is because I have become distracted and have taken my focus off of my Lifesource. Once I realized what I had done - what I had sacrificed - in order to focus on the world’s problems, there was an immediate change. I pray at night standing up, it is a little hard to fall asleep that way. My alarm clock is moved to a spot further away from my bed so that I actually have to wake up more fully in order to turn it off. And guess what!?! I am feeling pretty upbeat lately. I am still working long hours - but my attitude has undergone a major adjustment. My focus is once again firmly on My God and King, and He works in me and produces the fruit of the Spirit. It may not be as easy as drinking down a fruit smoothie - but it most certainly is more satisfying!
LORD and King, I take my focus off of You and my life starts falling apart until I realize how foolish I have been and turn back to You. You really are my Lifesource, the reason for my existence, my One and Only. Help me to keep my focus where it belongs - on You.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Posted by Valerie at February 23, 2007 08:49 PM