The Clothers...

We Are God's Potatoes

Give 100 people in a room each a potatoe and ask them to study it for one minute. Throw the potatoes all in a pile, and send each person looking for theirs. Everyone will end up reunited with their potatoe. Amazing.

Peel the potatoes, and it's much harder.  Mash them, and its game over.

 I realized the other day, that I was not just forgetting the names  of people I had met recently, but I wasn't remembering their faces.

That's a symptom of moving too fast, of people looking like a pile of potatoes, maybe even mashed potatoes, to me. I need to slow down and really invest time, even just one focused minute, with the people I meet; much more with the people I do life with.

I have to admit, some times my Latino neighbors all look the same to me, brown people with black hair; brown and black mashed potatoes. It's because I haven't stopped long enough to gaze into each person's face and take in their uniqueness, to learn their name, as difficult as it can be to communicate sometimes.

I'm glad God sees us as individuals. Check out Psalm 139 here. He created us as individuals to be known and loved and to love Him. He doesn't want us to all be mashed potatoes in the name of Jesus, he doesn't even want us to peel off all our distinctive traits. He wants us to be be potatoes in His pile for His purposes. And He can pick each one of us out of the pile!

What do people look like to you? Are you taking the time with the potatoes God brings into your life? Are you letting others see the real potatoe in you? Are you comfortable in your own skin before God and others?

 

 

Rubber Band Ball

Three years ago, as we settled into our new home in Oxnard, I began a rubber band ball with the rubber bands that came around most of our daily papers. It was a mere novelty at first.

Then some days when I found myself frustrated that I hadn't accomplished more, I found satisfaction in adding one more rubber band to my little rubber band ball.

Although seemingly insignificant, I was aware of each little contribution I had made. I joked with my co-workers about how when I didn't feel I was making a difference in my work, at least I could add a rubber band and feel I'd gotten something done that day.

More recently, as I add rubber bands to my growing rubber band ball, I realize that everyday we have a choice to do something small that matters. And even though it doesn't seem to make a difference today, the little things add up. 

The little things make a big difference, even if we can't see or feel it in the moment. The little things define our character. The little things demonstrate our love. 

How are you adding to your rubber band ball?