September has arrived and school is back in session. For me that means Isaac and I are sitting down to our first full year of home schooling. He’s in grade six now and I’ve decided this year to assign blocks of time and then anything he doesn’t get done in that block means he has homework, if he gets done early, it’s free time. So far it seems to be working. I definitely feel less pressure to get through things quickly.
I think in one of my last blog posts I talked about God lighting up the way like a runway. As if to confirm that for me, over the last week I have had several experiences in which God placed huge “This is the right decision to make” signs in front of me.
I was sharing these experiences with a loved one and they responded that they had never really received those types of signs. And then we started talking about whether or not God plays favorites. I think that the obvious answer to that question is no. But it’s similar to discussions I’ve had with my priest about whether everyone gets into heaven. I’ll share his analogy. In your own home, when a stranger knocks on your door do you invite them in? Sit down to dinner with them? Or is that invitation reserved for those who you know intimately and who know you?
I actually believe that God has already invited everyone in for dinner. And that he keeps a basket of gifts beside the door that he is just waiting to shower us with. The problem is not that God won’t invite us in, it’s more that we can’t bring ourselves to walk up and knock on the door. We allow fear and doubt to get in our way. We listen to others who tell us that God doesn’t exist, instead of listening to the truth in our heart.
And here’s the thing, the more you knock on that door, the more you sit down and spend time with God, have a conversation with him, the more you allow him to give you those gifts that he is keeping for you. It’s not that God plays favorites, he loves every single one of us exactly the same amount. Jesus says that he will leave the 99 to find the 1 lost sheep. But that sheep has to want to be found. God will get down on his knees for you. He will sacrifice his only son for you. He will spend the entirety of your life calling out to you, but you have free will, you have to decide for yourself to answer that invitation. You have to decide to walk up to that door and knock. And if you do, the next time a friend shares a story of God’s blessings and gifts in their lives, you’ll have a story to share too.
God bless,
Meredith
finchmeredith1 