New treasures as well as old ...
Tonight we had mashed potatoes with dinner. You would have thought that I had invented mashed potatoes from the amount of delight that filled Katya's entire being. Dancing, twirling, "Yum, yum, yumming!" all around the kitchen as we added the butter, milk, mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise), salt, pepper. We sat down at the table, prayed, and then nearly palpable anticipation filled the room as I spooned "kar-TAW-fyel" onto Katya's plate.
Delight! The sprinkler in the backyard. The lawn mowers at Lowe's. Dr. Seuss! All bring expressions of delight like I've never seen. My temptation is to increasingly up the ante to illicit as much enthusiasm from Katya as possible because I LOVE her delight. And yet, another voice, a wiser voice, says, "No."
So, we're keeping it simple, staying close to home, doing chores, reading books, going to the library, playing with Playdough, gluing fuzzy balls onto blue paper, doing normal life in the Finley household.
But tonight was mashed potatoes. And, this was a little sneaky on my part because I had reason to expect that mashed potatoes would be a BIG hit. When we were in Ukraine this spring, massive quantities of mashed potatoes were served to our ministry team. And the pay-off in our dining room tonight was good. Katya ate three HUGE helpings of mashed potatoes.
New sights, sounds, smells alongside the familiar.
The kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. Matthew 13:52
God is and will continue to bring new treasures out of His storeroom. But, He brings out the old treasures as well. He gives us new hearts, new names, a new identity in Christ. He releases us from captivity, brings sight to our eyes, and binds up our broken hearts. And then, wonder of wonders, invites us to join Him in bringing out the old treasures alongside the new. We get to be co-laborers with Christ - to rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated, to renew the ruined cities and rejoice in our inheritance. (Isaiah 61) Ancient treasures alongside the new thing that is springing up in these days.
So, as I bring out new treasures to delight Katya's heart, I'm also bringing out old treasures and delighting in them myself. I'm considering the deeper work that God is doing in all of our hearts as we take joy in Katya's delight. I'm asking God to pour out from His storehouse all the treasure, old and new, our hearts can receive. and then enlarge our capacity to receive even more.
Mashed potatoes anyone?