Faith and Prayer #37

Dear Glorious Saints,

Yesterday I was pondering God as our Father and I wrote in my journal, “God is our Father. What ‘good’ father withholds something good from his child unless there is something better to be given?” Then the Lord reminded me of the movie, “The Ultimate Gift.”

In this story the selfish, worldly playboy grandson goes to the reading of his extremely wealthy grandfather’s will expecting to come away with a huge bundle. Instead, the grandfather has left him with 12 tasks to perform and complete satisfactorily before he can receive his inheritance. As the tasks are revealed we see that they are all character building exercises that involve selfless things like becoming someone’s friend and giving from the heart. Through the course of the movie, as he jumps though his grandfather’s hoops the young man begins to change and grow to become the good hearted person that the grandfather always knew he could be, thus receiving the “ultimate gift.”

Later yesterday afternoon I came to realize that something that I had been looking forward to and expecting had come and then totally evaporated. Completely gone!
I was, of course, very disappointed but instead of my normal reactions I found myself praising the Lord. I was able to keep the “bears” of discouragement, self-pity and despair out and instead was thanking the Lord for His love for me and His good gift. Instead of withering, this little tree took a deep drink and stood, only just a little pale in the heat.

And I say to You this morning, Lord, I love You. I love You. I love You. Even when it feels like You have put me through the wringer, I love You. Even when the carrot is so close that I can almost grab it and You seem to move the stick, I love You. And I know that You are a good Father, the very best. You do love me and have my highest good in mind in all Your ways and in all You do toward me.

He is your Father too; and He loves you with the same kind of love that wants you to have the very best, the ultimate gift.

Believing and still standing,

Marianne