One handful is just enough!

Have you ever noticed how a handful is just enough? It’s not too much and it’s not too little. Depending on the size of your hand depends on how much you need in order to be satisfied and how much you can take care of responsibly. God is so good. He’s made our hands to be about the same size as our hearts. So as our hearts grow, so do our hands; and the opposite is just as true; as our hands grow bigger, our hearts grow bigger. God has given you just the right amount of children, and they are a blessing to you. And if you will allow Him, God will give you just the right amount for the size of your hands and hearts.

Here’s an interesting truth…children were made for you. You weren’t made for them. The blessing with kids is not for them…it’s for you! God wants to “bless us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Eph 1:3 NIV, so one of the ways He does that is to give you children. And if not your own physical children, then spiritual children, and hopefully both. Children are one of the primary tools that God uses to shape us into His image, to keep us willing to stay on the Potter’s wheel long enough to be shaped into a vessel that’s worth using.

There are so many aspects to that shaping; like the verses in Galations 6:7-10 that talk about sowing and reaping, like the being faithful in the small things so that you can be ruler over much (Matthew 25:23,) like finding out just exactly what absolutely has to happen and what can wait, etc. There’s so much to learn. But here is a freeing thought…you will never learn it all!! Isn’t that great? You will never arrive!! How awesome! God in His wisdom knew that we needed to continue to grow and learn and He wants us to grow up to be like Him.

So in this lifetime we only have to learn the lessons that He’s teaching us right now. If we’re in kindergarten, we don’t have to learn algebra this year! Praise God! There’s a book whose title reads, “Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten.” That’s just a true thing. The basics for a successful life are simple truths. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or what you think you know, these simple truths will still be important and foundational…even at 80 years old!

So what are those things? Just a handful of very simple truths…

· Love God
· Love Mom & Dad
· Love People
· Speak Lovingly
· Work Cheerfully

Guess what else? God uses a lot of discovery learning. He tells you something, then He lets you discover that what He said was true. There are as many ways of discovering as there are different kinds of people…
Trial and error
experimenting
analyzing
researching
practicing…
are a few of them. The Bible is full of examples, every different kind of personality is represented. God is FOR you. He loves you! So…He blesses you. I’m so thankful that He’s blessed you with children. It’s so awesome to see how He’s growing you up and causing you to look like His Son. I pray that God will continue to bless you as you seek to honor Him. I’m so thankful that He’ll never give you more that your hand will hold. ;)

(By the way the hand, is the hand of my second son, Robert, who is now 22 years old. They really do grow up amazingly fast.)