Monday, January 01, 2018

OLW 2018

In 2017, my OLW was ROOTED.  (I'll put links at the end of the post to all my One Little Words since I started this in 2009, so you can meditate on the rather pathetic fact that I have the very same issues every single year.)

I started thinking about my 2018 word about a month ago, and there was really only ever one word on my list: ENOUGH.  I want to remind myself that God's daily provision will be ENOUGH for me, without hoarding or fretting.  He will also give me what I need so that I can be ENOUGH for what the people around me need from me. 
"Pain du ciel" means "bread from the sky," and refers to the manna that fell in the wilderness in the book of Exodus.  The people were to collect it every day, and only enough for that day; if they tried to stick some extra in Tupperware for tomorrow, it would go bad.  The exception was on Friday; they were to collect two days' worth, and the manna never went bad on the Sabbath.  The provision came when they needed it, not before.

Chances are that my provision won't come from the sky; it might even come in a lopsided truck like the one in the photo.  But I know from experience that God will provide for me, and that His provision will be ENOUGH.  I don't need to worry that I'm missing out on something I should have had or that someone else's manna is a tiny bit more delicious than mine.  (Even Jesus limited Himself to one human life - and it was ENOUGH.)

2009: LOOK
2010: LOVED
2011: TRUST
2012: HEAL
2013: SHALOM
2014: GARDEN
2015: UNAFRAID
2016: LOVED

This post is linked to Spiritual Journey First Thursday at Reflections on the Teche.

8 comments:

Irene Latham said...

Ruth, this is the ultimate faith, isn't it? To trust we will be provided for. Something that helps me is to look back and see all the ways I have been cared for -- things I had nothing to do with or any control over -- and that awareness helps me move through the world more easily (without so much anxiety, worry, fear...). May bread fall from every sky for you whenever you need it most! So glad you joined the roundup. xo

Violet N. said...

Oh Ruth, how great is it to see your link on Margaret's widget this morning! You crack me up with this bit: "I'll put links at the end of the post to all my One Little Words since I started this in 2009, so you can meditate on the rather pathetic fact that I have the very same issues every single year."

I love your word ENOUGH. It's elastic, perfect for many scenarios. (I'm going to add it to my bucket list of words for the future.)

Margaret Simon said...

I have to constantly tell myself that I am enough. God gives us this grace, but we hesitate to take it. I hope your year shows you this truth. Thanks for joining the round up today and sharing your vulnerability.

jan godown annino said...

Ruth, hello. Appreciations for this meditation on enough, which is what I feel I have.
It reminds me also, that collectively we have enough brains in the world to do all the things we need to do to have peace, provide food & a soul-nourishing life for all. Fortunately I see so many of the younger generation thinking about making sure that enough gets around.

Carol Varsalona said...

Ruth, enough is an amazing word that is filled with such spiritual significance. While we think of enough as it relates to food, it is the spiritual side of the word that is appealing to me. What is enough is the question I need to find the answer to.

Patricia J. Weaver said...

My granny always would tell me that we are all created enough in Gods eyes... that it was when we let the devil's influences into our life that we started questioning if we were enough. She always added that we travel a road with paths of temptation branching off... that only with God's direction could we avoid the wrong way.

We all need to stride for enough.

Ramona said...

Love your word for this year. I join you in the realization that I too have the same issues every year. I identify with your focus that not only will God provide enough for you, but that he will allow you to be enough for what the people around you need. We're facing many health issues in our small congregation. As the leader for our women's ministry, I constantly struggle with being enough. You've reminded me that the Lord can help. Thanks for this post and your OLW.

Doraine said...

Ruth, I laughed aloud when I read your introduction. Only because you voiced what we all probably feel. Still working on those same issues, again and again. I've often wondered when I read that story in Exodus how often they were tempted to stuff some manna into a cloth and hide it away. And how long it took for them to realize there would be more tomorrow. And what it meant about their picture of God and their willingness to trust in his goodness. So easy to look at the story and wonder why they didn't trust more. And then I turn around and do the same thing in different ways. Praying that your provision will be enough, that your faith will be enough, that your joy will be more than enough in the coming year.