The Gift

"I have the gift, and I give the gift to Ruth and Loralee and Olivia. Who has the gift?" As I was having my devotions this morning, memories of this game, "the gift," came to mind. To all you poor people who don't know the secret of the gift game, I'm not going to spoil it for you, keep trying to figure it out, but I wanted to share a little lesson that occurred to me for the first time today.

Christ has given us an immeasurable gift. The gift of redemption and of eternal life. If we really have His gift, it will change us and fill us and pour out to others.

 As the plan of redemption begins and ends with a gift, so it is to be carried forward. The same spirit of sacrifice which purchased salvation for us will dwell in the hearts of all who become partakers of the heavenly gift. Says the apostle Peter: "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Said Jesus to His disciples as He sent them forth: "Freely ye have received, freely give." In him who is fully in sympathy with Christ there can be nothing selfish or exclusive. He who drinks of the living water will find that it is "in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The Spirit of Christ within him is like a spring welling up in the desert, flowing to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish, eager to drink of the water of life. It was the same spirit of love and self-sacrifice which dwelt in Christ that impelled the apostle Paul to his manifold labors. "I am debtor," he says, "both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise." "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."  {5T 730.4} 

So this morning, I thought to myself, "Do I have the Gift?" Yet perhaps a better question would be, "Have you received the Gift? Have I shared my Gift with you?"

Rocks

Yesterday was another lovely day at home. It was especially nice because I started it with a morning run (went on another one this morning, I think I'm getting addicted). Anyway, this running thing must be contagious, because yesterday afternoon as I worked in a friend's garden my thoughts started running too.
I just couldn't believe how many rocks were in the soil. The soil itself wasn't very rich, and then there were so many rocks in it that when I first saw the garden I thought it was planted in gravel rather than soil. As I hoed away at the weeds I couldn't help but think that even though the weeds were quite plentiful, the garden would fare better if I just went through and raked up all the rocks. If this was my garden, there wouldn't be this many rocks in it. I would have raked them out before I planted. As thoughts like these floated through my mind the Lord impressed an object lesson on my heart.
There are rocks in my garden. Lots of them, and often I get to busy to remove them or I don't even notice them. Distractions and idols clutter my heart, making it hard for the love of God to grow there, yet somehow allowing the weeds of sin to take root. Do I eagerly rake out the rocks so that Christ can grow in me, or do I hang on to the earthly things that I seem to love so much? I think I'm going to go rake my garden.

Yum!

Today was my first day at home after graduating from Fountainview Academy, and home is more wonderful than I remembered. I woke up later than I'm used to, but it was still cool and misty because it had rained in the night. I tossed on my favorite zip-off pants, my old running shoes, and a hoodie, grabbed my sister and a warm water bottle, and went for a hike.
The hike wasn't too long, but it was pretty. Our acreage is at about 3000 ft of elevation, so it's a bit cooler around here and summer hasn't really arrived yet (right now I'm in our living room wearing a wool sweater and sitting by the crackling fire in our wood stove). Outside it's rather chilly, but the grass is tall and wet and green, and the spring flowers are still coming out.
After our little jaunt, my sister and I had our devotions and started on our day. I got a lot of violin practice done, and that felt good. I think the highlight of the day was this evening though. I helped mom make a traditional African meal of fresh garden veggies over cornmeal for supper, and my sister and I got to do an experiment for dessert. I've never made vegan/gluten free rice crispies before, and it's been so long since I had the real kind that I'd almost forgotten what they tasted like. Providentially, my little sis had some vegan marshmallows that she wanted to finish up, and we had some rice checks that I figured would be just as good as rice krispies.
At first they looked a little sketchy. Vegan marshmallows don't melt exactly the same as normal ones, they don't get quite as soft, so the cereal was rather difficult to mix in. My familiy laughed when they saw me trying to mix and shape the sticky mess. Some of my friends take pretty pictures of the food they make, and my sister thought I should do it too, but I thought I'd better not. It might be embarrassing.
I wish I could have a link here that made some of my rice crispies pop out of your computer screen and into your mouth when you clicked on it. They were so good. Childhood memories of sleepovers, birthday parties, and picnics floated through my mind as I chewed on my perfect little treat. It was sweet but not sickening, and the crunchy chewy balance was perfect. I'll have to make them again.
Praise the Lord for such a fun day.