Normal Stuff...

 

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” 2 Corinthians 9:6

So, you’ve heard stories from my front porch before. I’ve “staged” it, you know, I’ve set it up, as a gathering place of sorts. Even though it doesn’t often happen in the literal sense, my front porch is a constant reminder to me of my desperate need and desire for deep connection. 

*If you ever want to come sit a spell, I’m sure I’d enjoy that and you’re welcome just about any time, just give me a shout out ahead of time. 

So, yesterday when I came home completely soggy from the downpour of rain we’ve had here the last several days, my eyes caught sight of something a little “un-staged”. You can see in the picture that a little bird has decided to build its nest in one of my “cozy” cups. I was amazed and surprised and delighted all at the same time!

I woke up this morning, and as I lifted the shades, I noticed the little bird had been hard at work in the early morning hours. Much progress had been made and the cup was almost completely filled and embellished with what appears to be the start of a small opening which will serve as a doorway. 

God’s creation. Amazing. God’s ways. Inspiring. 

I never expected the cups to be used in this manner, in fact, I wanted to use them to create a moment of relationship with another human, but God always knows just what we need to bring joy into our hearts. And when. 

The tiny bird has no clue of what delight its bringing to my world today, its just doing what God created it to do. Normal stuff!

And so it is with you and I, my friend. We often have no idea the delight we may be bringing to God or to someone else we may correspond with in our day. We don’t always have to know either; we only need to focus on doing what God has created us to do, maybe even something seemingly mundane and normal, and it will happen. 

We don’t know the impact we may make on a discouraged soul. We may not know the effect our words will have on a weary, worn-down stranger. We might not have a clue how bad a friend or companion’s heart needs to feel loved. We might not even realize it’s happening, all while we do the normal stuff God has created us to do. Sowing seed is normal stuff,  maybe even mundane, but if we do it bountifully, the Word says we’ll reap bountifully. 

This is why we should strive to do all that we do “as unto the Lord” because we never know what He’ll turn our normal stuff into. We’ve all heard stories about learning, when we get to Heaven, of how our lives affected someone and how our simple acts of normal stuff was huge in their life. Sometimes we even find out in this lifetime and we’re shocked by the simplicity. We weren’t trying to do anything big or impressive, just the normal stuff...which God created us to do. 

If I remember correctly, while Jesus was on this earth, He was always taking normal stuff and turning it into extraordinary stuff. For example, He turned two fish and five loaves of bread into a buffet for many hungry listeners. At a wedding, He took normal, every day water and made delicious wine which surprised everyone. He also took a normal, foul-mouthed fisherman and turned Him into a mighty man of God who preached the salvation plan boldly on the day of Pentecost. Normal stuff turned extraordinary!

Let me encourage us today to do our normal stuff, sowing seed, as unto the Lord and allow Him to turn our normal into extraordinary. It might seem like we’re not making a difference, we might not feel any different and may never even know in this lifetime; but God can take our normal stuff and make it monumental. 

I’m sure you’ll hear more in the days to come about this little “cup of nest” but today I am inspired by it to do my normal stuff as unto the Lord. I pray I’ve inspired you to do so also. We CAN make a difference with the tiniest acts of our normal stuff...

Be blessed~

Here’s a quote I found and wanted to share:

“God didn’t add another day to your life because you needed it. He did it because someone out there needs you!”