Miami and me
I was thinking the other day about how parallel my relationship with Miami is with my relationship with God.
Miami and I have such an awesome bond. We trust each other completely. I will spread yogurt or fruit juice on my finger, and Miami will lick it off. Many of my friends think I'm crazy, since hamster bites can hurt a lot, but I trust Miami wholeheartedly to not bite me. Conversely, Miami trusts me to provide her with food, water, a clean cage, and a little bit of playtime every day. She's a pretty smart ham, and I don't think she wants to starve to death or anything. She trusts that I will take care of her and never let her down.
God and I trust each other that way, too. I trust that God will do a lot of things. I'm 22, and I certainly hope that I will get a job, get married, get a new car, etc. I trust that God is going to provide those things for me. In a more general sense, I trust that God will always provide for me. I may not get a job for a few years, or I may not get the job that I want. In that case, I trust that God will take care of me and always provide for me.
Likewise, after I dedicated my life to Christ, God has entrusted me with much. God trusts that I will live a Godly life in every way. God trusts that I will do what he asks me to do. It sounds simple but it is far from it. God trusts that I will do whatever he asks, and that might mean dropping everything to go where he wants or do what he wants. It might mean waiting - which is often the hardest thing of all. And it should always mean praising and rejoicing!
Miami and I have such an awesome bond. We trust each other completely. I will spread yogurt or fruit juice on my finger, and Miami will lick it off. Many of my friends think I'm crazy, since hamster bites can hurt a lot, but I trust Miami wholeheartedly to not bite me. Conversely, Miami trusts me to provide her with food, water, a clean cage, and a little bit of playtime every day. She's a pretty smart ham, and I don't think she wants to starve to death or anything. She trusts that I will take care of her and never let her down.
God and I trust each other that way, too. I trust that God will do a lot of things. I'm 22, and I certainly hope that I will get a job, get married, get a new car, etc. I trust that God is going to provide those things for me. In a more general sense, I trust that God will always provide for me. I may not get a job for a few years, or I may not get the job that I want. In that case, I trust that God will take care of me and always provide for me.
Likewise, after I dedicated my life to Christ, God has entrusted me with much. God trusts that I will live a Godly life in every way. God trusts that I will do what he asks me to do. It sounds simple but it is far from it. God trusts that I will do whatever he asks, and that might mean dropping everything to go where he wants or do what he wants. It might mean waiting - which is often the hardest thing of all. And it should always mean praising and rejoicing!
posted by Tidy Bowl at
2:28 PM
5 Comments:
"...I trust that God will take care of me and always provide for me."
He may open the door somehow, but it is up to you to walk through it.
Free will vs. faith, my friend.
Have a Merry Christmas.
By
Michael Swartz, At
December 24, 2005 5:28 PM
Oh, absolutely, Michael.
But I know that God is never going to leave me high and dry, totally destitute and with no possible escape.
Sometimes God opens a door. Sometimes it's only a window. Yes, it's up to me to walk through it. But He will always make a way.
By
Tidy Bowl, At
December 24, 2005 7:12 PM
In response to your comment that the economy is OK... read the following: This is by EPI President Lawrence Mishel and Policy Director Ross Eisenbrey, Economic Policy Institute, 12-24-05
(though, I doubt that the facts will change your mind. You are too blinded by your party loyalty to an absolute fool.)
1. Profits are up, but the wages and the incomes of average Americans are down.
. Profits are up, but the wages and the incomes of average Americans are down.
Inflation-adjusted hourly and weekly wages are still below where they were at the start of the recovery in November 2001. Yet, productivity—the growth of the economic pie—is up by 13.5%.
Wage growth has been shortchanged because 35% of the growth of total income in the corporate sector has been distributed as corporate profits, far more than the 22% in previous periods.
Consequently, median household income (inflation-adjusted) has fallen five years in a row and was 4% lower in 2004 than in 1999, falling from $46,129 to $44,389.
2. More and more people are deeper and deeper in debt.
The indebtedness of U.S. households, after adjusting for inflation, has risen 35.7% over the last four years.
The level of debt as a percent of after-tax income is the highest ever measured in our history. Mortgage and consumer debt is now 115% of after-tax income, twice the level of 30 years ago.
The debt-service ratio (the percent of after-tax income that goes to pay off debts) is at an all-time high of 13.6%.
The personal savings rate is negative for the first time since WWII.
3. Job creation has not kept up with population growth, and the employment rate has fallen sharply.
The United States has only 1.3% more jobs today (excluding the effects of Hurricane Katrina) than in March 2001 (the start of the recession). Private sector jobs are up only 0.8%. At this stage of previous business cycles, jobs had grown by an average of 8.8% and never less than 6.0%.
The unemployment rate is relatively low at 5%, but still higher than the 4% in 2000. Plus, the percent of the population that has a job has never recovered since the recession and is still 1.3% lower than in March 2001. If the employment rate had returned to pre-recession levels, 3 million more people would be employed.
More than 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since January 2000.
4. Poverty is on the rise.
The poverty rate rose from 11.3% in 2000 to 12.7% in 2004.
The number of people living in poverty has increased by 5.4 million since 2000.
More children are living in poverty: the child poverty rate increased from 16.2% in 2000 to 17.8% in 2004.
5. Rising health care costs are eroding families' already declining income.
Households are spending more on health care. Family health costs rose 43-45% for married couples with children, single mothers, and young singles from 2000 to 2003.
Employers are cutting back on health insurance. Last year, the percent of people with employer-provided health insurance fell for the fourth year in a row. Nearly 3.7 million fewer people had employer-provided insurance in 2004 than in 2000. Taking population growth into account, 11 million more people would have had employer-provided health insurance in 2004 if the coverage rate had remained at the 2000 level.
By
crallspace, At
December 25, 2005 5:36 PM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
By
crallspace, At
December 27, 2005 12:43 AM
Crall, you're bothered when my comments on your blog are not, in your judgement, closely related to the topic. Yet not a single comment on my blog has been even remotely related to the topic.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
1 John 4:7
Try it... you just might be surprised.
By
Tidy Bowl, At
December 27, 2005 1:43 AM
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