We recently stopped for lunch at a very popular Bistro called Bliss in Peachland. They have excellent "made from scratch" soup, bread, desserts so I recommend them as a good place to have lunch in you are in the area.
I ordered a bowl of soup - gluten free - and a cup of coffee. When my husband, with a smirk on his face, carried the tray with our order to our table and placed my soup and coffee in front of me, I had to burst out laughing !
Something was wrong with the picture!!
The cup and the bowel were just NOT in proper balance regarding relative size!
I thought about this. I thought about how we all adhere to a certain standard. We expect things to be in balance. We are far more reluctant to move from what has been established as the rightful 'norm' than we would think. We don't really think about it, until something jars our senses and alerts us to note that something is out of balance.
Regarding the size imbalance of my soup bowl and coffee cup, it was something that tickled my sense of humor, but it did no harm - it caused no inconvenience.
But sometimes things out of balance do hurt.
When monthly expenses exceed income.
When time runs out before I can meet a deadline or keep an appointment.
When there are more people than food to feed them.
When my fatigue is greater than strength needed to complete a task.
When I have miles to go and no gas in the tank.
But then my thoughts lifted to a higher realm.
Does God look down on me and see an imbalance in the cup and bowl of my life?
Does my bowl of God-time look much smaller than my cup of me-time?
Does my bowl of faith shrink in size when compared to my cup of anxious worry?
Is my bowl of forgiveness much smaller than my cup of harbored grudges?
Is my bowl of unselfishness out sized by my cup of selfish me-focus?
Is my bowl of love overshadowed by my cup of fear?
Is my bowl of generosity much smaller than my cup of greed?
Is my bowl of trust in God's truth insignificant in relation to the size of my cup filled with the world's standards of right and wrong?
my prayer - "Dear Father, forgive me for where I have allowed my cup and bowl to be out of balance, where I am more filled up with myself than with you. Forgive me where I have not been careful to make the things of the Kingdom bigger than the things of this world. Jar my senses, Lord .. show me the imbalances in my life and teach me to be pleasing in your sight. I turn my eyes up to you, desiring that as I look I will reflect your love in my life. In Jesus' precious name, amen."
3 comments:
Thank you for these sobering thoughts, Julie. I'm sure most of us have some work to do at balancing our bowl and cup. :)
I love the lessons you find in everyday things. What a good reminder that we need balance in all areas of our life.
These thoughts can make you think, Julie ... from the funny imbalance to the hardships we may face to the higher realm. The funny imbalance would maybe not even seem funny to a new generation. Maybe the cup of coffee is more important than the cup of soup for those who have never starved and it's more about being social, when, in reality, we have been accustomed to nutrition being more important than the drink. Not sure if I am making sense, but it made me think.
May my cup of giving spill over and not be compared to my cup of expectations in return. It is easy to forget where our treasure is.
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