Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 125, Hosea 9-10

Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.

Hosea 10:1 ESV

God has given us every good gift to enjoy. He has blessed us with heat and sunshine and air to breathe. He has given us homes to live in and children to fill them. He has blessed us with abundant food and wealth. He has given us eyes to see, ears to hear, and minds to comprehend. Yet, what do we do with all of these gifts?

Do we enjoy them or neglect them? Do we praise Him or take credit for them? Do we use them for good or for evil?

• When was the last time you thanked God for the children sitting around your table or clinging to your legs?
• When was the last time you thanked the Lord for dirty dishes and floors littered with clothes and toys?
• When was the last time you took a leisurely walk outside and thanked God for the blue sky and warm sun?

It seems that the more full our homes and lives become, the less interested we become in the Lord. Why is that? Why would the Lord bless us with more if it will just turn our hearts away from Him?

His mercy keeps us begging for our daily bread. His mercy makes us hunger for the gift of a child. His mercy keeps us dependent on Him for a roof over our head and money in our bank account.

Sunday night I flew home after spending six long days and five short nights with my daughter and her three children under five. It was hard. It was messy. It was exhausting. But, oh, the memories it brought back.

Like all good farmers, this soil-preparing, seed-sowing, plant-tending work requires rising early and working late, but oh does it bear GREAT FRUIT.

Last week, while I sat on the floor building trains with the 4.5 year old and 2.5 year old, we listened to “Sing the Bible” Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 by Slugs and Bugs on Pandora. “The Ox Song,” based on Proverbs 14:4, croons, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” How true!

No children = no legos to step on, no trains to pick up, no diapers to change.

But no children also means no little ones to put a smile on your face and joy in your heart and no older ones to help care for you in your old she.

Oh, dear younger moms, like Hannah Harper’s viral “String Cheese” lyrics say,

One day I’ll be alone with a hot fresh cup of Joe
Wishing that someone would just drop by
And I’ll sit and reminisce, the times that I sure miss
Scattered toys and a baby on my hip
I thought finding peace in the quiet’s what I wanted
But I’d give anything to go back to being needed

Heavenly Father, Help me to be faithful in the little things that You might entrust to me more things. Help me to be thankful for every single little gift, the birds that sing before the sun rises, the wind that blows gently through the trees, the sound of trickling water. Thank You for giving me eyes that see and ears that hear. Thank You for giving me a mind and heart that know You. And thank you especially for the children and grandchildren that you have blessed me with. May I be grateful for every day and every memory. The days are indeed long, but oh are the years so short. Amen.