Grit and Glory

I much too frequently begrudge the gritty stuff of the world, the demands and inconveniences of every day, the wearing out of stuff and the wearing down of body. But it is in these things where the glory of God often makes itself known.

I tend to separate earthly and spiritual, leaning toward the peaceful "heavenly" things and sometimes resisting the needy earthy things that encompass my days, to say nothing of the needs of the people I know. Often my heart does not go toward them. I can resent it, feeling that it costs too much.

But I suspect that God sees the damaged whole as one huge amazing picture where the threads of His glory warp and weft right through the burlap-like fiber of life that tends to rub us raw. Oh God...let me see a more accurate glimpse of this world as You do. Let me see the hope and potential of the ragged situations that irritate me. Give me a desire to invite You into them, into my own heart more fully, to let You have full reign to do what You do, rather than bristle, shrug, and turn my back on the things that need Your redemption and healing. I'm sure You are already there, wondering why so many of Your people lag behind.

"On earth as it is in heaven."

Photograph: Driveway Stones, by Jenna