I’m a fan of standup. I love laughing more than a lot of things… things like Monsters, the beach, and snowboarding.
One of my all time favorite acts is done by Brian Regan, who seems to grow funnier with repetition.
Its an old school shpeel as he pretends to open a poptart and read the instructions for cooking given on the box (First off, who really “cooks” a poptart? And secondly, who needs instructions to do so? Alas, they are actually there, and are RIDICULOUS… the instructions they have to put on things absolutely baffles me).
Within the act, he says something that makes me giggle every time I think of it… but now makes me step back a little and say, “… hmmm.”
The line goes something like this: “And here are the microwave instructions. 1. Remove pastry from pouch. 2. Microwave on high for 3 seconds. If you have to zapfry your poptart, you might want to loosen up your schedule.”
As the whole world knows, this upcoming week is finals week (why I’m here hanging out with you is beyond me… I really should be studying for the test that provoked this rampant writing.)
My very first test is in New Testament… a class that has brought me to a mirror to look at the dirty, ugly image that is my soul, and then showed me a God that is behind me with a washcloth, ready to clean me up and make me lovely.
As I dug through notes tonight, writing everything down on 3x5 cards, I came across a point Dr. Williams made that makes total sense to me and causes me to have faith in progressive transformation.
God has principals for growth.
Growth, within the Bible, is compared to farming.
You work the ground.
You plant a seed.
You water it gently.
You pluck the weeds around it.
You care for the little teeny tiny bit of green that shoots up from the ground weeks after you planted that seed.
You water.
You pluck.
You watch.
You water.
You pluck.
Until finally, it grows big enough to produce fruit.
Then you prune your pretty little plant, so that next time, it’ll bear more fruit….
Better fruit.
I think a lot of times, we believe that when we ask for forgiveness, God is going to give us a dose of steroids to bulk us up to be the way we need to be.
But He doesn’t do that… because that’s cheating.
Its robotic… and it goes against the beauty of free will.
Growth isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight… and the Divine doesn’t expect that.
I believe He expects you to move in the direction of bearing fruit… to make the effort in wanting to change.
A seed doesn’t grow itself… it would die if it didn’t have the proper care.
Growth doesn’t happen in zapfry instant…. And thank goodness for that, because I would be seriously concerned with myself.
Within the past year, I’ve had the privilege of seeing God in a new way.
66 books, cover to cover, of things that He’s said and given to us, as a way to show us that He wants to be involved in our lives.
That being said, I’ve gotten to see a God that looks at me with all of my blemishes and disgusting dirt stains, and instead of brushing me off as the hopeless case that I am, He grabs me and pulls me close to Him with no intent of letting go.
I’ve always known that He does this… but through awful mistakes, horrid heartache and brokenness, it sometimes is a vague memory that flits through my mind and seems unbelievable.
Some of those who read this will scoff at my “horrible mistakes” remark.
That kills me.
I’ll never understand why there is a pride issue over whose sin is worse.
Yeah, I’m the “good girl”… but what’s up with the label that is only there to make those who use it look more ba and me want to prove that it isn’t true?
You believe a lie from the depths of hell and cause me to stumble.
Why do you want to be considered worse than me, the “good girl?”
Alright, back to the main point, and onto the wrap up.
We grow slowly.
A kid (with the exception of my siblings) doesn’t go from being 3’2 to 5’10 overnight.
Growth isn’t a toaster pastry… and I’m not a pop tart.
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