Manna

Just a quick post to say I'm ahead of schedule on choosing my word for 2022:

Manna.

The bread from heaven that fed the Israelites for years.  What it means to me (and why it's been on my heart for a bit) is that God provides the correct amount of grace that He knows I will need DAY BY DAY.  They took enough for one day's food, and if they took extra, it would rot and mold.  They had to gather daily, but God gave them extra before the Sabbath so that they didn't have to work that day.  It was divine provision for their practical needs, and it was measured out in daily portions according to what He knew each person or family would need.  I LOVE THAT, both the reality and the metaphor.  I don't have to look far ahead into my future or panic or feel anxious about gathering extra energy and strength for what might be coming months down the line.  God already knows and will be there with me, and to quote Jesus, "today's trouble is enough for today."  God's grace will be sufficient for my needs through every joyful celebration and every hard moment along the way.

That promise is such a gift!  But the other part of what this means to me is that God is offering me this daily gift, but He's not force-feeding it.  I have to choose to seek Him daily in order to receive it.  The Israelites had to go outside, gather the manna from the ground, grind it into flour, then boil it and make it into cakes or pastries that they would eat and enjoy (Numbers 11:8).  There was a very clear divine gift, but there was also work involved on their end.  

So Jesus is obviously the bread of life, and His presence is what will sustain me and keep me in peace and joy day by day.  But if I don't make time for Him (prayer, Scripture, worship, generally turning my heart to Him throughout the day), then I will be spiritually starved and lack the grace I need to love Him and myself and others well!!  So as I move toward a new chapter that may include some overwhelming moments through the adoption process and navigating life as a single mom, this is a tiny word that says a lot to my heart.  It obviously won't be perfect, but to the best of my ability, I want to choose to stay in peace and trust in God's daily provision of grace to always be enough for me, one day at a time, doing nothing apart from Him! ❤

And my verse for 2022 will be Luke 15:31:

"My dear child, you are always with Me,

and everything I have is yours."

❤❤❤