Missing The Obvious

I love picking fresh vegetables from my garden boxes. In the winter months, the greens and Bok Choy grow so well. I even had kept a few summer plants like the eggplant in my box as well. It had spread and grown over the summer, but didn't seem to produce any eggplants. But since it still looked sustainable, I kept it and essentially forgot it, until the day I went to pick my greens.

I had a overflowing basket of the most beautiful Bok Choy you have ever seen. While I was happily snipping and cutting the leaves, I happened to spread the leaves of that endurable eggplant, and to my surprise, there were three purple specimens! Wow, I never thought I would get any results, especially since this was not the exact time of the year for eggplant. But of course, our weather patterns have changed so that even our vegetables can end up on a different time frame. And to think, I almost missed the obvious, those eggplants, all growing in silence, right before my eyes. . .

Why are we so blind-sided? It reminds me of the time when Jesus had done the miraculous feeding of 5000+ men, women and children, from the very small snack of 2 small fishes and 5 barley loaves of bread. Everyone was satisfied and full with plenty of leftovers. Yet, the crowd didn't want to leave the workings of this Wondrous One. They pursued Him, even the next day and across the sea. They continued to ask for more signs, even bread from heaven! They wanted to do the works, they wanted that magical touch, to have their bellies satisfied at their command. But they missed the obvious, they missed seeing that the Bread of Life was there standing right before them. . .

Why are we so caught up in supernatural miracles? Why do we seek magical outcomes? Thinking, that if all our physical needs are met in dramatic ways, we will be made complete. But not . . . it's not about manipulating outcomes to have our way, it's not about having all of our needs and cares met by material means. If that is our only focus, we are blinded and missing the Obvious.

In days of darkness and want, I have found the Obvious, and Him alone. My life has been uprooted, shaken, and tossed about. Yet, with all of that I have experienced, I have peace and assurance. When you stop, wait, and seek the solace of Jesus; you find the Obvious, the One alone who satisfies the deepest longing of your soul.

" . . . the ultimate end of life must be spiritual, not material possession." (M.C. Tenney, 1948)

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