Jar of Pickles

I had to smile as I climbed into bed last night. Tucked under the covers was a jar of pickled gherkins. J had woken me that morning with the words 'Here go Mum - pickles!' ... and the jar had been thrust into my hands. Bleary eyed I had tried focusing on J's face, in the hope that this might help me make more sense of the unusual gift he had given me.

Today as I sat in the sun and surveyed the glorious gift of Creation all around me, I was reminded of another morning a few years ago. I had woken wondering how I would get to church. The petrol tank and bank account were empty. Upon opening the front door, I found the answer ... for there sat a frozen leg of lamb and $20!! (I found out later that these had been left by my mother-in-law, who had recently had one of their lambs butchered!)

When I arrived at church, one of the ladies gave me a bag full of clothes for Hannah, who was almost one. On arriving home, I found another bag hanging on the front door, full of little girls shoes and a note attached from our neighbour - a lovely Christian lady, who encouraged me in my newness to motherhood. (She had a son the same age as Hannah, who was her sixth child!)

That afternoon there was a knock on the door, and I opened it to find the children of our neighbours on the other side. They excitedly presented me with a pair of little purple socks that they had found at the playground and thought that they would fit Hannah. As I went outside to talk with the children, their father (a struggling single Dad to 5 rambunctious children) climbed over the low wire fence that separated our properties and handed me a frozen apple pie!!!

On the evening of that day, I had sat perplexed and wondering ... at this odd assortment of unexpected gifts. Was it all just a coincidence ... or was this the hand of God?! It all seemed very odd, but I thanked Him for this unusual provision. Little did I know that by the end of that week, everything in my already shaky world would be turned up-side down. That we would be depending completely on God to provide for all our needs.

God has proved a rock beneath my feet, a sturdy, dependable, firm place to stand ... and He has continued to provide in many, varied and unusual ways! Often His provision has been unexpected, and causes me to look back in wonder and awe that He knows our needs, better even than I do!

It is humbling to be so dependent. We like to rely on our own strength and to be independent. But then I am reminded that the truth is - we have nothing in this world that has not been provided by our generous God. Even the very breath inside us, is His gracious provision!

By far the greatest, most unusual and unexpected gift is Jesus. Through bleary eyes, the cross can look as strange as a jar of pickles. This unusual gift was provided by God when we were least expecting ... when we hadn't even realised our greatest need, our need for Him.

I can fill my needs with all sorts of things ... but nothing satisfies - more than fully depending on Him.