But Jesus answered by saying to them, "You don't know what you are
asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am
about to drink?" "Oh yes," they replied, "we are able!"-Matthew 20:22 (NLT)
This is what the Sovereign LORD, your God and Defender, says: "See, I
have taken the terrible cup from your hands. You will drink no more of
my fury.- Isaiah 51:22 (NLT)
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."-Matthew 26:39 (NLT)
For some reason, my husband and I noticed that since we
removed the grasses from our lawns and replaced them with gravel, the incidence
of neighbors’ dogs pooping had gone down to “zilch”. I remembered those times
when my husband would come home, tired from a long day’s work, only to find out
that he needed to clean a mess that someone else left with no regard to what
was done. It became annoying but we couldn’t do anything since we couldn’t
catch who was responsible for letting their pets pooped in the front yard.
I did enjoy the sight of green grasses and sort of miss it
sometimes. I enjoyed mowing the yard weekly.
It was fun during those times not until the front yard became the
habitat for those unwanted droppings.
The gravel might not be as colorful as the grasses and
seemed like a bore at times, but despite the monotonous appearance, it was a
delight to see it always poop-free. I started enjoying it more and it actually
gave me more time to do other things, than mowing the lawn. Week. After. Week.
The trial I had been in at my work felt like the same. In
the beginning, it had been fun and exciting to do a nursing job completely
different from the hospital setting. The pay was better. Lifting patients was
not known. One fact that helped me avoid hurting my neck, already injured.
Until people in prominent positions allowed their pride to leave messes in this
place. The air stank. From all the discrimination and harassment subtly done.
Not to all. Only to certain nurses. One of them was me.
I knew from day one when they gave me a hard time about my
history of disability, that it was a mess I couldn’t clean alone. I knew it was
only those Scarred Hands Who could take over this matter. And while they took
away my regular position and thought I could be suffering, changing my position
did not bother me. I accepted that. Not from them. I accepted that because of
Him. I accepted that through that change He allowed, I would be given this
opportunity to grow stronger. To develop strength. To grow in character. If I
was contented before, the more contentment I had knowing that He alone could
give and could take away.
This morning, I saw two gardens.
The Garden of Eden.
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| image from visualbiblealive.com |
And the Garden of Gethsemane.
While the first one was known to be a paradise, men made a
mess there. And the latter, despite the agony, still prayed for the Father’s
will to be done, not what He wanted, knowing that His suffering would become
the redemption for everyone’s messes.
What garden or yard are you in at this time? Are you in a
beautiful, comfortable place but deep inside, you know that there is a lot of
mess that surround you? Or are you in this boring and ugly place but know deep
inside that there is an eternal treasure that awaits? Jesus was willing to take
that cup of suffering for us and never gave up, and now, He has been inviting
us to drink from that cup. To suffer for His cause. But in reality, offers
those who are willing to partake a cup of joy and eternal bliss.
Yes...This Man...Jesus...God and Man...
Yes...This Man...Jesus...God and Man...
