More

Using the overhang at the entrance of the hotel to shield us from the rain, my grandson and I are watching the skies intently. We strain to see movement or hear distant honking.

He is only eighteen months old.  So it could be that when I carried him outside to see the V of Canada geese, flapping a mere hundred feet overhead, he is seeing them for the first time.  They are so close, we can hear the rustling of their wings.  He is enthralled.  As they pass over, his upturned face follows them until they the hotel obscures our view.

He turns back to face me.  Despite being limited in his vocabulary, the word he says is clear: “More!” 

That’s amusing.  And profound.  He thinks, since I am the sole adult in this equation, I should have control over the appearance of migratory geese.  Sadly, the only birds I can make appear are ones I draw on paper.  Someday (soon, I hope!) that will be cool to him.  But not right now.

 

So I stand him on a pillar and we watch the skies. I think about how he processed what just happened.  Look at that: birds flying in lines!  How long has it been since that amazed me?  More pointedly, how many other small wonders have I taken for granted today?  Look at that: a free breakfast!  Look at that: doors that open by themselves!  Look at that: the gift of another day!

Ephesians 3:20 tells us that he is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”  Today I am struck that even with a small change, this still holds true – he is the one who has already done far more abundantly than all we could ask or think.

We are all quite adept at asking God for more.  Surprisingly, God delights to answer that request, according to his wisdom and will.  The verse above proves it.  But today, I’m realizing that for a good portion of the time, that answer comes through unveiling rather than a new providing.

We already have the more.  We just need to recognize how much he has given us – not only in daily blessings, but the glorious reality, invisible to us now, of eternal riches in Christ.

More geese eventually come.  Only now, we’re both enthralled. 

Look at that.

How you have blessed us, Lord.  Breathe into our hearts the wonder we once had, when we were too little to know how things worked.  Open our eyes to see how greatly we are blessed.  You call us to imagine what you can do through your power at work within us.  Let it be based on the sure knowledge of all that you have already done.