So, almost a year ago, we were out of town for a baseball tournament, which if you know our family is not a big surprise or profound revelation by any means. But on this day, we had a break and decided to head to the mall for lunch and a couple of "needs" - I say "needs" because this is seriously the only way I enter a shopping mall these days.
I was driving my husband's truck and my son was in the front passenger seat and the parking lot at the last place on earth I wanted to be was PACKED. I am not a parking spot stalker, I will happily park at the end of the row and take a hike, but even that was slim pickings. So we finally find an open spot, and well, I am driving the truck.
I squeeze into the open space in tandem with a verbal lecture to my son not to hit the car next to us when he opens the door. And God love him, he is so crazy cautious that he gets stuck getting out of the truck. Like stuck between the door and the door jam/seat/running board. Like...can't move. And because I know I am about to enter a building that challenges every prism of my social anxiety, I let loose with uncontrollable laughter. He is panicked and flailing and I am relaxing a bit and about to pee my pants.
I don't even remember how, but obviously, we unstucked him and found a new parking spot.
In the game of baseball, youth through major league, you might fight find an umpire who has a strike zone the size of a coffee can. And the batter feels stuck and frustrated and swings at pitches they wouldn't ordinarily attempt because they are just trying to make something happen.
When we quickly squeeze a lemon/lime/orange, we have no control over where that juice is going to go. Inevitably it targets our eyeball and we are left squinting and wiping a zesty tear or two.
My First5 App this week talked about the process of crushing olives. The olives are pressed (squeezed) in order to produce 1. Oil for annointing 2. Oil for food 3. Oil for lamps. And this devotion was so in line with our WBS study on finding joy in the trials. If you haven't read me say before, here it is again....love, love, love God's affirmation.
Squeezing is high pressure. When we squeeze in time with God, we feel anxiety, panic, uncertainty. Things feel immovable, tight fitting and we begin to focus simply on forcing something to work. We feel like we have to take the first open spot, we have to take a pitch that isn't going to produce the results we want, we have to add flavor quickly and end up wasting all the drops that go flying in crazy directions.
Rather we need to slow down and take in the process. Squeezing, as in the case of the olive is not all bad. First5 says:
...hard pressing produces something good and necessary. And I think the same is true for our pressing times as well. Pressing times never feel good at the time but hold incredible potential...Crushing the olive isn't its end. It's actually the way to get what's most sacred and valuable to emerge.Just like trying to park a big truck in a small space....When I am carrying a big load, settling for small spaces with Jesus isn't going to get me to the moment that fulfills my needs. Sometimes God never means for us to park, but instead to have patience and endurance until we find the right fit.
A batter/pitcher/catcher getting squeezed by the umpire has an awesome opportunity to work on their self-discipline, their acceptance that the current at-bat is not going to be a hitter's best plate appearance. Again, God doesn't want us to force what isn't comfortable. We have to acknowledge that that umpire may be having a bad day, he might not like us out of no particular reason, or he might not like us for several reasons that lie inside and/or outside the fence (you know who you are!). God wants us to take it all in, to extend, patience, grace, and forgiveness. It is hard for us to realize sometimes that the actions of others...are not a reflection of who we are...unless we give in to the pressure of being squeezed.
You can get twice as much juice out of a piece of fruit if you roll it before you peel it. If you have a plan and a method that works, rather than impulsively doing the first thing that comes to mind. Prayer, time with God, reading your Bible - getting the very most out of these gifts rather than a quick squeeze, a quick sip, a runny eyeball, and then on to the next thing.
Hebrews 12:11-12 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it is painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strenthen your weak knees. (Verse 12 is for my baseball player - mwah!)
Squeezing, discipline, pressing...never feels good at the time, is not enjoyable, while it is happening...can be painful. But the harvest...the eventual home-run,..the flavorful beverage...the front-row parking spot - they can not be appreciated if we do not experience the alternative.
And now I will preach to myself and if you can relate - Hooray!: Quit trying to squeeze in time with God! Make him a priority - acknowledge that each trial is producing something "good and necessary" and if God wants that to take three pressings, then by golly, He will. Step back from the plate and acknowledge all the times that He is good, all the times He hit one out of the park. Be full of flavor - the salt and the light.
Life is full of door dings, bad calls, and fruit that is out-of-season. Find joy in the pressing, squeeze every teachable moment out of it. Where ever you find yourself today, whatever open spot your trial has parked in, know that God will not live you stuck between the door and running board - He loves you...
You are good.
You are necessary.
You are valuable.
You are sacred.
Amen!
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