Fed by Ravens

Similar raven that fed Elijah the Tishbite with bread and meat. From http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3qGs_ronYOiW0ttlC2yDdg

Funny bird wearing a prayer shawl of grey feathers. Yet these big birds of the surrounding areas to Mt. Carmel in Israel appear in the Scripture as instruments of God´s grace towards Elijah, one of His obedient beloved in trouble:

"So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook." (I Kings 17, 5-6)

Leaving aside the controversies about the accuracy of this miracle, the story is worth reviewing. The main character happened to be a prophet, but God shows such care for His children in trouble, whether because of obeying His direct command or for performing with good attitude a simple duty ... another way to refer to do God´s will.

God has no limits when choosing His ways to give aid and comfort when seems to be no human way out. The ravens brought the food Elijah needed to go by every day; to an estranged wife her dog or cat becomes God´s instrument to provide her the daily love and warm emotional closeness her husband denies her, making her situation more bearable; a stranger was guided to point the way for a desperate man to find a job: a misplaced cell phone message on Christmas Eve stating the urgent need of a ceased pipe yard worker for a job led a school teacher to search the web and find a pipe yard in the area who was hiring the first week in January. Many report having received lost checks in the mail that arrived when the need was greater....the list would be infinite.

It is so mind-blowing that many will be tempted to disbelieve. "Those are New Age fantasies"... "Miracles do not happen like THAT to people like THOSE"...No? Think again, for GOD KNOWS NO LIMITS ..... When there is no human way out, God provides what is needed to go from point A to B, using whatever is at hand.

God cares deeply for those He has chosen to befriend. He might disent from some humans in His choices. Elijah was too outspoken and unwilling to sugarcoat and bend to power for King Ahab´s standards, so he had to flee and hide in order to save his life. The woman was considered unworthy of any kindness and affection for she was discovered a disgusting real person with her own desires and ideas, so she had to be punished. The pipe yard needed to cut personnel and started with the workers with less seniority, not considering this man had a family to feed....but ALL of them were dear in God´s eyes.

Some may ask chagrined WHY those guys are considered "dear to God"? He is the only one who can give an answer to it. Were you a know-it-all, controlling-all, self-sufficient self-centered person, God will honor His grant of free-will to you and make sure to leave you REALLY alone. When a house has a glass ceiling, a hail storm may be a problem. Well, if you are not the house owner or the builder, you had not caused it, you cannot fix it and you cannot control anything about it. So listen and learn.

My father was always willing to give a hand in times of strife. He was concerned that if I moved to the USA he would not be able to help me as he did when in Mexico. Yet when he got ill, my Heavenly Father stepped in and after my father passed away He stayed there at my side in complete faithfulness, providing more than anything my human father could had ever been able. It is me the one who gets worried when things seem to take too long, but He is there and His resources are infinite.

This post closes with one of the most valuable teachings the year has brought forth: God is there, watching closely and lovingly over us.

Jeremiah phrased the message well:

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

"Plans of life and not of death"....even if He needs to send the ravens twice a day to help.

After September with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, October gets us closer to the Holidays marking the tie end of the calendar. On October 11 this blog celebrates a year online. The Architect would had been 92 years old were he still among the yet-to-be-resurrected. While writing all the posts I have kept in my heart his patient and intelligent listening as if he were one of my readers.

Thank you all who have followed From my Reflecting Poolside these twelve months. May you always find here a welcoming virtual space to find beauty in Art, and in Life, food for thought and encouragement to seek your own path to the fullest.

So, when in a tough spot, do not forget the ravens will always be there.

Blessings!