How Many?

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 
Girlfriends, pray for me--I am making breakfast casserole for dinner at church tonight. With my skills, maybe you should also pray for the hungry who come to eat what I have prepared! For one, cooking for a large group requires revisiting middle school math. Multiplying fractions. Conversions. Teaspoon to Tablespoon. Ounces to pounds. Can anyone else feel my pain? I can put myself in Noah's shoes, working out the plans for that ark!

This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits,

 its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 

Genesis 6:15 ESV

Numbers have never been my friend. I always had to work twice as hard in math and science than my other courses. I  preferred diagramming a sentence with an objective complement and elliptical adverb clause over solving calculus problems requiring knowledge of derivatives and differentiation. More simply put, I would rather write a five paragraph essay than do fifty math problems!

In spite of our antagonistic relationship, numbers have been on my mind plenty lately: Counting the days until my next daughter leaves to college; budgeting for home repairs, vacation, and university expenses; how many miles can I run and in what amount of time; monitoring the number of visitors to my blog; the cost of a gallon of gasoline; low attendance at club events; time, and wishing for more hours in a day; how many photos I can squeeze onto one scrapbook page. Seriously, I could continue for a few more paragraphs at least. I am inundated with integers!

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 

Luke 14:28 NIV

While whisking six dozen eggs for the casserole just now, I spoke to God about numbers. "Wow, this is a lot of eggs to crack" and "I wonder how many calories are in a slice of this bacon-sausage-cheese-egg casserole" were my first thoughts! But then I progressed to a review of the school year and my leadership role as coach for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Three years ago, full of energy and excitement, I committed to establishing this club in our community. Inevitably each spring, the student attendance fell drastically. I spoke frankly to God, apologizing that my own enthusiasm and degree of effort has invariably been tied to the attendance sheet. While I encouraged the student leaders to deliver 100% effort even to an audience of one, I too felt disappointment and disheartened by the lack of response.

"Lord, why does our society place extreme emphasis on volume and figures?"
"Are their areas where quantity matter the most to you, God?"

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Most of us desire perfection and completion, lacking in nothing. We would agree that the dollars in your bank account, the square footage of your house, the horsepower of your vehicle's engine, or the amount of awards on your shelves are not what matter most in this life. Yet, we all seem to spend the majority of our days in pursuit of activities in which the end results can be somehow quantitatively measured. We have mega-churches swelling to capacity, operating with multi-million dollar budgets. Our churches, our houses and our days are full, but with what exactly are they "filled"?  I have to ask, "God, are you pleased?"  I want to know, "God, are you disappointed in my numbers?"

Girlfriends, I think it is important to ponder such questions mostly because I believe the answers we find will guide our actions. Ripples of effect spread out to others from our choices. In my own experience, I can attest to this fact. I want to live according to God's measuring stick. My desire is to balance my life on His scales. But somehow, day after day, I come up short, and I fear the void is felt by those surrounding me.

I can relate to the writer of Ecclesiastes from which I chose today's key verse. He explored the question of time. He discussed the issues of gluttony, love of money, and excessive talking. Comparison winds its way through his writings. Value is assigned and then questioned. Wisdom is analyzed. Ladies, please take time to read this book in your Bible. Ask God to teach you and guide you as you reflect upon the arguments and laments written therein.

Ladies, I don't have all the solutions, but seeking daily, I pray for insight, discernment, and good judgment. My prayer for each of us is that we spend each day wisely, that we treasure what is worthy and trash what is trivial, that we strive for quality in our quantity, and that God is factored into every single one of our equations. Just as I spoke to my FCA leaders, I pray for myself: Let God use me today to write His message to the best of my ability, even if only one person reads it--God loves that one person and is calling out to her, and so should we!

One is the loveliest number when we remember The One (Jesus Christ) that God sent to save each ONE of us!

Blessings to all, and now I am off to serve breakfast casserole to the ravenous participants of Wednesday night Bible study! Yum! God is Good!