What Do You Need?
Good Morning and welcome to a new day! I really appreciate the responses so many of you have shared with me. I hope at some point to respond but right now I am not doing that very well. Know that your thoughts and responses are valuable right now and mean a lot to me. Working a little today but certainly notice my energy level is a little lower and my headaches are more frequent.
I quick thought and memory today. Still on the spiritual ideas and will not always be on that topic. Yesterday I was thinking about my friend Jeff Risley. Jeff was a special young man who died March 14, 2008. His mom Coralee was an education professor at Oklahoma Christian and they both attended Quail Springs Church where I was a youth minister in the 90’s. Jeff was born with several disabilities and yet I found him to possess much wisdom. I always enjoyed my interactions with him.
One Sunday morning he stopped by my office early while I was preparing for the day and his mom was getting her class ready for the children’s class she taught. Jeff had a question for me that morning. Jeff ask, “Todd Mead, will God give us shoes in heaven.” Jeff always called you by your full name. I thought about that question for a minute. My hope is we won’t need shoes in heaven but I am also thinking if so I hope they are Addias and Cole Haan. Any way, I told Jeff, “I don’t know, I guess if we need shoes God will give us shoes.” Now you need to understand something about Jeff. Jeff could not tie shoestrings. He wore shoes that had velcro straps. Jeff pondered my response for a little and then said. “Todd Mead, I think God will give us shoes with velcro straps.” Now in that moment I was reminded Jeff Risley had much more faith and understanding of God than Todd Mead the Youth Minister. I said Jeff, “I believe you are right, God will give us exactly what we need.” Jeff said okay Todd Mead and walked off to probably teach someone else some important truth.
Now here is the trick for me. My faith wants to believe God will give me what I need but it sometimes gets confused with what I want. Those two things are very different. Think about that! If you have raised children, did you ever have those moments when they wanted something they did not need? You gave them what they needed and they got upset because they did not get what they wanted. Wants and needs are often very different. Part of my faith journey has been trying to understand or at least accept, God as Father gives me always what I need, not always what I want. Needs and wants can be very different. This world is centered on getting wants met, the Kingdom of God is about provision for what we need.
Today I need my faith to be much more like Jeff Risley. I need to trust that ultimately God will give me exactly what I need to walk thorough this process of having a brain tumor. I need to believe that the Kingdom of God is eternal and that this life in the world is temporary. I need to know that despite some of the very real challenges in this life I am blessed, of great value and loved. I need to believe that so I can in little ways, share that truth with others who are going through hard and challenging times. I want to believe like Jeff Risley, that ultimately the God of creation will give me exactly what I need!
You are loved and of great value. I hope this reminds you of that truth today. That truth does not take away some of the very difficult and painful things that many of you are going through. But that truth can help you get through whatever those challenges might be.
I need to go walk Gracie and let the cool air and a new day remind me of God’s faithfulness. Gracie needs me and she makes me feel needed. You will meet her and hear more about her soon.
Peace,