Seed of a Sparrow

Remember the old Rolling Stones song? Of course, I probably shouldn’t say it’s old since I’m only a year younger. Anyway, remember these lyrics?

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want ....
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

Can you hear the tune?

When someone in our family (child or adult) starts to whine one of us adults starts to sing the lyrics. But we change the last verse to “But we always get what we need oh yeah!!”

With Thanksgiving around the corner I think of all the expectations we have, happy family times, the perfect turkey, pies, casseroles. For my husband, it’s my aunt’s oyster stuffing which we freeze so we can bring leftovers home on the plane.

What are your hopes for the holiday? What do you want? And what happens if or when you don’t get what you want?

I don’t mean just for Thanksgiving. I mean for any event, situation or trial in our lives. What are we supposed to do when we don’t get what we want? Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

There’s another song that comes to mind. In Jaci Velasquez’ song Crystal Clear she sings, “When I’m a sparrow in winter, you are a seed I find.” Luke 12:6 says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.”

And neither are we or our needs forgotten by God. We don’t always get what we want but we do always get what we need -- even if it doesn’t seem to fit our understanding.

This holiday, and for this season, re-write your life song. Sing “I always get what I need oh yeah!!” Now try it with conviction.

Let’s be giving thanks this season.

Amen.

Gifted Quill Devotional
By Nancy Lucas
318 words
November 17, 2006