Photo courtesy of Kashfia Rahman

I’m deeply engrossed in  The Distant Hours and about to hit the climax of the story when it hits me.

I need guacamole.

The internal dialogue between self-control and pleasure begin to bicker at one another; pleasure wins.

I draw myself away from the sleeping husband, from the page-turner of a book, from my electric blanket.  Never mess with a guacamole craving.

My glands are  salivating as I squeeze the bag into a bowl and grab a few tortilla chips.  I sit down at the table with my coveted midnight snack and felt the adrenaline flow through my veins as I enjoy the forbidden fruit of an impulse I don’t act often act upon.

Aware of the silence enveloping our home, a silence that rarely occurs amidst the squeals, giggles, and screams of a house of preschoolers, I felt an urge to speak to Him.

I hadn’t spoken to Him in a while.  He knew.

He wasn’t angry.  It wasn’t a reprimand kind of thing.  It was an invitation to catch up with a precious but distant friend who I had not seen much as of  late.  He had been actively seeking me and after two weeks of holiday madness, I accepted His invitation.

Because, you know, it was convenient.  I had time for Him now.

During the holiday break, I decided to buck my plan of waking before the children to read scripture and spend time in prayer.  Instead, I slept late each day, played with children who would not be interrupted by preschool schedules, and read fiction that had beckoned me for months.

Yes, I enjoyed myself.  No, I did not spend time with Him later in the day as I should have.  Yes,  I missed Him.

And at Christmas of all times…When we are celebrating the birth of a King.  His son.

How could I think I could take a vacation from Him?  Why on earth would I want to do so?

I’m sharing this with Him over my bowl of guacamole, stress-eating more than I should, when I’m keenly aware how intimately my God knows this heart of mine.

Reconnect over a bowl of that magical green dip?  Of course He would.

He knows exactly how and when to reach me so His message will be most effective.

The 139th Psalm engulfs my thoughts and I read.  I realize what He has done.

¹ You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me. (NIV)

He is  beyond familiar with my ways.  He lovingly prods me with his staff to steer me, his wandering lamb, back to His ways.  His mercies are anew each day.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. – Isaiah 55:8

Am I ever grateful.

On this Multitude Monday, my list of 1,000 things continues…I thank you, God, for:

261.  Pursuing  and steering this wandering lamb

262. Knowing how to reach me for where I am right at the moment

263.  Knowing me more intimately than my children, my mother – even my husband.

264.  Your different ways that are nothing like my own

265.  A return to school, to the normalcy of a schedule, to sweet smiles on the faces of reunited friends

267.  The hearts of sisters in Christ sharing joy and heartbreak

268.  Guacamole – that blessed sweet nectar You created…

269.  A visit with Meemo and the excitement that buzzed in my children as they prepared to see their great-grandmother

270.  Your call to force us out of our comfort zone, to make something that was initially a “no” in our hearts become a possibility even if the final answer will indeed be a “no”.  You are a God that moves.

May your week be filled with opportunities to know Him well….

May you feel how much He really knows you…

May you rest in his familiar presence that is always present.