Ohhh - that's sweet!

Written by Kathy Platt

Friday, 30 September 2011 10:58

Last Sunday I was talking about the story in the Bible where the Israelites had followed Moses out of Egypt and how they found themselves now living in the wilderness - very hot, very hungry, and very cranky at the whole situation. To illustrate how God responded to that situation, I had a bowl of dirt and I sprinkled some white stuff on the dirt, without telling the kids what the white stuff was. In Hebrew, the Israelites said: "Man-hu" - meaning, "What's that??" - which has become the word manna for us. The kids were very nervous about tasting this white stuff when I offered it to them, but the first one who dared, took a little bit, tasted it, and said "MMMM - it's sweet!!" Which is exactly what I hoped he would say! After everyone else around me scrambled to get their taste of the sweet stuff, I talked about how even though God doesn't rain icing sugar down on our heads, there are all kinds of sweet moments that will help to sustain us, and so our task is to take note of those moments, then to say "Ohhh -that's sweet!" It can be our way of saying thanks to God for the moments that make our hearts sing. I have had several sweet moments over this past week. I sat with a woman in her apartment and had a wonderful cup of tea with her - she can't leave her home very easily because of health issues. We held hands and prayed together before I left, and I marvelled at the intimacy of the moment - very, very sweet. I was at my aquasize class at the YMCA, looked up and there were two kids from the Sunday School staring out at me. The stranger next to me said, "those kids have been waiting awhile - they must know you well". As I yelled out a cheery hello to them, my heart was warmed by their friendship - very, very sweet. As I parked my van beside the church this week and looked over at the groundcover that has grown so very well this year, the beauty of the reds and greens together was very striking - very, very sweet. Tonight I will gather at the church with folk who are ready to listen to some toe-tapping music, and who may even be ready to dance a jig or two, all working towards buying camels for strangers across the ocean. It may not be sticky, white icing sugar - but clearly, those sweet moments are what will strengthen us to be the faithful community that we are called to be.

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