This blog post is written by Avery, a guest writer at My Sun & Shade. She is a young Christian woman who was recently married in August 2019 and who is now expecting her first child in April 2021.
She was born into the church and has faithfully served the Lord her whole life. God has blessed her with a beautiful heart for ministry - whether it is to her husband, playing the piano at church or just being a good friend to others around her, she does it all well.
Thank you for this lovely blog post Avery! May the Lord richly bless you!
The Little Lemon Plate
by Avery
God is very aware of your every thought. You may not realize how well He knows you!
Of course, as a Christian, I know that God knows all things. He is God! Yet, this week, the Lord used a very simple situation to show me that He knows all things at an even greater level than I can understand with my human mind.
This revelation started at T.J.Maxx, although at the time, I wasn’t aware of what God wanted to speak to me.
T.J.Maxx is one of my favorite places to shop. Each time I go, I seem to find a unique treasure I couldn’t have found anywhere else, and for a reasonable price!
On this particular day, I was shopping for storage bins for our apartment.
My husband and I are working to achieve a new level of organization in our home so we feel more prepared for the coming of our first baby in April.
When I visit T.J.Maxx, it is my personal practice to circulate the entire store before leaving (even if I’m there for one thing), just in case I stumble upon a good deal.
Well... I can’t practice my little tradition when my husband is with me (you can imagine why!), but this time, I was all by myself, so I took my time dissecting each and every aisle!
While browsing the kitchen aisle, I found a little lemon plate.
My kitchen is decorated with lemons, and I just love how lemons add a bright splash of yellow to the room! I thought, “This plate would look so cute on my stove! I could use it to set my utensils on while I’m cooking!”
I picked it up and almost placed it in my cart just as the following words came to me:
Avery, you already have a plate on the stove... the baby is coming, and we cannot afford to spend so frivolously.
It was almost as if my husband was standing right there in the aisle with me whispering these words to me!
Willingly adhering to this voice, I set the little lemon plate back down on the shelf.
As I did so, another thought came to me:
If I allow myself to buy, buy, buy, each time I want something, how will there be any room for God to bless and provide for me?
Wouldn't it affect how much I appreciate the little blessings God brings my way?? Would I even notice them?
Confidently, I walked away, soon forgetting all about the plate.
A week passed by.
The little lemon plate, and the thoughts that I had regarding it, were far from my mind.
Presently, my husband and I were facing a dilemma.
A winter storm had come that morning, and when my husband came home from work in the evening, he couldn’t get his dump truck into the driveway without sliding down the hill toward the other vehicles parked at our rental.
He had to call his dad to come plow the driveway for us.
We were grateful that he agreed to come. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law decided to come along, too.
When they arrived, my mother-in-law walked in with a box.
She wanted to show me the decorations she had bought for the baby shower she is throwing for us soon.
She set the box on the kitchen table, opened it, and said, “Oh, first, I have a plate for you. Your aunt saw it, thought of you, and wanted me to give it to you."
She pulled out a bright yellow plate with lemons all over it.
I squealed and thanked her for bringing it for me!! Of course, it matched my lemony kitchen decor perfectly!
And I had the perfect spot for it!
I set it on the stove and said, “It will be great for holding my kitchen utensils when I’m cooking!”
When my in-laws left, I looked at the plate to admire it once more.
Suddenly, I remembered what had transpired at T.J.Maxx the week before.
Someone didn’t just randomly give me a plate -- God had given me this lemon plate!
At that moment, the Lord gave me a new understanding of how well he knows me, AND how loving He is toward me!
He hears my thoughts, just as he heard my thoughts while shopping at T.J.Maxx.
He is aware of my interests, just as he was aware that I love to decorate with lemons, so he provided a plate for me with lemons all over it.
He wants to bless me and show me that He loves me, just as He led my aunt, who lives an hour away from us, to pick out a plate to specifically give to me.
He answers my thoughts. He heard my inward reasoning at T.J. Maxx which led me to choose not to buy the lemon plate: If I buy everything I want, it might take away an opportunity for God to bless me. In return, He proved that thought true to me by blessing me with a free lemon plate! How amazingly faithful He is!
This little lemon plate has left me in awe of how good my Heavenly Father is, how loving He is, and how well He knows insignificant me!
It causes me to reflect on my relationship with Him.
How often do I express to Him that I love Him?
How well do I know Him, His desires, and His character?
He took the time to bless my heart by providing for me this little lemon plate. I want to take the time to bless Him, too! He is more than deserving of it!
Lastly, this story of the little lemon plate doesn’t just reveal a portion of how much God knows and loves me; it reveals a portion of how much God knows and loves ALL His children. He wants to bless those who love Him!
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4, KJV).
And, as the Lord so lovingly grants us the desires of our hearts, we are reminded of how much more valuable HE is to us than any earthly possession!
Our relationship with Him, and our salvation which is found in Him, is eternal! All other earthly things will fade away. It reminds me of the lyrics to an old song:
“Lord, you are more precious than silver.
Lord, you are more costly than gold.
Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds,
And nothing I desire compares with you.”
Each day, you are distracted with your busy life and new, accumulating responsibilities.
You might also be preoccupied with a hobby, like reading a book, satisfying your crafty side, or socializing with friends.
I encourage you to involve the Lord, your Creator, in your everyday thoughts, responsibilities, hobbies, and interactions with people.
Take the time to recognize His hand on your everyday life.
You will find that God is very aware of ALL your daily activities, as well as your outward AND inward responses to those activities.
You will find that God can use something as simple as a lemon plate -- yes, dishware! -- to reveal the depth of His character to you!
Your Creator knows you inside and out -- your name, your desires, your personality, your thoughts. How well do you know Him?
Are you in search of a daily devotional that could offer encouragement in the face of struggles?
Here is a link to my favorite devotional: Streams in the Desert
Easy to read, Streams in the Desert offers a refreshing daily dip into God's purpose,
plan, and enduring promise.
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Thank you!
Blessings ~
My Sun & Shade
