The Gift of Dirt

Sometime this past fall, some dear friends of mine decided that my driveway needed a face lift.  I think they were just afraid they would lose their vehicles in the holes in the driveway, but of course they exercised great kindness and caution and didn't actually say such a thing.  Much like my other friend who got stuck in my driveway the previous winter, ending with my then 9 year old behind the wheel and the two of us ladies pushing the car out.  But I digress...  So, before I could say "no, you really don't have to do this" it started happening.  Excitement was building.  The kids were thrilled.  The trucks started rolling in.  With dirt.  Lots of dirt.  They dumped it and spread it and it looked very, very dirt-ish.  And brown.  Very, very brown.  Brown was not the color I was hoping for.  And I was a little sad inside as I realized that my limestone drive was no more.  It was now dirt.  Brown dirt, in case you haven't caught on to that yet.  And if you don't believe me, here you go...

So there I was, staring at the very brown driveway.  Choosing to be thankful, because after all, it was a gift.  So I really shouldn't have been disappointed by it either.  Even if it was dirt.  That was brown.  So I had to really check my attitude at that point in time, and came to the conclusion that whether dirt or limestone...I would be thankful.  And I started praying it wouldn't rain too hard because that would have made a serious mess.

Thankfully, God had mercy on me and one of my face-lift giving friends drove by, saw the status of the now brown drive and immediately called apologizing that apparently the wrong thing had been delivered.

(And all God's people said "PHEW!"...or at least this God's person did...)

Long story short, the wrong stuff was redistributed to create not only a better drive, but an additional turnaround space.  The right stuff, and lots of it, was delivered to cover the entire thing, and people driving small cars no longer have to live in fear of losing their vehicles and their supply of oxygen while slowly sinking, safely belted in of course, into a ginormously muddy hole and trying to send off one last Facebook status update and/or tweet containing a witty hash tag before meeting their Maker.  (My apologies for the run on sentence...apparently I've had a bit too much caffeine today.  Or not enough.  The jury is still out on that one.)

My friends had no idea that God was using them to not only bless me with a tangible gift of provision, but with two (count 'em TWO) pretty stellar reminders...for me, for my kids, and now for all of you.

Numero Uno:
"Becky...did you really think we would order DIRT for your limestone driveway?!?!"

"Um, well, uh, I don't know..."

"Seriously?  You really think we would be that ridiculous?"

Hanging head in shame...

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?"  Matthew 7:7-11 MSG

We do this, don't we?  We work up the nerve to ask God for something, or to simply realize that He does in fact give His children gifts, and then expect Him to give us dirt instead of limestone.  I'm not the only one, am I?  Here's the thing...He wants the best for us.  Not the dirt.  Not even the limestone.  He wants the next step up, which I'm not really sure what it would be using the driveway analogy (epic failure), but you get my drift.  Yes, our desires need to line up with His, which may mean starting out by asking one thing and allowing Him to morph it into a desire that's more in line with what He thinks.  But I'm telling you...when you do this, brace yourself for some seriously good gift giving.  God loves us.  More than we can fathom.  And He has good stuff in store for us.  More than we can imagine.  So stop expecting dirt...understand His heart and intent and generosity and look for something amazing, thanking Him before it ever takes place.

Numero Dos:
When my youngest saw the "dirty driveway," she got sad.  "Mom, was that supposed to happen?"  I explained to her no and that it was going to be fixed and that she wouldn't stain her white shorts if she fell down on the driveway the next time she was riding her bike on the dirty driveway.  No, nothing is simple with her...and I'm not sure where she gets it so don't bother asking.

Sure enough, the drive was fixed and un-dirtified before her very eyes and with the additional turnaround it ended up being even better than we had anticipated.

"MOM!  How awesome that the mistake was able to be used to make something even better!!"

Preach it, sister...I mean daughter.  This is the story of my life, I tell you.

"...he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory."  Isaiah 61:3 NLT

This concept rocks, does it not?  Ashes, mourning, despair...mistakes, hurt, destruction.  These things are not deleted, but they are used and eventually replaced with beauty, blessings and praise.  The disappointment of dirt in our driveway turned into a blessing of bigger and better.  And God pulls this off so well, and so often, in the lives of those who are willing to let Him.

These two lessons/reminders blow me away. They applied to my life back then, and they apply in an even greater way right now.  You would think that by now it wouldn't shock me so to see God do "His thing." But it simply never ceases to amaze me. Never ever.  I'm so humbled and grateful and excited at the ways that He takes care of His kiddos.  And though life will never be neat, tidy and perfect...I'm ecstatic when I look around my world and see the ways that He is doing some pretty incredible things.  Growing pains still hurt like heck...but oh my, is it ever worth it.

I used to secretly mock people that tried to take every single "dirt" situation and try to turn it into a lesson of some sort.  Well, mock may be a strong word...but I didn't always listen real intently.  It sounded so cliche.  So churchy.  But I've walked it out...and I'm still walking it out.  I'm listening and learning and living and loving it.  It's played out so powerfully in my life, and is continuing to do so...and I can't not share it.  It's something that I realize God has entrusted me with, and so I shall make the most of it. 

Dare to ask God the impossible.  Ask Him for the desires of your heart.  Expect the best.  Even above and beyond your definition of the best.  And even if it happens to come in the aftermath of some dirt being dumped all over you...know that God can take that and make the finished product a thing of beauty.