Tip of My Iceberg

It was “Bring Your Loved Ones To Work Day” at my daughter’s non-profit in Colorado, not just children, but parents, grandkids, or whoever, if someone didn’t have a child to bring. A wonderful opportunity to see behind the scenes of this remarkable group of people who seek to provide for underprivileged kids.

Beck, who is a people-lover at heart, was looking forward to going to his mom’s place of work. Courtney has worked at A Precious Child since its inception and has been part of its growth and outreach for ten years. She’s seen it move from the garage of her employer to a massive warehouse serving 50,000 children each year. Beck was fascinated with all that they do. What he hadn’t encountered before, however, was a printer.

Beck has no reason to grasp the workings of a printer. His parents don’t use one much at home, and he has no personal need for one. So when he got to his mom’s office, several people were printing copies of things. His interest piqued.

Discovery leads to action.

His mom showed him how to draw on Microsoft Paint, and with her touchscreen, he was in business.

He asked around the office what people would enjoy as a picture to hang by their desks–and got several wonderful requests.

He then began helping other kids who were with their parents to draw and copy their own pictures. He went from learning to teaching, from fascination to functioning. His personal discovery became a platform to help others find their fun.

Discoveries are often useful in helping others grow or move forward.

Moses was a Hebrew baby raised by the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. He always knew who he was and that he had a purpose to help his fellow Jews who were slaves. But he made a mistake and had to run for his life, hiding in the wilderness for forty years as a shepherd.

One day, Moses was leading his flock near the base of Mt. Sinai, when he discovered something strange. A bush was on fire, but it wasn’t being consumed. Interestingly, bushes often spontaneously combust in this desert area because of the intense sun beating on the sand. What fascinated Moses was that the bush wasn’t burning up.

God spoke to him from the bush and challenged him five times to lead His people out of Egypt to freedom. Moses, afraid because of his earlier mistakes, refused. God finally allowed Aaron to go with him, and together they went to Pharaoh to demand the release of God’s people.

Pharaoh wasn’t about to lose his free labor force, so he continually denied Moses request.

With each request he made of Pharaoh, and saw God faithfully provide for his people through the plagues, Moses discovered his faith increasing. With the intensity of the tenth plague, where God tasked the angel of death with killing all firstborns of people and animals, Moses’ faith grew to the point of being able to lead his people to freedom.

With discovery comes action.

God often helps us discover the strength of our own faith as we encounter challenges in our lives, ones we believe to be overwhelming, but He proves to be attainable. When we experience God’s sufficiency, it deepens our dependence on Him, allowing us to move into greater challenges.

Beck understood the breadth of his discovery–he gained a new skill set and helped a few friends discover how to accomplish what he’d learned.

We need to discover the journey God leads each of us on, a journey with purpose and meaning, one of hope and joy.

Even better than a printer.