“Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:21)
They had dumped the paltry remains of my favorite granola, half into the sink, half into the garbage. They came, they fought, they dumped. My face felt hot and tired. My pregnant belly tight and nauseous. I snapped.
DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND that that was the only thing Mama could eat this morning? THIS IS MINE. Haven’t I told you so many times that I will get breakfast for you? I will make food that is FOR you. I won’t leave you hungry. You have to trust me and stop wrecking my food!!
The six year old was facing the wall, wailing, the four year old nodding vigorously as fat tears rolled off her cheeks, and the two year old simply kept sliding granola off the sink’s lip into the trash.
It didn’t matter that I had both shown and told, modeled and reminded. Food rules and priority of sick pregnant mama’s food simply hadn’t made a dent. Because they were small children.
Our Lord certainly explained His case better than mine. These grousing disciples had forgotten their bread, didn’t understand what Jesus meant by guarding against the “leaven” of others! They, like my kids, simply couldn’t piece it all together.
And for us, we often simply don’t “understand or comprehend” (Mark 8:17). I’m just not paying attention with a trustful heart.
Maybe you’re reaching for the extra cluster granola equivalent in your life, and not waiting for the Lord to provide. Maybe you're dating someone who you know isn’t the best for you, persisting in habitual sins that comfort you, staying in a job that drains you because it’s too scary to leap into the unknown, holding your heart back from the Lord in case He rejects you.
Let’s open our eyes and see, our ears and hear, and try to understand His providence for us where we are right now, today.
Try to understand His providence for us. // @WholeParentingClick to tweet
Scroll down to the commentary on Mark 8 and read what the great Church Fathers have to say about this passage.
Nell O'Leary is a recovering lawyer turned blogger, speaker, and sewer of baby goods while tending to her husband and four kiddos in the great city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. She serves as Managing Editor for Blessed is She and can down a hot cocoa in no time flat. Find out more about her here. She is the editor of our Blessed Conversations Series and guide for the Gift of You course.
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