It was a SONday afternoon. A kindergarten lassie was perched upon her daddy’s lap. His arms secured her from sliding off the dining room chair. Lodged in her daddy’s fingers was a common kitchen tool — a nutcracker. Before the duo, a bowl of hazelnuts rested. To the spectator’s eye, preparing a dessert treat was underway. In God’s “I”, a spiritual, meat and potatoes, meal was being readied and served.
“Daddy, why is it so hard to break through the outside so we can eat the yummy stuff inside?”
“My daughter, the goodness of our longed-for delights always rests inside a hard shell that must be broken before we can be nourished by life’s most fulfilling delicacies.”
“But why, Daddy, why?”
“Because we truly are grateful for, hold onto and treasure only what we cherish enough to overcome a struggle to possess.”
“Your hands are strong, daddy. Mine are not. On my own, I cannot open a hard barrier. I need you, daddy, to do it for me.”
“Sweet child of mine, I can’t do it for you. You must do it with my help. Let me explain. Worldly challenges try to ‘steal’ our dreams from us by shutting them inside a hard to crack fortress. Often, we are defeated because the process seems impossible to open up and attain. However, the ‘steel’ of God’s strength is beyond the power needed for us to break all earthly barricades. Our hands just need to trust, take hold of and use all God’s power that rests inside our hearts and souls.”
“Daddy, teach me how to do this.”
“Here, take hold of the nutcracker and discover the wisdom and way to learning this truth and its rewards. First, you must never forget that the nut’s outer shell depicts all worldly attempts to ‘steal’ your dreams come true. The ‘steel’ of God’s power is symbolically represented by the nutcracker. Your frail human fingers must cling to God’s ‘steel’ power. No defeat can ever prevent success, if you hold fast to God being your power. Just as my daddy palms now encircle your petite hands while you grasp the nutcracker, so do your Almighty Father’s surround and uphold yours. Cradled in God’s ‘steel’ strength, you can split open any, and every, worldly barrier attempting to keep you from unlocking the reality of your dreams come true.”
May we each and every one take a seat in our Heavenly Father’s welcoming lap, take hold of the “steel” of God’s strength and allow God’s palms to embrace our vulnerable hands and defeat the world from “steal”ing the dreams harbored in our hearts and souls.
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 