Jell-O!

I kept finding myself throughout the day yesterday, singing the first few lines to the second verse of a children’s song I had written for a play back in the late 1980’s.  For the life of me though, I could not remember the rest of the verse nor how the rhyme went together.  I finally text our older daughter in North Carolina as she had sung the song in the play, as well as helped me to lead years of Children’s Church classes and VBS song services  where we sang and acted out the song.   Later in the afternoon she finally replied… imagine, she actually kept me waiting until she was off from work!  I’m joking of course, but I can see the smile on her face as she read the text and recalled all the fun times we had with that song!

“Now, I don’t jiggle like Jell-O,

 When the pressure comes I just get mellow,

 ‘Cause I trust in the Word where I spend my time,

 And everything comes out just fine!"

You can probably tell that I love to rhyme the lines to the songs that I write.  It’s not only fun, but it helps the kids to remember God’s Son.  Oophs, there I go again!

This morning those lyrics came dancing right back into my mind as I read from I Corinthians 13:7 where it says that Love “never stops hoping.” (God’s Word ©)  It just so happens that the word rendered “hope or hoping” in most translations actually means “to expect.” (G1679 - Strong’s)  So one could read this exhortation as “Love never stops expecting.”  But that brings up the question as to what are we to be expecting.  Well, to answer that in the context of the chapter, you would have to say that “Love never stops expecting God’s best.”

So what does that have to do with jiggling like Jello – EVERYTHING!  I’ve related over the last few days how surprised and negatively I reacted to things that were said against me in the context of my wife’s health situation.  What I did was to “jiggle like Jell-O!”  When the unexpected pressure came, for once in my life, I did not get mellow!  My mind, my insides and my blood pressure began to jiggle!  How should I have responded according to the song?  I should have just become mellow BECAUSE I expected God’ best and that everything would come out just fine!

God’s love would have had me to expect the best for those involved and for the outcome of the situation without any concern for myself, because I could rest assured that God was taking good care of me.  How do I know that?  Because it says so throughout the pages of my Bible, and since that is where I spend my time, I should have been expecting everything to come out just fine.

Well, I’ve learned my lesson well, ‘cause now I know that God is swell.  I’ll think twice before I jiggle, because that will just cause a ripple, that in my life could have been avoided without any strife.  I will expect God’s best, and let Him do the rest.  For His love is far above, all things that I might selfishly bring.

Have a fun weekend.  May each day and each activity rhyme with the words of His love for you.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What RHYMES am I expecting today?”