Weekly Words

Ice Breaker

Bryce, my favorite twenty-two month old boy and I’m sure yours too, has a love for ice. It must have started when he was teething and we would give him ice to soothe his gums. Now, Bryce has no problem reaching into my glass, unannounced mind you, and grabbing for ice. The problem is that more times than not, the ice is too large for his little one year old mouth to hold. Moreover, little B-reezy (that’s Bryce for those not up on the latest slang) does not have the strength in his jaws to break the ice into manageable pieces. Therefore, Bryce and I have developed a system. Once he alerts me to the fact that he wants ice, I will take a piece of ice, break it in my mouth, and give him a piece to chew. However, it took us a couple of times for Bryce to become comfortable with this process. At first Bryce would be so frustrated that I was not giving him the ice right away, he would whine and fuss about the ice being in my mouth. Now, since he knows his daddy is only preparing the ice for him, he patiently waits for me to break it. (Somebody already knows where I am going and should just meet me there).

This is a lesson about power. Often times we want things in life that we do not have the power to manage if we got it just like we wanted it. Yet, just like Bryce’s daddy (me), we have a Father whose jaws are powerful enough to be an ice breaker in our lives.

More importantly, this is a lesson about patience. In a world of instant gratification many of us want what we want right now. If and when we are made to wait, we become discombobulated within ourselves and frustrated with our God. Nevertheless, we serve a God whose perception is greater than ours and it may be that God has discerned that the ice we are reaching for is too big for our mouth and too hard for our teeth. God may be putting our request and /or desire on hold because God is preparing it in a way that will be manageable for our mouths and enjoyable to our tastes. So before you get ready to whine and fuss, give God a chance to break the ice.

Humbly in Christ’s Love,
Pastor B.A. Jackson