J-I-F spells “peanut butter”

It has been so much fun to watch my oldest son Josh learn how to read.  A new world is opening up to him as he figures out that letters have sounds and when put together, they make words.  His sight word vocabulary is pretty limited at this point, so he’s relying heavily on context clues.  It’s a good strategy, but it does have its weak points.  The other night at the grocery store I handed him a can of Jif peanut butter and asked him if he could sound out the three big letters on the front.  He said, “Sure mom! ‘J’ says juh. ‘I’ says ih. ‘F’ says fffff. So it spells. . . peanut butter.”  We’ll get there eventually.

I think I’m guilty of using a lot of context clues in my own life as I try to fill in the blanks for God.  I’m just not comfortable not knowing exactly how He plans to work all things together for good, so I see the hurt and pain around me and want to jump right to what I think must be the answer.  Sometimes I may miss the lesson He is longing for me to learn because I’m so quick to want resolution.  This can make me act just like one of Job’s comforters as I try to explain what I’m sure must be God’s thoughts to someone in the midst of great pain.  I may not have considered that what they most need may not be my reasons or answers, but a listening ear and validation that this world can be a tough place to live sometimes.  I am so quick to want things to be better that I can act like it isn’t okay to grieve, but I have learned God’s love and faithfulness is so often found right there- in our hardest moments.  If I can just be okay with not knowing how the story ends, it is easier to see God’s compassion in the midst of it.