Two weeks ago, I was surprised to discover these mushrooms coming up in the front flowerbed. My Seek Nature App informed me that these are “Luxury Caps.” I was in awe! I have never seen mushrooms such as these!
There were about 8 or 9 different clusters of these “Luxury Caps” coming up here and there.
For two weeks now I have been pondering what spiritual lesson God might have for me in “Luxury Caps.” It’s such a strange name. Why on earth did someone name a mushroom “Luxury” … why luxury??
I have been pondering what a luxury cap in real life might be. If you had to think of what a real-life luxury cap might be, what would you picture??
The first thing which came to my mind was a preposterous sun bonnet. After all, someone wearing a preposterous sun bonnet is usually also wearing sunglasses and is someplace delightfully sunny and warm. To me, that is a luxury. To be somewhere delightfully sunny and warm.
What would represent luxury … in a cap??
After pondering some more, I thought of hubby’s NHL cap and his NFL cap. To be sure, these caps are not expensive. But they represent the fact that our city has a professional hockey team and a professional football team. And tickets to a game at either of these is ridiculously expensive! To be able to go to a game is for sure a luxury!
Both the football stadium and the hockey arena sell out! Both stadiums are packed every game! There are a lot of people wearing luxury caps around!
I had been wanting to share this post for today … but even after pondering almost two weeks, I still had nothing. It seemed like God was telling me to just wait … he had something for me.
Then last night hubby and I went downtown … where we joined 9,000 other Jesus-loving, Jesus followers in singing our hearts & lungs out in praise to Jesus! It was an amazing night of worship!!
And here we all were … in the very arena where the NHL hockey team usually plays.
The pastor got up to share a word from God with us all.
He was speaking about the “ripple effect” … such as when you drop a stone into a lake and the ripples go out in circles. His point was that you don’t know the “ripples” that God is doing through your life. And when it comes to God’s Kingdom, it’s nothing at all like we expect. Oftentimes, God does things backwards.
Usually when we throw a rock into the lake, we expect the largest rock to make the biggest ripples. But when it comes to “ripples” which radiate out for God’s Kingdom, God oftentimes uses the smallest rock to make the biggest “ripples.”
The passage the pastor referred to was Luke 21:1-4, where the poor widow gave an offering to God.
“As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’” – Luke 21:1-4
The pastor made the statement: “She didn’t give out of her luxury, she gave out of her poverty. It was just a small pebble … but Jesus said that it had the biggest ‘ripples.’”
Luxury.
He used that very word.
The very word which I have been pondering for two weeks now … wondering what spiritual application there could be there.
Out of that entire arena packed with all those people … that word right there was specifically for me! That nugget right there was for me! That right there was the lesson God had for me in “luxury caps.”
It doesn’t matter if we have luxury or not … we can give to God whatever we have … and our “small pebble” can have “big ripples” for God’s Kingdom!
The pastor also shared the example of the little boy who gave his 5 small loaves and 2 small fish to Jesus. The little boy didn’t have a lot to give … he only had a little. But God used that “small pebble” to make “big ripples” for the Kingdom of God!
So … that is the point of this blog post … and of the discovery of these “Luxury Cap” mushrooms. It’s not the luxury that matters.
“Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” – Mark 12:41-44
Give what you have to Jesus. Jesus can do a lot with just a little!
Your “small pebble” God just might use to make “gigantic ripples” for His Kingdom … which radiate out in ever-expanding circles far beyond what you might ever know! And even father into future generations than you ever will know!
