Waiting for Oatmeal
What I’m learning
Waiting.
Every morning, Charlie has to wait while I dump a package of oatmeal into a bowl, add some water, microwave it for two minutes, toss in some frozen berries to cool it down, and set it aside until it is “pur-feck,” Charlie says. Ready to eat.
Some mornings we laugh and dance until it’s ready. Or Charlie watches as I throw protein powder in a shaker bottle. Other mornings Charlie whines and cries, “Oat-meel. Oat-meel!” over and over, louder and louder. But every morning, the oatmeal is made, we snap on a bib, and Charlie chows down. What’s the difference between these days?
On the days he doesn’t cry, perhaps he’s distracted by the other stuff going on. Perhaps he’s not as hungry. Perhaps he really trusts that I will deliver on my promise of oatmeal.
And on the days he does cry? Maybe he’s really hungry and has such a deep desire and longing for oatmeal—a greater desire for oatmeal than he’s ever had! And perhaps he doesn’t fully grasp the concept of “two minutes in the microwave” or “letting it cool down!” Or… maybe on those days he doesn’t trust that I’ve heard him, or he thinks that this time I probably won’t make him oatmeal.
On the days he doesn’t cry, it’s almost as if he’s not waiting at all. On the days that he screams over and over—while I say, “Shhh! Baby brother is sleeping!”—it’s as if he’s not merely waiting, he’s suffering…
In Luke 2, there’s a short story of a man named Simeon. He was righteous, devoted to God, and filled with the Holy Spirit. God had told him that he would not die before he had personally seen the Messiah.
Simeon was a part of a fairly small group of God-followers who believed that God would fulfill a promise made initially to Abraham, probably over 2000 years before! Not two minutes, not twenty years. Two. Thousand. Years.
Though Luke says that Simeon was devout and filled with the Spirit, he also says Simeon “looked forward to the consolation of Israel.” Consolation means to be comforted from loss or disappointment or suffering.
I can imagine that Simeon, throughout his life, had moments where he was filled with trust, peace, patience, and joy—the fruit of the Spirit. Like he wasn’t waiting at all.
I imagine he had moments when he was distracted, and didn’t even think about the coming Messiah.
But I also imagine that he had many moments when his desire to see the Messiah was so strong, a deep hunger that wrenched his gut and made him angry. I imagine there were times when he doubted or was confused by the Holy Spirit’s promise. I imagine there were times where he thought his trust, along with his heart, would fail entirely. I imagine, in those times, he cried out over and over, louder and louder, something like: “Oat-meel! Oat-meel!”
…In this season, my biological and spiritual families are waiting. For answers. For concrete plans. For a return to a full night’s sleep.
And I sense an invitation: that the feelings and reactions and struggles attached to these significant but smaller things (at least at the 2000-year scale) would serve as a sort of fuel. That our hearts might burn wildly for, well, Him.
“One thing I asked of the LORD;
this I seek:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold His beauty.”
—Psalm 27
Prayer Request
Sabbatical. God has brought clarity in plan and desire this month. After much prayer we have decided to defer our sabbatical to next summer due to all sorts of things from kids’ sleeping schedules to Refuge pastoral transition. We feel permission from the Spirit to defer, reminded that, “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27).
Summer Transition. Most of you know that Refuge is in a season of transition with our Lead Pastor, Ryan, heading out of pastoral ministry at the end of June. Please pray for our church and our family as we navigate gratitude and joy and sorrow and grief. Please pray for a spirit of peace and trust—that we continue in the freedom to “not worry about tomorrow” (Matt 6:34).
Financial Update
Seminary. I am currently fully funded for seminary and the Partnership Program! There is always room for additional Direct Monthly Donors to help with seminary fees and expenses not covered by the Partnership Program Scholarship. Learn more at davidtanner.co/give
Sabbatical. If you would like to contribute to my upcoming sabbatical, you can make a one-time donation here. Note: those funds run through and are managed by Refuge Church.
Book Club Round 2!
Book Club Round 2 was a smashing success, culminating in a wonderful conversation and meal with club members! We read Working the Angles by Eugene Peterson. Published in the 80s, we agreed the book is prophetic—a recommendation for any leader serving in the church in this cultural moment.
I’m intending to take a short break on the book club in the next couple months. Myself and the current group members have a lot on our hands (and I don’t have a solid recommendation for the next read yet).
