For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 WEB)
I like ice cream, I like frozen yogurt, I like frozen custard, all of these are readily available near our home. However, the local iconic dessert for this small region is frozen custard. Not just any frozen custard but Goodberry’s frozen custard.
A great way to end the day.
There are two shops within a short distance of our home and we enjoy the cool treat a little more frequently than I think we should. But it’s good! It’s delicious. It’s refreshing. On a hot summer day, you have to be fast to keep the delicious concoction from melting. They have concretes which are custard mixed with other delights, my favorite being Heath Bar. We love to meet friends to slurp, lick, chat and enjoy fellowship in the small seating area in front of the store. Open air tables are just right with a cool breeze.
One evening we called our friends, arranged a meeting time and arrived simultaneously in the parking lot. We greeting each other and walked to the order window. Then we looked down. There were dead and live cockroaches everywhere! Some were attempting to climb the outside wall and fortunately were unsuccessful. Others would run across the tables or over the brick walls which defined the outside dining area. Even to me, after all the things I’ve seen and eaten overseas, it was a touch on the gross side.
Nevertheless, we purchased our dairy delights. The young lady behind the window let us know none of those crawling pests were inside so the product was still consumable and empty of unexpected crunching. She was actually a little casual about the whole thing. She explained the company sprayed the exterior grounds for bugs about an hour before we arrived.
This created a mass exodus from the underbrush and woodchips of these creatures in their vain attempt to escape the grim roach reaper. If this was the North Carolina State Fair they may have been immersed in hot grease and served fried. But, they were not part of the frozen custard topping list.
As we lapped up our delights we watched other patrons arrive. Their reaction to discovering the critter congress was fun to watch. Some just glanced around and shrugged. Others would scrunch up their shoulders and make funny faces over the unexpected intrusion into their afternoon plans. The children thought it was fascinating and little boys liked to try and chase the roaches until their mothers discovered what they were chasing and ended up chasing the boys. Occasionally we had to flick a wandering blattodea species from our shoes who made it to the parking lot.
And yet, even with the otherwise gross appearance of these creatures, people came, they ordered, they ate, they left. About the only thing they excused themselves from doing was sitting down at the tables or standing near the brick walls. These people are faithful to their culinary delights. It’s the place to be for afternoon enjoyment and socialization. Come high water, come cold weather (open all year), come cockroaches, they still braved the obstacle to buy, eat, chat and socialize. Now that is dedication!
In the Christian life we are called to be faithful in all things. We are called to be dedicated to God and God is dedicated to us. Unfortunately, there are often distractions or deterrents between us and what we’re called to do. We sometimes think similar obstacles or deterrents can come between God from our sphere. God is faithful. Nothing can keep him from us. Nothing can keep us from him. God’s love comes through in any and all situations, distractions, deterrents and insect infestations.
Maybe we need a little of the North Carolina dedication to desserts so we’re not distracted or deterred from God’s love. Keeping our eyes on the goal makes a difference. Remembering the sweetness of God’s love, remembering the wonder of God’s grace should make us persevere through and around anything that bugs us and threatens to separate from God.
Bob and Beth Missionary Chronicles 