The other day I was watching The Cosby Show. These days the only good things about cable television are the reruns and I have filled my summer with old favorites like The Golden Girls and Roseanne. (And yes, I realize what that says about my age when I call Roseanne an old favorite.)
This particular episode of The Cosby Show dealt with the Huxtables who were visiting their daughter, Denise, at Hillman College. It was pretty mild comedy … Denise hid her dirty laundry in her roommate’s desk drawer.
But the episode ended on a powerful note with Claire Huxtable, as portrayed by Phylicia Rashad, singing a spiritual, composed by Shelton Becton and based on Matthew 6:33. The lyrics to the first verse are as follows:
“Seek ye first, the kingdom of His love.
Make Him first in everything you do.
If you just trust and never doubt what He said
all good things will be added unto you.”
Claire Huxtable sings the song backed by a full choir and Phylicia Rashad’s voice is both tender and strong. And thanks to the Internet and youtube, I was able to replay the song over and over and over in the following days.
Matthew 6:33 and this song are so powerful because of the way God’s blessings are emphasized.
The verses leading up to Matthew 6:33—namely Matthew 6:25-32—all deal with the subject of worry. Once again the Bible tells us not to worry, here explaining that God takes care of the birds and all of nature and how much more precious are we to God than the birds and grassy fields. Why then should we doubt God’s love and blessings?
God always knows what we need and when we need it. Sometimes, though, He requires us to be patient.
I suppose I could be bitter that I had to wait seventeen years to be blessed with a church. But I’m not bitter because I know now what God has always known—that in order for church to work, you have to be open … you have to be vulnerable … you have to allow others to do good things for you … you have to be open to blessings in order to receive them. And like the song says, you have to trust, not just God, but also the people He puts in your life.
And I’ve only just now reached that point this summer. In fact, I should be thanking God for making me wait seventeen years, for making me wait until I was ready before I embarked on this wonderful journey.
God has blessed me my entire life, without a doubt. Each blessing, though, has been different, each blessing unique to where I was in the journey. This summer, finding Hope Episcopal Church has been a blessing I never could have imagined and I am so excited to see what other blessings God has in store for me.
