Fleece

Parents made decisions every day.  Some of them will affect the rest of our lives "Should we have two or three children?" and others only affect the moment "Should we have tacos or grilled pork for supper?"  Some  are made very easily because of our faith.  "Should I steal from this 80 year old woman or not?"  Some are not even real decisions "Should I give one million dollars to my church?"  Um. . . wish I could but I don't have that kind of dough.  :)

We are trying to give our kids more decision making power in an effort to "train up a child in the way he should go".  We are trying for a month a new "ipad/phone/wii" system.  Each child gets a certain amount of time for the week and when their time is gone, they are done playing.  They need to make the decision about how to spend their minutes.  We hope it will encourage them to be more intentional rather than asking us ALL THE TIME if they can play Angry Birds.  Gary and I made that decision last night.  We often talk about a particular child and what their strengths and weaknesses are, how we should spend our money, what sort of discipline we should use in a particular situation, how we are going to coordinate our ever filling schedule. . . decisions.  Sometimes made together, sometimes not.  Sometimes we work with our kids to make decisions.  We have been known to get their input regarding dinner planning, shows to watch on television, and even consequences for poor behavior.

Then there are decisions that Gary and I just need more help.  There doesn't seem to be a clear right or wrong.  Have you been there?  We've been thinking and praying about a particular situation and after a lot of thought Gary felt like we needed to lay out a fleece.  Laying out a fleece comes from the story of Gideon in the Bible.  God asked him to go and fight Midian, but Gideon wasn't so sure.  So he asked God for a sign in that Gideon would lay out a fleece at night and the next morning the fleece would be wet while the ground was dry.  God made it happen.  Gideon still wasn't sure so he asked for another sign the next night only this time he wanted the fleece to be dry while the ground was wet.  God did what Gideon asked and then Gideon knew that God was indeed calling him to service.  His decision was made.

It isn't wrong to lay out of fleece, although I would caution against doing it often.  God speaks to us in so many different ways!  God may choose to answer questions through a laid out fleece. . . or through fasting as He did with me this winter. . . or through His Word. . . or through a sermon. . . or a whisper to your heart. . . or a conversation with a friend. . . or peace during prayer time. . .or or or!  I'm so thankful that I serve a God who cares so much about me that He will answer me and help me with decision making.

As far as the fleece that was laid out last night in our home--it was neither wet nor dry.  Hmmm  A little wet here and a little dry there.  It looks to me like God didn't choose to answer our particular question in this way.  I'll keep waiting with expectation for God.  He will let us know at the perfect time!