Picture this: your server has just brought you your triple mushroom bacon cheeseburger, you breathe in the steaming, delectable aroma, then lift your beautiful lunch selection from where it’s been nestled next to those perfectly finished fries (you scarf down a few on the way) then you notice the cheese oozing out from under the bun, down the sides of the patties, beckoning you to take that all-important, bliss-inducing, first bite. . .
Or this: you’ve ordered only a salad with blackened chicken for lunch, because you’ve heard the restaurant has a dessert chef who makes homemade molten lava cakes (not the inferior, pre-packaged variety). It arrives! (of course you’ve ordered it – is an explanation necessary?) It is exquisitely complemented by a few fresh berries scattered across a squiggle of raspberry coulis. Once set in place, your server takes a stainless-steel implement and presses it gently onto the top of your cake, whereupon the much-anticipated ‘lava’ oozes enticingly up over the top and down the sides, filling the entire room with its dark chocolate richness (and drawing not a few jealous glances).
In both these scenarios, the oozing is from the inside out, an overflow of the meticulous preceding preparation. That ‘preparation’ is also the greatest joy of the Holy Spirit, who waits eagerly for a sign that we desire to be oozers of hope – the very hope he is commissioned to distribute. And just like the restaurant oozings above, the hope that simmers within us, once oozed, saturates the air around us with aromas that can only be described as heavenly. It takes the pressure off to know the interior build-up is His work. All we need do is lean in, listen, and worship. The timing, the setting, the how, the what, of our oozing are all at His leading. Like carrying a glass filled to the brim with water while walking, some water is apt to get spilled in the ordinary movements of our walking. It’s actually more difficult to try not to spill the water. And the fun goal of this exercise is to relax and spill the ‘water’ joyously, generously, copiously even. So, there you have it. Relax, and wait to see what happens! PD
