Overflow and Abundance

A wedding is something most are excited about. It’s a wonderful celebration and joyous looking forward to the future together. This is how 2020 started for me. I was excited to embark on the adventure of a new year, a new decade, with my husband and our family. We had dreams that we were turning into goals. Needless to say, things haven’t played out as we hoped.

There is a story that may encourage us as we wrestle with looking back over this very difficult year. In John 2:1-11, we read the story of Jesus’ first miracle. He was invited to a wedding near the town he grew up in. Maybe it was a family friend, as his mother and others of his family were there.  

But then something happens during the celebration. The wine runs out. Now, this may not seem like such a big deal, but in Jewish culture, running out of wine was a very serious offense. Because of the practice of reciprocal hospitality in this culture, one expects the same type of service at any event that one gives. If I host a lavish, wedding celebration where I spare no expense on food and drink and you receive it, in reciprocal hospitality, I would expect the same type of service when I attend a wedding celebration you host. If this didn’t happen, there were serious social repercussions:

●      The marriage may forever be branded a disgrace; the host family could be shamed, and the newly married couple would carry social stigmas of shame with them for the rest of their lives.

●      Other families who had previously hosted this family would have grounds for a lawsuit for damages if they were not treated the same.

●      Any steward associated with such a marriage celebration disaster would lose their job and never be able to work in the industry again. 

I could brand 2020 with disgrace. What started as a year of excitement and toasting to new adventures, has turned into disaster. I feel hot tears of emotion well up in my eyes thinking of social stigmas and the shame that comes intertwined with them. Social injustice. The ugliness of humanity on display regarding complex issues. It’s been a year that can leave me full of anger and scorn, if I let it.

As the story continues, Mary, Jesus’ mother, invites Jesus into the problem by telling Him about it. “They have no more wine.” If 2020 has done anything good in my life, it has brought me to my knees in prayer more than ever before to tell Jesus my problems. 

Jesus makes a statement to His mother that may seem harsh, “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” There is a shift happening in their relationship, and He is transitioning from her son to her Savior. Maybe 2020 has shifted your relationship with Jesus. Has He become even more your Savior? Do you feel distant from Him? Does He seem more real than ever before? Does the Christian life seem too overwhelming this year? Regardless of how you may have answered these questions, Mary gives us insight into how we can move forward as our relationship with Jesus shifts:

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”
John 2:5 (NIV) 

She walked in faith that the God she knew was real because she experienced Him in the flesh as no one else had or ever will. I love how Jesus, despite the seemingly harsh conversation He had with mother, and the heart wrenching shift in their relationship, made His first miracle something she brought to His attention. 

Jesus tells the servants to fill up six stone water jars with water. These stone jars were used for ceremonial washing, and they were very large, holding twenty to thirty gallons of water (vs. 6-7).  He then instructs the servants to draw the water out of the jars they just filled and take it to the master of banquet. They do, and the taste of the water turned into wine is so good that the Master of the banquet commends the bridegroom, and honors him.

What was a potential disaster and shameful situation, turned into a blessing for this newly married couple. On top of such a drastic change in the circumstances, there are some scholars and commentators who believe that the couple could have received financial profit from selling the leftover wine, which would continue to extend the blessing into their marriage and family. 

 Jesus can change anything. He can create something from nothing. He can change the molecular and chemical composition of water into wine. He can change the disgraceful, angry, painful, confusing, overwhelming year of 2020 into something good. If we let Him, we may find that what He has been able to do will leave us with an overflow and abundance of blessings to extend this year and remove the disgraceful branding.

He has continually provided for my family.

He has helped me remember what is truly important.

He has brought me closer to Him than I have been in a long time.

He has given me space and time to work on my own healing.  

Let us focus on what Jesus has shifted in us this year, do what He tells us to do, and may we find an overflow and abundance moving us into blessings. 

Points to Ponder:

1. How has 2020 been a difficult year for you personally?

2. How have you done “whatever Jesus tells you too,” this year?

3. Where or what have you seen Jesus change this year in your life? If you can’t think of anything, ask a friend to share with you.

4. Make a list of three things God has provided for you this year.

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Megan Sinisi absolutely adores a good cup of coffee, chocolate, and sitting with people to share life stories. She is a native to Las Vegas, born and raised, and has four beautiful children with her handsome husband, Vincenzo. She is a counselor, specializing in the field of addictions, with multiple certifications, both in Nevada and nationally. She directed Nevada’s largest treatment court and has been building her private practice since 2014, acquiring contracts with the City of Las Vegas, City of Henderson, Clark County Special Defender’s Office, and Zappos.com. It is because of her own journey of healing and through her career that she has learned the wounds we have can begin to be healed as we share our stories. She considers it an honor when someone shares their story with her, and hopes that as she shares her stories of victory and healing that others can be inspired, encouraged, and challenged. Megan has a love and fervor for writing and is walking in faith that God is calling her to use that passion and gift for His glory. She is someone who is known for her honesty and transparency that brings light to difficult situations and feelings, and offers hope and encouragement for the journey of life. It is her hope that by sharing her journey, it encourages, challenges, inspires, comforts, and most importantly, shines the light of Jesus and the reality of His love, grace, and mercy. You can find more from Megan at www.meganjsinisi.com And @meganjsinisi on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.