Delays

Everytime I feel lifted up into the heavenlies with an amazing sense of joy in the Lord, something brings me down. I have learned to thank God for obstacles as they are God's tools of learning.

This weekend is Father's Day weekend and I was trying to honor my husband's request for some alone time. I just happened to learn my niece and nephew would be in town for the weekend so I was very excited. They were expected at my siter's house early on Saturday morning. The day was warm, my son and I were excited to see the baby and the world seemed like an amazingly euphoric place. I was flying high and all of a sudden....it happened!!! A huge delay. A delay I never would have expected on such a cheerful, vibrant day, a day before Father's Day, no less!! A mere two hundred feet from my sister's house on a Canyon Road, the street was blocked and not expected to be open for several hours.....But we're almost to her house, I thought exasperatedly. After fifteen minutes of waiting slightly uphill, I decided to turn around and make some call. How did people exist before cell phones?

I called my husband and he told me I could get there another way....take awhile, but still it would work. The only issue I had is that I had another engagement that very day, that was a mere several hours a way. I called my niece and she said she was going the other way and would arrive at my sister's house in half an hour. I finally decided to go anyway and took the long route. I waited for my niece and the baby for two hours and they never came. More frustration, but like I said, I have learned to see these things as opportunities. Finally, I had to leave for the other event and went back to see if the road had opened. It was still blocked and a trip that would have taken 20 minutes took forty-five. I learned that five minutes after I left, my niece arrived happily with the baby, knowing nothing of my frustration and following hopeful spirit in spite of it all. To top it off, the last person arriving at the next event was about an hour late, so I didn't have to rush after all. I could have arrived later, lunch was postponed and I didn't get to see my little Geovanni who I had been longing to see. Yet, as I always thing.....I reasoned....Well, I could have cancer or a close family member who had died or was near death. Yet, I am a living, breathing, grateful child of God, who not only has salvation in Christ, but a wonderful husband (a little reclusive, but wonderful no less) five beautiful children and numerous nieces and nephews......These things on Father's Day and every day are what is most important.....I thank God I am alive in Him. What would I ever do without His grace?

Perspective

this morning I got up early and threw on my sweat pants ready to take my daily bike ride. They seemed more snug than usual. I thought...Oh dear, now I have to come up with more ways to loose weight. I got on the bike and started riding. All of a sudden I saw the color of the pants in the light and they weren't mine at all. Mine are black and these were navy blue. They are my daughters! I laughed gleefully, thankful that I had not gained weight overnight afterall!!! It sounds a little silly, but that is often how we view our life until we see things from God's perspective. The wonderful words He says about Himself and us in His Word really are true. They never change and we can take joy in believing He cares for us and loves us more than we'll ever know.

Suncreen and sympthy

I am a sunscreen fanatic. Four of my children tan easily and my oldest daughter and her father do not. They have gotten burned enough times for me to insist they use sunscreen. My husband who usually cooperates decided against being sympathetic to my phobia and refused it. He was about to play an instrument in a Memorial Day Concert and he kept saying that when he arrived, he would be given a hat and would not need the sunscreen. I reluctantly accepted his explanation and vowed to dismiss it in my mind. When he arrived, unbeknown to him, the concert started earlier than he thought so he was late. There was no hat in sight and there he was, unprotected bald head in the sun for two very long hours. I kept trying not to look at his head until my mom arrived and spoke of nothing else.....She was full of "whys?"
I just said, "I tried!" In our discussions following the concert and his sunburn the next day, he kept informing me that at least the news station supported him and his hatless head as he was on TV that very evening!!! We all got a good laugh out of it and I have vowed to continue my fanatical approach to sunscreen in the future.

God Stays the Same

I lost the job that I loved. The job I poured my heart and soul into for six years was suddenly gone. It was the perfect job for me because I was able to choose the days I worked, the schools I would go to and my life was fun, exciting and adventurous. Then there were some minor complaints and all of a sudden I was gone, with no recourse or chance to explain what had happened. Each day since, I have realized that God has not gone anywhere. His calling remains the same whether I am on the job or off the job. He never changes. He is my rock and my fortress and my deliver and everyday I have to remember that.