As I gazed upon her sad, near lifeless state, I was reminded of how she once used to be–full of life and a thriving perennial. But now, my poor, pitiful Spotted Dead Nettle plant’s appearance was a significant contrast to the way she used to pridefully display her spotted leaves and pink blooms.

A few years ago, I planted her along the edge of my driveway in front of my landscaping mounds of decorative rock, bushes and other plants. At the time, it seemed like a perfect home for “Nettle.” However, a few years of growth and maturation later, Nettle was growing in an almost horizontal downward course–favoring the concrete. She wasn’t adorning the topography of my landscaping as I had hoped. The beauty and unique characteristics of her silvery, spotted leaves, combined with her dainty pink flower plumes, were supposed to accentuate my Juniper bushes, not encroach upon my driveway. Nettle was also at daily risk of being trampled by feet and in harms way of car tires. I had no other choice but to move her to a safer and much better place.

I decided to transplant her to the upper tier of my decorative rock mound. If she grew in a forward, horizontal fashion, her leaves and flowers would drape gracefully over the rocks. If she decided to grow vertically, her pink flowers would provide the perfect contrast to my yellowish-green Junipers. Either way, her unique beauty–her individual gifts she brought to the table of life–would enhance the other things around her.

With my gardening trowel in hand, I hollowed out a better suited burrow for Nettle’s new home. I knew this wouldn’t be a pleasant experience for her. In order for this to be a successful transplant, I knew it was important to dig deep enough so I wouldn’t disturbed her roots. Each time I thought I had reached an acceptable level of depth, I would use my trowel as a lever and try to gently lift Nettle out of the soil. I kept meeting resistance. Apparently, I hadn’t dug deep enough. Either that, or Nettle was holding on with a white-knuckled grip to the only home she had known for the past few years.

I repeated the digging process until I thought I had actually made progress toward China! Finally, I was able to lift Nettle out of her familiar environment. I carefully placed her into her new abode. I added a generous amount of nutrient enriched potting soil around Nettle and then back-filled the crevasse with the dug out dirt. I sprinkled a liberal amount of water around her. I hoped the warmth of the of the sun’s rays would provide light and comfort for Nettle in her new surroundings.

Days later, however, pathetically she just lay there. She was in shock. Her drooping stems, wilted leaves and dainty blooms of pink lay crumbled on top of the soil around her. It was as if she had given up on life. I whispered, “Hang in there, Nettle. Trust me. I know you don’t like this. I know you’re stressed. But this new place will give you an opportunity to thrive. Eventually, you will be able to accomplish things you never would have been able to if I left you where you were.”

But because Nettle is just a plant, there was no way she could have understood that my plans for her were in her best interest. There were no words I could have spoken that would have convinced her that these new surroundings would not only benefit her, but those around her. There was nothing I could have done that would have helped her realize that this transplant would allow her to reach her full potential.

Like Nettle, sometimes we feel as though we have been transplanted. Life, as we have known it, changes. Our familiar surroundings alters, and what we have become accustomed to is no longer the same. We may have been going through life, faithfully serving God, and then suddenly we experienced the death of a loved one, a physical accident or an illness that has affected the way we need to live life, the loss of a job, or an undesirable move. When God places us in a new environment, typically, we don’t like it. We don’t approve. We’re stressed. And with a white-knuckled grip, we desperately want to hold on to our old way of life.

Anger, hurt, and disappointment with our new surroundings leaves us in a state of shock. The unique characteristics we brought to the table of life, we feel we can no longer bring. The gifts and talents we used to gladly and pridefully offer begin to wither and wilt. And at times, we may even want to give up on life.

But all the while God is whispering, “Hang in there. Trust Me. I know you don’t like this. I know you are stressed. But these new surroundings will one day give you an opportunity to thrive and to enhance those around you. Eventually, you will be able to achieve things you never would have been able to if I left you where you were.”

When I transplanted Nettle, a human factor was involved. There was the possibility I didn’t do it correctly–the possibility I made a mistake. But we can find comfort in knowing that when God transplants us, a supernatural factor is involved. There is no possibility of a mistake. God knows our unique characteristics. He knows the individual gifts we possess. (Some of which we may not even know we have yet.) And He knows the best environment for them to be most effectively used–not only to benefit us, but also those around us.

Unlike Nettle however, there is a way for us to know that when we’ve been transplanted, God truly has our best interest at heart. God’s spoken Word in Psalm 119:50, assures us that His promises give us life. They revive us. They rejuvenate us. They will provide the comfort we need to help us through those undesirable transplanted moments of our life. And what are some of those promises

“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

“Persevere and don’t give up for at the proper time you will reap      a harvest.” (Galatians 6:9)

“I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“I will be faithful to complete the good work I began in you.” (Philippians 1:6)

And in Romans 8:28, God promises that in all things–aka every-transplanted-moment-of-our-life, He will be working out for our good. We may not see that “good” at the time, but if we will commit to Galatians 6:9, and persevere through our undesirable new surroundings, eventually, God promises we will reap a harvest!

Have you ever been in this place before? It’s that place where each new day seems to be accompanied by another reminder that life is hard–possibly, too hard. It’s a place where hurt and disappointment doesn’t seem to relent. And when you optimistically hope and pray that a reprieve from what you have been going through is just around the corner, this is the place that leaves you feeling as though that corner is just too far away. The lyrics from the Broadway musical, Annie, encouragingly say:

The sun’ll come out tomorrow.

Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow,

there’ll be sun.

But you’ve come to the conclusion that if you were Annie, you’d have no bottom dollars left! Because when your tomorrow arrives, you find yourself asking, “Ok, where’s the sun?”

It’s not like you are unversed in God’s Word. I’m sure Romans 8:28 has been indelibly etched upon your heart. “For we know that all things work together for the good to those who love the Lord.”

Perhaps, you have repeated Jeremiah 29:11 more times than you can count. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future.”

In fact, I bet you have made Galatians 6:9, “Persevere and don’t give up for at the proper time you will reap a harvest,” your personal life’s motto.

But with complete honesty, you’re not really seeing any harvest from your attempts at persevering. And although you try to convince yourself that God’s hand is at work in this situation, you can’t see how what you are going through can possibly lead to anything good. You can reason that the “hope and future” God refers to in Jeremiah regards your heavenly home, but that doesn’t change your desire for wanting that hope and future God promised to be for this home–the here and now.  

When God disappoints…

In that deepest place of your heart, you realize it’s really not all the whats in your life you are so disappointed with, as much as it is the Who you are so disappointed in. And as you wait for your situation to improve, you don’t fear that God won’t show up. Your biggest fear is that He already has.

When God disappoints…

Maybe you’ve cried out to God, “Lord, if what You are allowing me to go through is evidence of Your love, then please have mercy on me and don’t love me so much!” Or maybe you have taken a sabbatical from praying about your situation at all. You reason if you don’t pray about it and it never gets better, then you can blame yourself. But if you continue to pray that your circumstances will improve, and instead they stay on their current course (or for that matter, appear to get worse) you fear you will blame God and become even more disappointed in Him.

So again I ask, have you been here before? Does this place I’ve described sound familiar? Or maybe, is this the place where you currently find yourself living–where God disappoints?

Candidly, you may find it disconcerting to admit that this is the place where you are right now. You haven’t considered yourself a “baby Christian” for years. In fact, you’re often the one who’s been there to build up and encourage others when they are going through difficult times. You have whole-heartedly expressed the words of Paul, “we can rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” (Romans 5:3.) But right now the only thing that sounds remotely hopeful to you, is running as far away as you possibly can from developing any more character!  

When God disappoints…

I recently read that, “disappointment happens when our expectations are not met by our experiences.” Even as a child of God, we often expect that He should protect us from the barrage of hurts and sufferings this fallen world frequently brings with it. When that protection doesn’t seem to occur, we find ourselves profoundly disappointed in Him. Maybe if we could hear an audible voice from heaven acknowledging our painful circumstances, or an assurance that indeed, our sun will come out tomorrow, we would have a renewed strength to persevere.

Lately, I too, have found myself in this place. Like an accomplished defense attorney, I feel I can present a valid argument for why I’m entitled to be disappointed in God. Additionally, it appears I’ve also emotionally entered the healthcare profession. I have been quite proficient at nursing these disappointments of mine–keeping them alive and well. But each day that I hold on to these disappointments, refusing to let them go (because it justifies the silent treatment I’m giving God right now) only keeps me in deeper bondage to my pain. But God’s word says that, “the truth will set us free” (John 8:32.) So what is the truth?

Truth number 1: Our God is an all-loving God. He is big enough to hear all of our disappointments in Him and still love us beyond anything we can imagine. Moses, Job, Jeremiah and David all had moments in their life where they questioned God’s plan and expressed their disappointments. God is no stranger to hearing our disappointments either. In fact, He encourages it. “Cast your burdens on Me and I will take care of you…”(Psalm 55:22.) “Come to me when you are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew11:28.) And in Phillipians 4:6, “through prayer and petition make your requests known to God.”

Truth number 2: “All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful…” (Psalm 25:10.) And I believe there is probably an unwritten addendum to that verse: whether we understand those ways or not. God also tells us that, His ways are not our ways. They are higher and far beyond anything we can imagine (Psalm 55:8-9.)

Truth number 3: God promises, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” (Joshua 1:5.) Is it possible that during those moments in our life when we don’t feel God’s presence, it’s not because He has turned His back on us, but rather that we have turned our back on Him?

Truth number 4: When Paul tells us we can rejoice in our troubles, (James 1:2-4) he isn’t telling us to rejoice in the pain those troubles bring with it, but instead we can rejoice in the results that pain will eventually bring about.

Truth number 5: God is working something out in our life. He never wastes a crisis. Our pain isn’t for naught and our pleas for relief isn’t falling on deaf ears either. “For He who began a good work in us will be faithful to bring it to completion” (Phillipians 1:6.) Like you, I also wish that completing process didn’t have to be so painful. However, God does promise that He is “near to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18.)

Truth number 6: Actually we do have an assurance that our sun will come out tomorrow. Psalm 30:5 does say that “…weeping may last through the night but joy comes in the morning.” Our morning may not arrive by tomorrow. But until it does, even in the midst of all our hurts and disappointment, we can continue to pour our heart out to God. We can continue to persevere and not give up. And we can believe that at the proper time our pain will reap a harvest of joy–someday.

John F. Kennedy, the 35^th president of the United States, is known among other things for his inaugural speech. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy began his presidency by speaking this historical line, “Fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This quote, and variations of it’s context, has been repeated over and over throughout the past fifty-four years–making it one of the most famous quotes of a modern United States president.

Kennedy, or his speech writer, probably didn’t intend to offer such spiritual wisdom, but that famous quote actually holds biblical advice. Basically, what that quote implies is don’t seek to find what can be given to you, but rather seek what you can give instead. When we strive to be the giver rather than the givee, we are doing what Jesus instructed us to do.

We live in a culture where our music, advertising slogans, and forms of entertainment encourage us to take care of ourselves. To do what feels right for us, and to make ourselves number one. Yet, that is the antithesis of how Jesus encourages us to live. In Philippians 2:3b, Paul says, “…in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Acts 20:35 reminds us of the words Jesus spoke, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Matthew 20:28 tells us that, “the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve…” And in Mark 9:35, as Jesus sits with the twelve disciples, He tells them, “Anyone who wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

How does living out that advice look like in our day-to-day life? I’m not sure that too many of us really know what that looks like; because most of us, if we are honest, struggle with living our life that way. To be candid, I struggle with this too. Often, I find myself thinking,

I just want to relax

I just want to take care of me today

I just want to do something fun

I just…

But now that I’ve typed out those wants, there’s one word that jumps out at me. It’s present in every single one of them. I. I am the focus. Maybe what Jesus is trying to tell us is that when we focus on ourselves, we will never be satisfied. There will always be one more, I want.

Instead, we should find ourselves thinking,

What can I do to help ________________relax

                                       (Someone else)

What can I do to take care of __________________today

                                                    (Someone else)

What can I do to help __________________have fun.

                                        (Someone else)

When our focus becomes more about what we give, rather than what we want to have given to us, according to Jesus, that is a more blessed position to be in. Proverbs 11:25 sums it up perfectly, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Maybe the real reason we often find ourselves wanting so much, is because we often aren’t really giving that much.

So if we were to begin, to start, to commence today with a new mind set, maybe we could apply that famous quote from Kennedy’s inaugural speech to our own life. Rather than wondering how others can serve us, instead, we could begin each day by asking ourselves how we can serve others.

Welcome Susie Baker as my guest blogger this month!. Susie has been and continues to be one of my dearest friends and mentors. Susie writes, speaks, and shares her gift of wisdom to many. She is the mom of three grown children, two of which are pastors, as well as the proud grandma of five! Thanks Susie, for filling in for me this month!

A scripture that has spoken to me often down through the years is found in Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” The phrase “guard your heart,” could be used in reference to both your physical and spiritual heart. Several years ago, I had to have bypass surgery and ever since then I have to have my heart checked every 6 months. I have been convicted that my spiritual heart needs a check-up much more often – like every day!

We can so easily get in the habit of doing life, just going through the motions, even when doing “Christian things,” and not realize that something　has crept into our heart. Some of those things not only affect us, but they can hurt or hinder others as well. The longer an issue, or heart condition, is left unattended the deeper its roots go. Then it becomes harder and harder to deal with. But the good news is, we can prevent that with God’s help.

We know that our heart ultimately governs our behavior. So when we say or do something that “surprises” us, if we will get really honest with ourselves (and with God) and think about it, we will discover the root of that action.

Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (NIV). God is not looking at our outer actions as closely as He is looking at what motivates them. Because what’s inside us is the root of what comes out of us. God is much more concerned that the things we do come from a pure, Holy Spirit-led heart. The Holy Spirit is more than ready and willing to help us “guard our heart.”

If God is looking at what motivates us, we need to be sure we are doing what we do as unto the Lord and not for any other purpose. People in this world are spiritually hungry. And as Christians, it’s not enough for us to go around displaying things like bumper stickers and Christian jewelry. We must bear fruit. What is our fruit? It’s love…loving　people, helping them, giving; not only our money, but our time, our efforts and ourselves. People need to see love in action!

You never know what will happen in the course of one day or the next. Learn to keep your heart right so that you will be able to maintain peace no matter what the day brings your way. That’s why I encourage you to do a spiritual heart “check-up” on a regular basis…have a meeting with yourself…and be honest with yourself about your motives. Work with the Holy Spirit and He will help you keep your heart pure and in good condition so you will glorify Him with your actions.

Hey Moms!

Looking for a creative Bible game you can do with your kids to celebrate the Easter season? This spin on the traditional Easter Egg Hunt can help instill the crucifixion and resurrection story to your kids.

Easter Egg Hunt

1. Using a word processor, type out verses from the Easter Story using verses from Matthew 26-28, Luke 24-26 or Mark 14-16 ) However, don’t include the references.

2. Print the verses and cut each verse into a slip, fold the slips and place one slip into each of the plastic eggs ( I add candy to the eggs as well! )

3.Hide the eggs and let your kids find them.

4.Once your kids have found all the eggs, have them take the Bible verses out and place them in the order in which they happened according the Easter Story.

If your kids are younger and aren’t able to read, or read well, you can use pictures from clipart to place in the eggs instead. For example, go to “images” on your computer and type in phrases such as “Jesus being arrested clipart,” Jesus on the cross clipart” or “the stone being rolled away clipart.” Print the pictures, cut them out, and place them in the eggs. However, if your kids can read, following are some of the verses I use from the Easter Story.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can make this Easter special for your family as you celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior!!

Love,

Jeralyn

Judas agreed to betray Jesus for 30 silver coins.

Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Him three times before the rooster crows.

Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane.

“My Father, if it is possible please take this cup from me. Yet, not as I will but as you will.”

“The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.”

They bound Jesus and handed Him over to Pilate.

Pilate had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers put a scarlet robe on him twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on his head.

When they saw the earthquake and all that had happened they were frightened and exclaimed “Surely he was the son of God.”

Jesus’ body was wrapped in clean linen cloth and placed in a tomb.

The angel said to the women “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

Mine!” I remember my two-year-old speaking with certainty when she would grab a toy away from her older sister. “Mine,” was one of the first words I believe my youngest daughter spoke as a toddler. When she uttered that word, it was also accompanied with some choreography. On any other occasion, she may have still been a little wobbly on her feet when she walked. But all of a sudden, when she would see her older sister playing with a toy that she felt was solely hers, she could somehow make her way across the room with an accomplished Quick-Step to where her sister was playing. Then without any hesitation, she would grab the toy from her sister’s hands and declare, “MINE!”

This behavior must be instinctive. I never modeled for my children the “mine” mentality. Although those moments frequently required me to step in and teach the concept of sharing, I have often wondered where do toddlers develop the belief that certain toys belong exclusively to them–if it’s not taught? How much easier those moments would have been if my daughter’s declaration to her sister instead, would simply have been, “yours.”

Does the “mine” mentality go beyond the toddler years? As an adult, are there certain things we presume belong exclusively to us–our life, our dreams, our desires, our future, our plans? God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…” And in Isaiah 55:8, God proclaims that His ways are not our ways.

Yet, how often do we want our way, and try to live our life as though, we know the plans we have for us…? And just like my daughter when she was a toddler, we want to grab our life from God’s hands and declare, “Mine!”

Guilty. I realized the other day that sometimes I still struggle with the “mine” mentality too. When I’m frustrated with the direction certain things in my life are heading, when I believe that if I do A, then B should follow, but it doesn’t. Or, when God seems to be taking me down a road I don’t want to travel, my natural instinct seems to lead me to that “mine” mentality. It’s during those moments that I want to declare exclusive rights to my life.

When we look at the story of the rich man in Mark 10:17-22, we see a man who clearly believed in Christ and wanted to inherit eternal life. He was a man who had followed the Ten Commandments since he was a boy. But when Jesus told him that he needed to sell all his earthly possessions and follow Him, the man couldn’t bring himself to do it. The Message version says, “He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let go.”

While my struggle may not be with letting go of earthly possessions like the rich man in Mark, I do struggle with not always wanting to let go of my life. And where do I get the idea that my life belongs to me, when everything in God’s Word confirms that our life belongs to Him?

I know God can use my personal “mine” mentality moments to teach me the concept of trust. But how much easier would those moments be if rather than looking at my life as mine, instead I’d look at my life as though it was His? And willingly, at the feet of Jesus, I would lay my life down and simply declare, “Yours.”

‘Twas the night before Christmas,

when all through the house,

not a creature was stirring,

not even a mouse…

The children were nestled

all snug in their beds,

while visions of sugar plums

danced in their heads…

The other day I found this classic Christmas poem dancing around in my head! No matter how I busied myself throughout the day, my mind kept repeating the words again. Finally, I found myself wondering, What’s a sugar plum anyway? After some thorough “research” on my laptop, I came to the conclusion that it’s basically candy.

I then reasoned if a child is dreaming of candy, that must signify that all is well in their world. They are at peace. They’re snuggled in their beds without a care. They can close their eyes and just dream of the candy they hope to find under the Christmas tree in the morning. Ahh…to be so relaxed and peaceful. When was the last time I had so little to think about that I could close my eyes and actually dream about candy?

My typical dreams have more to do with all the clatter in my life–bills to pay, a family or relationship issue to address, too many things on my calendar…. When I close my eyes for a long winter’s nap, more than likely, the last thing I will be dreaming about are sugar plums!

God may not have intended that we dream of candy when we climb into bed at the end of a long day, but I do believe He intended that we receive a restful night’s sleep. Ecclesiastes 5:3 tells us that, “…bad dreams come from too much worrying…” And in Proverbs 3:24 we read, “…your sleep is to be sweet.”

How often do I miss God’s intent for a sweet night’s sleep because I’m too preoccupied with the issues of my day? Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.” The Message version goes on to say, “Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Too often, I know I deny Jesus the opportunity to displace my worries. How about you? Do you have a tendency to hold on to your worries and concerns about your life too? Matthew 6:27 says, no one can add a single hour to his life by worrying. And Jesus also promises us in Matthew that He will offer us rest when we are weary and burdened. (Matt 11:28)

Each Christmas season, our family hangs stockings by our fireplace mantel. Each stocking represents a member of our family. However, a few years ago we started a new tradition. We added one other stocking to the mantel–the Jesus stocking. This stocking represents what we will give to Jesus for His birthday. On a small, square piece of decorative paper or card stock, we each write down something we know we need to give to Jesus over the coming new year. Maybe its an:

Attitude that needs some adjustment

An issue that needs to be resolved

A stronger desire to be in His Word

Or (as in my case) the tendency to hold on to my worries.

Each Christmas we write the year in the corner of the card. The following year we read what we gave to Jesus from the year before. Were we successful? Did we make an improvement in that area of our life?

What I give to Jesus in the Jesus stocking goes beyond just muttering a prayer. It’s a physical, tangible exercise in coming to Jesus with my burdens. When I write it, when I keep it so I can revisit what I promised to give Him from the year before, I believe that exercise serves as accountability. Am I truly giving this to Jesus? And it also serves as a reminder of His promise–that He will give me rest.

Jesus longs for you and me to cast our anxiety on Him because He cares for us. (1Peter 5:7) He desires that we make our requests known to Him. (Php 4:6) This Christmas, will you give Jesus what He’s asking you to give Him?

To all of my fellow worriers, we may not ever experience visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads when we settle down for our long winter’s naps, but we can experience the vision of our Savior saying, “Come to Me all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28)

May you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season!

~Jeralyn

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks from today. It’s a smaller crew for us this year–just the four of us and my parents. However, that doesn’t diminish my desire to have my house in order. A few weeks ago I heard a noise in the living room. We live in an older home so at first; I assumed it was the radiators making a noise, or possibly, just the typical creeks an old house makes. The cause of that noise had gone undetected for a few more days. Then one fateful morning as I was heading out the front door, I heard the noise again. I turned my head toward the direction of the sound, and that’s when I discovered it–a leak in the corner of living room ceiling. Apparently, a pipe in the upstairs bathroom decided it had served our house long enough. Who knows how long that pipe’s usefulness had been expired before the water had penetrated the plaster of the ceiling and made its way to the surface of the glass coffee table directly below.

Sometimes, I wish my husband wasn’t so handy around the house. This leak is something he can fix. We will save thousands of dollars by having my husband do the work, but it will take twice as long. My husband has a job-job during the day. So any home repair work has to wait until the weekends. Have I mentioned that Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks?

As with every project in my house, it always turns into something more major! Are house repairs ever quick fixes? Currently, my living room furniture resides in the dining room. I have three large holes in my living room ceiling. Tools, a ladder, dropcloths and items I don’t really know the names of (although they having something to do with repairing holes in plaster) are adorning the front door area of my house. Did I mention that Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks?

However, this leaky pipe mishap has created an opportunity to make some improvements. Since the ceiling is open, my husband has decided it’s the perfect time to add some accent lighting and some crown molding to this room. When it’s all said and done, I know I will be glad the pipe leaked. The messy repair work of this pipe mishap is unpleasant and stressful now, but the end result will be worth it.

As I look at the disarray in my house, I’m reminded of the times that I, too, have been in a state of disarray. I went through painful years of infertility. I experienced my fair share of hurts, disappointments and obstacles while leading a women’s ministry for nine years. And there have been plenty of challenges that have gone along with being a mom. But those moments in my life have all been opportunities God used to make some improvements in me. Of course, those difficulties weren’t pleasant at the time, but the end result brought about spiritual growth, maturity and a deeper faith. I am better off today than I was before those moments of disarray.

Like my living room, sometimes we are under construction too. God’s not finished with us yet. We will experience moments when our life seems far from calm and orderly. During those moments, God often comes in to make some improvements in us. As James says, “Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

One day, the work in my living room will be finished. I’m just hoping that “one day” will be before Thanksgiving!

Why does everything always seem to happen at once? I can have nothing scheduled on my calendar, and then all of a sudden I find myself competing in a relay race with the clock. Like a sports car, I’ve gone from zero to sixty in no time. Do I have a tendency to over-commit? In my human desire to feel needed and appreciated for what I can offer this world, do I say, “yes” too many times?

I had my week all planned out. My laundry had been piling up. My kitchen counters were beckoning me to remove the stacks of mail that had been laid to rest on them from the previous hectic week. And my kitchen floor needed some quality time with the mop. I had the perfect week to take care of all of these things. I only had one commitment on my calendar. Other than that, I had the entire week to tend to my house and fine-tune a few thoughts for an upcoming speaking engagement. With a laundry basket in one arm and my mop in the other, I was ready to tackle my household chores. Once I had a load of laundry started, and my floor was dry, I could begin the process of going through the mail. I even had visions of making a homemade apple pie with the bag of apples we had purchased from the apple orchard that past weekend. I knew getting my house in order, and smelling the aroma of a freshly baked apple pie would create the perfect atmosphere for putting those final touches on my presentation.

And then my cell phone buzzed to let me know I had an incoming text message. My college aged daughter, who attends school thirty miles away, wanted me to spend the night with her at her apartment that night and help her study for her midterms. She had five tests scheduled for that week and was feeling overwhelmed. “Of course,” I said, “I’ll be there in a few hours.” After all, this was my baby, and she needed me. The mail and house could wait another twenty-four hours.

I arrived back home the following day, and then my cell phone rang. The women’s clothing store I work part time at wanted to know if I could come in because the gal scheduled to work that day was home with the flu. What was I suppose to say? “No, I can’t. I have a previous engagement with my laundry room and the kitchen floor.” The mail and laundry have waited this long; I reasoned. What’s one more day?

And then, that night I received a call from a friend who needed help with an event she was hosting in two days. How could I say, “No?” Proverbs 18:24 does say that a true friend sticks closer than a brother.

All of these ‘and then’ moments I kept experiencing were beginning to feel like a true friend who was sticking closer than a brother to me!

Why does everyone seem to need me all at once? If all of these and then moments could have been spread out over the course of a few weeks, my life would have been so much easier. But then they wouldn’t have been and then moments at all.

My lack of time became the very thing that kept me where I really needed to be the most–on my knees. I prayed that God would increase the hours in my day, give me one more day in my week, and replace any physical exhaustion I was feeling with energy. I needed His strength. Had I said no, instead of yes to all of those requests, I’m sure I could have spared myself a lot of stress. But I wouldn’t have felt the need to rely on God as much as I did.

I may not ever know for sure if I had over-committed that week, but I do know for sure what I learned. It’s amazing how many household chores and speaking preparations you can accomplish on your knees!

That week is behind me now. Everything got done, and I was prepared for speaking. I believe God honored my heart’s desire to be helpful to those who are important in my life, and yet, still manage to carry out my own commitments. I was able to accomplish all things through Christ, who gave me strength. What a valuable lesson I would have missed out on if I had just said, “No.”

P.S. In the future, however, I may just consider hiding my cell phone!

Back to school has been a phrase that has always signified my kids going back to the school year schedule–eight in the morning until three thirty in the afternoon. Even when my oldest daughter left for college, I still had my younger daughter at home. But this year, back to school took on a whole new meaning at our house. There would be no more hectic mornings of backing out of the driveway (later than we should be) to get to school. No more running by Wal-mart to get that one more needed school supply. No more permission slip forms to sign for field trips. No more sport’s physicals to schedule. No more basketball games, musical concerts or plays to attend. No more phone calls from one of my kids saying, “Mom, I left my homework–my paper–my gym bag–my…. Can you drop it by the school today?” No more taxi service duties for me. For twenty years, this is what I have known. These are the things that have been a part of my routine. This is what I did as a mom.

A few weeks ago we took our “baby” to college. Now what responsibilities do I have? The duties I had as a mom (when my kids were living at home) were a labor of love, but they also identified me. I knew I had purpose. I knew I was needed.

Since taking my daughter to college, I have felt somewhat displaced. Now what do I do? All of these things I had planned on doing when my kids left for college–because I would finally have the time–aren’t getting done. I can’t seem to concentrate. Instead, the lack of activity and the absence of clutter is a distraction. It’s a stark reminder that my life has changed. The other day I walked by their empty bedrooms. Oh, the number of days I would walk by one of their rooms and sigh with a level of frustration over the condition of their space, has now been replaced with a woeful sigh as I look on the spotless condition of that space. The kitchen counters I cleaned two days ago still look clean. They’re not adorned with school papers, books, and poster board from the latest History project. The front door area, for so many years occupied with shoes, backpacks, and items not to be forgotten on the way to school, is now clutter free. When three o’clock arrives in the afternoon, I don’t need to stop what I’m doing in order to pick up a child from school. My daily to do list isn’t dictated by my kid’s schedules. And the hustle and bustle of piano lessons, basketball games, and reminding someone to, “Please get your homework done,” has now been assigned to the memory category of my life instead of the reality category of my life.

Maybe if I just scattered some of my kid’s paraphernalia all over the house, I could finally begin my projects I had planned to do this fall. Perhaps, I would feel as though life is back to normal. Eventually, this new phase of life I’m in will be the new normal, but for right now I’m disoriented. I don’t recognize my new surroundings, and I’m still trying to get my bearings.

For three and half weeks I’ve been trying to finish this blog, and I don’t know where to go with my conclusion. I’m not sure what to say next. As I was discussing my dilemma with my husband this morning, he offered me some insight. He told me that at times it’s too difficult to resolve what we’re going through when we’re still in the middle of going through it. And then it hit me! I’ve never been in this place before. This is all too new. With honesty, I admit that I don’t have the answers to my current dilemma right now. And that’s OK. Apparently, God is still working something out in me.

What do you have going on in your life? What is God still working out in you? Sometimes, we don’t need to have all the answers. Sometimes we just need to say, “Here I am and I’m not exactly sure where that is. But God does.” Be honest. Be patient. And know that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion!