While I'm Waiting....

Too often in our walk of life we find ourselves waiting--waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting for the final results of the ACFW Genesis contest :), waiting on God to answer.... So what do we do while we're waiting?

You know the old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun." Why not apply it to your situation? Take a step back and don't forget to enjoy the life God has given you. Worship and serve Him while you wait.

As my pastor preached recently, it's the patient endurance of our trials that gives us the strength to continue following God. Romans 5:3 (NASB) testifies to this--"We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance." 

 What will you do while you wait?

Weehoo!

You know, those old timers knew what worked. I was reminded this past week of that very fact while standing on a roof . My mother watches one of my little cousins. At two-years-old, she loves to roam and explore (and put things where they don't belong--but that's another story :) ). As with most children as long as you can hear them you know their okay and not up to something. Well, my little cousin wandered over to my carport. We knew she hadn't gone far, but she was hidden behind my car--and she was quiet. Can you say trouble in the making? :)

My mom calls her name. She doesn't respond. Mom calls again. Still silence. My mom sing-songs, "weehoo!" My cousin mimics in her cute, little, childlike voice, "weehoo!" Oh, it was so adorable. I couldn't help but smile. Apparently, my great-grandmother used to employ this method with my sister when she was little. There are most definitely things we can learn from our elders.

What is one thing you've learned from those older and wiser than yourself?

You Can't Take It With You

This picture captures some of the items that belonged to one of my uncles that recently passed away. They now belong to me. Proof that you can't take anything with you when you go--unless you count the people that you can reach for Christ and take with you to heaven.

Believe it or not but someone was willing to throw away this antique dresser. Not me. My mom and I fixed the bottom portion that had come off with a few screws. Now the typewriter--I had to fight my grandma for it. :) As far as I can gather, it is a Royal Quiet De Luxe gold portable typewriter, dating back to around the late 1940s. The gold-plated machine was a limited edition and one of them was said to have been owned by the author Ian Fleming. How cool is that! Now I have one too. :)

Anyway, do you have any cool antiques?

When the Ceiling Caves

Sometimes life is so much more than what you expect. Sometimes for the good. Sometimes for the not-so-good. For example: yesterday, I walked into my building out back that we started re-roofing and discovered about a quarter of the ceiling had caved, depositing sheet rock and insulation and soot and dirt and wasp nests and water...all over my carpet. We'd thought we'd protected this from happening by covering the unfinished, unshingled roof with tarps. (We did this in the dark, in the rain before the bottom fell out and everything got drenched last week.) Clearly, one of those tarps had seen better days--as had I.

What do we do when these things happen? Do we cry? get angry? depressed? or just press on? Maybe it's a combination of all of these. My first reaction was to turn my back to the destruction and breathe, "Lord have mercy." Even my mother copied the prayer when she saw the mess. In these situations, so many factors are out of our control.  However, the one thing we have control over is our reaction. We can take the experiences we have and use them as stepping stones for higher ground or we can let them bury us. I prefer to be a climber. I do this by clinging to God's promises. Promises like--

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28

I know and trust God can and will work everything out for my good. If anything, I can relate better to the woman in my book and write the scene in a more realistic fashion to touch the hearts of those who read it in a more meaningful way.

What about you? Has there ever been a time when something bad happened and later you could see God using it for good in your life? Leave a comment and share your experience. You never know who you might help with your story.