Let me explain.
Last week was all joy and happiness for Mr. B and the rest of our crew. Surrounded by the magnificent mountains...savoring the blessed coolness...enjoying freedom from the daily grind of chores back at home...and relishing time to breathe, read, write, and think. "Margin," I think it's called. Margin, plus family and friends, plus God's stunning mountains--yes, a good, good week to be sure.
But then, it was back to "reality." Meaning--arriving home in the early evening to a home that clocked in close to 90 degrees. A broken air conditioner quickly lead to busted attitudes. Where had that joyful, rested, grateful vacation spirit gone? We'd left the mountains at 77 degrees and returned to Raleigh at 95 degrees...with our furnace-like house not far behind. Too bad we weren't in the mood for hot yoga. But we most definitely were not in the mood.
After unloading in the stifling humidity--inside and out--for what seemed like hours, it was time for laundry, unpacking, cleaning up, and finally facing the hard reality of that lengthy to-do list that I'd happily forgotten about for a week.
By the way, have you noticed that to-do lists never seem to diminish when left alone? No sir, they multiply exponentially, like bacteria spore under a heat lamp. Those lists just fester and grow uglier, longer, and more urgent.
Happily, for a distressingly large amount of money (since it was after-hours), the very nice man from the AC/Heating company fixed our problem, and we were back in business...well, that is, after about 24 hours since that's how long it took the house to recover from the shock of the sauna conditions.
The next day, however, things were looking up...the house was down to a cool 79 degrees, and I only had about 3 more loads of laundry to finish up...well, that and the dreaded to-do list. But still, progress. That night (i.e. last night) we went out for a fun family dinner and had a big time--seriously, one of God's greatest gifts has to be good food combined with great fellowship! And waiting for us back home was another of God's finest gifts--chocolate cake. Oh yeah, things were definitely looking up.
Until we opened the door. I won't go into details except to quote my husband's exclamation last night: "Oh no, Bingley had a sick stomach!" The rest of us could smell it even outside the kitchen door.
Then as he walked inside, he yelled, "Oh no, Bingley has had another sick stomach!' (By the way, wasn't that a nice, quaint way to describe it? I never knew my husband was a poet. I'm sure Bingley appreciated the dignity and restraint employed by his "daddy.")
Finally, a moment later--as more of the horrors awaiting us unfolded, Richard screamed, "Oh no, a third one! Grab the paper towels and clorox now!"
Here's the really remarkable thing--I don't recall seeing hide nor tail of Preyer or Peter after Richard's first exclamation. I've never seen those boys move so fast. They vanished within milliseconds and were not located again for a good half hour. Gee, thanks guys.
So it was left to good old Dad, Mom, and Janie (bless her heart--way to hang in there, girl!) to cover our noses as best we could and clean up the kitchen. Bingley looked pathetic--so sad, so disappointed in himself, and so confused by all our gagging. Yes, it was a lovely ending to the day. For the first time in my life, I wasn't all that interested in chocolate cake, if you know what I mean.
Some days are just like that, aren't they? In fact, that's simply the cyclical nature of life--some days we inhale the mountain top air of contentment, rest, and happiness. Others, well, it's choking on the garbage dump of exhaustion, failure, and discouragement.
But here's the thing--we have the choice as to whether we'll complain or commit it to the Savior. Whether we'll focus on the mess and all that we lack or fix our eyes on the Messiah and all that we possess in Him. And whether we'll resent the circumstances God has given us or rejoice in our God whose over all those circumstances.
Let me be honest here--I often flunk the test...at least initially. But here's the glorious thing about our God and His Word--the more we immerse ourselves in His Word, the more He speaks to us through it and can correct and change us mid-course.
And our God can move us in a moment from fussing and fretting to praising and trusting. Only our Lord can take an ugly, thankless, complaining heart and transform it in the twinkling of an eye into a heart overflowing with gratitude for His glorious grace and goodness. Through His Word, our God replaces our worry with worship.
Here's how He did it with me: by glancing at a simple verse framed in our house, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing." (Phil.2:14) I can't explain it, but reading those words suddenly jerked me back to the real reality--the real reality that God is right here in the midst of all the messiness of our lives. That He is present, that He is moving and active, and that He is using it all, somehow, someway, for His greater glory and our ultimate good.
Funny how quickly we forget...and sometimes all we need is a quick little reminder to hit "reset." Reset our attitude, return to our sovereign King, and rejoice in His continual grace in our lives.
Once God reminded me, He brought to mind the wonderful verses I've been reading this summer from Hebrews: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight [like complaining, self-pity, and ingratitude] and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted." (Heb.12:1-3)
Says it all, doesn't it? Lay aside the weight of all that sin and shame, fix your eyes on Jesus, and keep running your race. Not your neighbor's race...your God-given race.
And while you're running, keep looking to Jesus; keep seeking His grace for another day; keep asking for His love and wisdom to deal with whatever you're facing; keep trusting in His perfect provision for your race; and keep rejoicing in Him who has already run the race for you and with you.
So, thank You Jesus for all of it--the mountains, the friends and family, the coolness, the heat, the sickness, the mess...and the Messiah over all of it! Help us to keep running our race with joy, looking to You, rejoicing in You, and living for You. 'Cause You've got it all, every single bit of it. And You will carry us through to the finish line.
To God be the glory.
Wow - that was a HUGE test! I'm glad this is a blog rather than a "scratch-n-sniff" book! Always love to read about your adventures. Hope Mr. B. is feeling better soon!
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, be VERY thankful this is not a scratch-n-sniff book--it would be censored! And yes, Mr. B feeling much better. He especially loves his fancy pants special prescription dog food he gets for his upset stomach. It's the real stuff (that smells like cat food) not his usual dry stuff. He's probably going to start trying to make himself sick so he can get it again!!! xoxo
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