Hurray!

It has been a very long week. I woke up this morning feeling like Gloomy Gussie (Mark’s affectionate name for me.) As overwhelmed as I feel, I have a new respect and admiration for military families that move often because it requires such strength, endurance, and stamina. Greeting a myriad of boxes at every turn, furniture in the wrong place or wrong room, endless missing parts to the whole, the doorbell ringing with workmen stopping by to fix something – I wonder if my one step at time will bring me to the end of this journey. Yet after five days of searching, Mark did find the missing comforter for our bed in the pile of boxes in the garage and I found the two errant lampshades in a box stacked in the closet. I knew that I needed some spiritual refreshment so I prayed for comfort and encouragement and was rewarded in Psalm 27:

11-Teach me how to live, O LORD.
Lead me along the path of honesty,
for my enemies are waiting for me to fall.
13-Yet I am confident that I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
14-Wait patiently for the LORD.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

As I read, I smiled to myself because there was His promise, again, to lead me on this path. And my part? It is to be brave and courageous and wait – patiently! It has taken most of the day for the gloominess to lift but tonight I feel encouraged that tomorrow I will be one step closer to order in all of this chaos. Hurray!

God and the Computer Age

Did I mention that moving is exhausting!? After a particularly grueling effort of packing, loading and driving to LA, arriving at 1 AM, the last thing I wanted to do was get in the car and drive another 9 hours to Arizona. But after dawdling as long as we could at my parents, we took off in our two cars headed east. I thought all the details for the move were completed so when my cell phone rang, I was surprised to hear it was my financial guy asking me where I was. “Driving on a freeway somewhere in LA,” I answered. He informed me that he needed to fax me one more paper to sign NOW for the deal and that I needed to get off the freeway and find a Kinkos. Freeway signs indicated that I was somewhere in Ontario so I suggested that he check the computer for locations and call me back. The traffic began to slow to a crawl, a phenomenon common in LA freeways. The phone rang again and he gave me the phone number of a Kinkos that was about 7 miles down the road. Still creeping along, I called Kinkos, got the directions, informed Mark of our detour and noticed the traffic beginning to pick up speed as we passed the accident. Our exit was two minutes away and 20 minutes later we were back on the road. The point of the story? God takes care of us in the details of our life. Some might call it “coincidence” but I know that without God’s timing of our morning, I could have been driving in the middle of the desert when the phone rang. It would have been impossible to write down the phone number and directions going 70 miles an hour, so the slow traffic was a blessing. And in the age of computers, cell phones, and faxes, the problem was quickly solved. I am learning to look for occasions when I can see His hand at work. Thank you, Lord, for your care in seemingly impossible situations.

Moving Day

The packers arrive today. The house is torn up and I sit amid boxes of computer "stuff" in the office with only the laptop operational. Moving day is tomorrow. This will be my last post from California but check back in a few days and I will let you know if it truly is a "dry heat" in Arizona! God bless you. And my God will supply all your needs accoording to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (NAS)

Focusing on the Future

It has been a frantic week meeting deadlines for inspections and work orders but the result is sweet. Relief filled my heart and mind as I listened to the call from my realtor that all requirements of the sale are completed. In the end, God gave us a quick, clean sale and now I can concentrate on the real business of moving. I ran across this quote earlier this week:

What really matters now is
holding on to the memories
…and focusing on the future.

I have shed tears in the past few days for those friends that I will miss and I am sure more will fall before we head out. As excited as I am about this new adventure and challenge, I am also a bit scared. Change is never easy and if I were not absolutely sure that this is God’s plan for us, I might have given up long ago. Again, the light on the path is revealed to me step by step and my response must be, “thank you, Lord!” The future looks bright with new house, new neighbors, new church, new state, new…new…new. However, my anchor in all these uncharted areas comes from Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. I am so glad He’s the mapmaker.

Pressing On

Life is chaotic right now with the move to Arizona less than a week away. Each day is filled with last minute meals with friends, change of address calls, suitcases to be packed, and the unending list of details for the close of the sale on the house. This poem caught my eye when searching the Internet as the writer expresses her thoughts on Psalm 119:105. It reminded me of God's faithfulness even in uncertain circumstances and that God is in control with his hand on all the details. We will make it….He is waiting at the end.

Pressing On.

When you can't see the finish line,
It's hard to know how much farther you have to go.
When you aren't sure of the footing,
It's difficult to tell if you're on the right path.

One step at a time, and believe.
One foot in front of another, and trust.
Slowly and carefully make your way
Knowing that you are lovingly being led.

When you can't accurately judge the depth
It's hard to know if you're going in too deep.
When you can't see how steep the drop-off will be
It's easy to unwittingly stand precariously.

One day at a time, and have faith.
One obstacle after another, and endure.
Steadily and confidently press on toward the goal
Knowing that someone waits for you at the end.

Hiccup

Nothing like a complete change of pace to get a little perspective. Selling the house and planning the move has been so consuming for the last few months that I have missed the time to relax with my granddaughters -- well, relax is probably not the right word. When you are 6 1/2, 4, and 21 months, activity is the watchword. But I love it and decided to sneak in a quick trip to recharge before the big move while Mark finished up some work at home. The bumps continue in the house sale as inspections reveal some problems, not uncommon but still a nuisance. Mark reminded me in an email this morning that the Phillips translation renders 1 Peter 5:7 as: "You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern." I don't have to worry about the dry rot because this is not a surpirse to God. How easy to have my joy and excitement drained by worry, yet God has proven his care of me in the last weeks and I know this is just a hiccup. I would rather enjoy this brief respite being loved and adored by three little girls and trust Him to handle it.

SOLD!

But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. Habakkuk 2:3 (NLT) I found this verse last week in one of my devotional books and claimed it as my promise of hope. Waiting patiently has been a challenge as our house has been on the market for the last three months and a move date is scheduled in two weeks. During these weeks, I prayed that God would bring the person He wanted to live here and that this place would be one of refuge and comfort for the buyer. Looking back, I see that He gave me His promise in Habakkuk eleven days ago and the “vision” was fulfilled today with an accepted offer and clean deal. Remember, God is rarely early but never late. This sale was done on His timetable, not mine, as He had been working out complex details for this buyer the entire time the house has been available. Today, I am so grateful to Him for his faithfulness to me. Next time I have to wait, I want to remember this experience when God met me and, hopefully, I will be more patient!

Halftime

I recently joined my husband, Mark, at a dinner to share in a new program, Halftime, offered to the men of our church. The purpose of the group is to challenge men to consider whether they want success or significance in the second half of their lives. At my house this is a regular topic of conversation because of the book, The Purpose Driven Life. I liked the suggestions of the speaker for discovering where God may be leading you at this stage of life, male or female. He asked two questions – what have you achieved and what do you deeply care about? This translates into competence and passion. When these two are combined with serving God, the possibilities are exciting. The challenge is to test some of our ideas using what we know and what we care about and then allow God to take those humble beginnings and shove us where He planned for us to go. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) Making a difference for the Kingdom – now that is success!

The Least of These

The nation is awash in news of immigration. It is not my intent to comment on the debate but to share a slice of life. Last night I volunteered with some friends at the Monument Crisis Center, which is located in the middle of a multicultural area of our community. This center provides food, referrals, legal help, and English classes to about 300 people a month. Our task was to replenish the shelves with the food items donated by local stores and prepare sacks of commodities provided by the US government. On Tuesday, one of the busier days, over 80 people were given food, depleting the shelves. In two crammed rooms filled to the ceiling with recently delivered foodstuffs, six of us worked side by side all evening. We shared a good laugh over the numerous boxes of Passover items donated and smiled at a carton of candy Easter eggs. Yet, the weekly generosity of the businesses, the diligence of the two paid staff, and the faithfulness of many volunteers make this a safe place for those who need help. I am reminded in Matthew 25:35-40 (New Living Translation) For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me. '"Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'