'finding good in everyday life'
This happened today!
How many times have good words been lost because I didn’t remember them?
I forgot to write them down, so I forgot them.
Yesterday morning a good idea presented itself, but I was thinking on another idea. I knew I’d remember the second one and get to it in a few…but… still cannot remember it. I should have made a quick note.
Moral of the story…write down those ideas as they come!
Jesus was never in hurry. God is not in a hurry. Why are we?
I’m not talking about being lazy, overly laid back, procrastinating, and indecisive. I’m talking about the nagging feeling that we have got to hurry up with this, and hurry up with that. We’ve got to rush to get this done so we can rush to get the next thing done.
We nag our kids and ourselves to push, push, push to accomplish more and faster and quicker until we’re running around in a fit of nervous energy most of the time and can’t concentrate long enough on any one thing to do it well, or see if there might be a better way to do it, or, horror of horrors, if it even needs to be done at all!!!
Is this you? It has been me! …too many times!!!
A little voice inside my head tells me to hurry when I’m washing the dishes, to hurry when I’m trying to organize something, to hurry when I’m trying to learn something new, to hurry even when I’m doing something relaxing! What is going on?
God made the world and everything in it. He made it so it takes time for a tree to grow; it takes time for a baby to develop…9 long months before it is ready to face the outside world; it takes 20 years to grow up and then some more to mature, and just to gain some wisdom and understanding, you’re not going to gain it by a one evening sitting– reading Wikipedia or a self-help book.
Yes, everything takes time. It takes time to think! Allow it to happen and don’t feel guilty. It takes time to think things through to get the right perspective and understand what you want to do, be, have, help, become, encourage, start, finish. Don’t give in to the ‘hurry’ bug. Don’t give in to its bite!
It takes time to read a story to your kids. Enjoy it and make it interesting and fun for them. It takes time to remember and tell a family story from your childhood to pass on that memory to the next and the next generation. Do it. And do it well. You’re building. You’re building something lasting.
The hardest, sturdiest trees grow the slowest. The white oak and the black walnut, both prized for their quality dense wood, so excellent for woodworking, grow at a slow pace, taking many years…no shortcuts. Some rings are narrower than others showing a dry summer that year, but the tree kept at it steadily and soon another better year came along and the tree grew more.
The trees that grow the quickest, the softwoods, don’t have a lot of stability and cannot be used on big projects; they can’t support the stress needed to accomplish the job. They have bigger pores in their grain and are not as smooth, and a big wind will blow them right over.
Let growth happen, a little here, a little there. Don’t be in a big rush about it. Let God do His slow but steady, time-consuming yet sure work in you and in your family.
It will get done, it just takes time!
People say there’s power in your story.
“But I’m just one person, how can that make a difference?” “I haven’t lived any special kind of life. Nothing significant about me that I can think of…I haven’t won any medals, or rescued anybody from drowning. I haven’t even got a college diploma. I’m just a mom, or I’m just a cashier, or I’m just a mechanic, or I’m just a factory worker, a skilled laborer going to work on third shift for the last 30 years. What kind of story is that?”
God has done something in your life that is worth sharing and that is the foundation of your story.
A little boy shared his loaves and fishes with Jesus, and Jesus used it to feed 5,000 people. We’re still remembering that important story. Hungry people need to be fed; feed their bodies first and then their souls will want to hear from God.
The woman at the well met Jesus and was amazed how He knew all about her past and her many, many husbands, yet he cared enough to talk to her, a woman no respectable person would spend time with. He sought her out. That became her story and she ran back to town and said to the men to come see the man who told her everything she’d ever done, and they went out of the town and came to see Him…all by the power of her story. (John 4:27-30)
The man born blind, in John 9 was healed. He went and told everyone his story. His neighbors asked him what had happened. They had seen him as a beggar all his life and now he was washed, clean and walking around seeing everything. He told them the story. They wouldn’t believe it. The religious leaders didn’t believe either, but that didn’t cancel out his story. God did it to show He is a loving, caring God. Although many wouldn’t believe, some did. His story mattered. It mattered to him. It mattered to God. He believed and was healed. Others could have been healed too- if they chose to believe.
The little Israelite girl, who had been captured by the Arameans in Elisha’s time was made servant to Naaman’s wife. Naaman was a leper. This brave, caring little girl said to his wife, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:3 (NASB) She took her story of Elisha being able to pray for lepers and shared it, so Naaman could be healed. If she hadn’t shared her story he might never have recovered.
I have nothing that important to share, you say, and nobody will listen to me. If God has touched your life in any way, that’s part of your story, and it matters to God. He said, “Go tell.”
People don’t want a religion to believe, they want a reason to believe. God is that reason. We need to show people the good reasons to believe in God.
People have seen enough religion and what that has done to civilization. They need to hear your story of a powerful working God; the God who cares about His creation and came to save them from evil and help them in their daily lives. Down here. On earth. Right now. In the thick of trials, and hard family situations…not thinking they have to wait until they get to heaven before they can see God do something good for them.
They need to see a ‘today God’!
I have seen and know the ‘today God’, have you?
Talk to Him! He has time to listen.
Mrs. Goodfinder 