Going Crazy...Wanna' Come Along?!

Last Wednesday was filled with unexpected interruptions...not the fun kind, but the frustrating, pull-your-hair-out, grit -your-teeth kind!  My dryer decided to die mid-way through the morning...a second wash load had just finished the rinse cycle when it began making screeching sounds and then abruptly stopped...silent.

I realized late in the afternoon I'd forgotten lettuce for croissant sandwiches - a must for a perfect bite, so I made a mad dash to the store, getting back with just enough time to prepare the fixings and cut fresh fruit for arriving friends.

Rushing to clean out a refrigerator drawer of past due items, I managed to clog up the disposal with old coleslaw, (You'd think I'd know by now NOT to put it all down at once) and after several minutes of trying to plunge it down, the water level not descending, I knew I'd have to loosen the piping under the sink to find the clog!! UGH!! 

Tom would've done it with record speed, as he's done many times before, but he was in Atlanta, so I'd have to muster the courage to go it alone! I had one hour to find the clog and finish making dinner before my friends arrived--so taking everything out from beneath the sink( a major  feat!)  I set my big  turkey pan under the pipes to catch any water and began to unscrew the connectors, one pipe at a time.

So in a state of frustrated desperation, I began talking out loud:  "Lord, you know I'm totally deficient when it comes to fixing this kind os stuff, and I know you're in the small things, so please lead me to the pipe that holds the clog."

Within seconds one of the loosened u-shaped connectors simply popped, exposing the hollow opening, and I had complete confidence that if I could get my finger into it, I'd find a mangled mess of coleslaw lurking inside!  I was euphoric!! Talk about his amazing grace!
In no time, I had the coleslaw out, all the connectors tightened, everything put back under the sink, and the goo scrubbed clean with 15 minutes to spare!

A few minutes later my friends called saying the roads were getting icy and slick. Peering out the kitchen window, I was flabbergasted to see a blanket of fresh, deep snow!

"We're still a good hour away as traffic is crazy!"

"Don't  want you to be driving in this...it's really starting to come down here!  Just head for home, and stay warm!" I replied.

 After laying out my wet clothes from the washer in every nook and cranny available, I couldn't wait to get into my jams and enjoy a cup of steaming tea by the fireplace. I thought of what Alexander from one of my favorite children's books, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day would have said about this day:  "Some days are like that...even in Australia."

Praising through Disappointment

A friend of mine has been dealing with much hurt and disappointment in her life.  Trying to make sense of it has been difficult, and she has cried many tears in the last year.  


I've been following the blog of Joanne Heim, a beautiful woman of God who suffered a stroke on January 11th.  Thousands are praying for her and her family, and there has been much praise lifted up to our sovereign God these past weeks as she shows signs, however small, of coming back!  You will find much humor, wisdom, and inspiration in Joanne's words, and I encourage you to check out her blog at:  www.thesimplewife.typepad.com.


Her husband and friends continue to post updates on her blog daily regarding Joanne's condition. Several of her family and friends are posting some of their favorite past blogs which Joanne wrote, and today's blog spoke to my heart in a special way.  Joanne was speaking of a disappointment her oldest daughter experienced when a weekend  she had planned with a best friend didn't work out.  Her daughter tried to come up with all sorts of ways to make it happen-to force it to work out, desiring to take control over it.  


Joanne wrote how her daughter reminded her of herself--"trying to force things to fit when the answer is no and realizing that to force it means compromising what you really want." And then God laid something on her heart:  Praise for everything.  The bad as well as the good.   
She was reminded of a quote from one of her favorite books, Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard:  "For DISAPPOINTMENTS accepted with PRAISE always seem to turn into EXTRA-RADIANT BLESSINGS."
And in the book, Winged Life, by the same author, these quotes:
"The secret of the victorious Christian living...is to go through each day praising God for everything--the bad as well as the good." 
"Don't try to hold onto anything in this life, but willingly let go, in order to be able to receive new enrichment from the Lord."
"Everything that is willingly laid down into death will be raised to life again in some more glorious and perfect form."


We've all had times in our life when we were given the chance to put all these words into practice.  It's rarely easy, but God knows best. We have the choice to to praise in the midst of disappointment, and trust him for the outcome. Those things that appear to be seemingly bad to us are part of that best...God's good and perfect will, even when we don't see the whole picture!
In Joanne's words, "It is never hypocrisy to act as we earnestly desire to feel, even though the feeling may be very contrary at the time." 


I plan to share Joanne's words with my friend tonight.