Slightly Off

I drilled the hole off by maybe an eighth of an inch, but it was enough. I was trying to install a towel bar that required me to use my left hand to drill because of the location. As I am a righty, somehow I misjudged and the hole was slightly off. When you've drilled into drywall, that can pose a problem as that eighth of an inch may make the stability of the bar less secure. I was growing increasingly frustrated with my ineptitude in completing what I thought would be a simple project. My husband saw me struggling and heard me say, "I don't know what to do," to which he sweetly replied, "Pray." I responded back, "I don't think God cares about my towel bar."

I can't believe that came out of my mouth, and my husband was quite taken aback. He replied: "That's not what my wife told me. She told me her God cares about everything."

With that statement, he was reminding me of a story early in our relationship. I was getting dressed for the day, couldn't decide what to wear and prayed out loud, "God, which shirt should I wear?" Brad then said, "You honestly think God cares which shirt you wear?" To which I responded, "My God cares about everything." I'd always believed that. A God who created the minuscule details of this beautiful world, cares about everything. My mother taught me that.

For me to respond about the towel bar as I did went against what I believed deep in my heart. So I clarified my statement to my husband immediately after that: "With all the more important things going on in people's lives, I hate to bother Him with a towel bar." But I went ahead anyways and quietly prayed, "Please help me, Lord." I had no idea how I would fix this, nor how to even pray for a solution. But then I immediately found a way to finagle some toothpicks into the hole to move the screw over just enough for make it work. I quietly said to my husband, "You were right. He did care about my towel bar."

Now I don't know that God was up in Heaven checking up on me wondering when I was going to ask for His help with this task, but I do know He cares when trials and unforeseen circumstances can irritate me to the point of anger and frustration. He says via Peter to cast those burdens (1 Peter 5:7). A God that knows the number of hairs on my head (Matt. 10:30) and names each and every one of the billions of stars in the heavens (Psalm 147:4), also cares about a crazy girl in Alabama installing a towel bar.

I hate that I let myself get to the point where I thought my frustrations were unworthy of a heavenly consultation. But I'm grateful for a husband who reminded me to Whom I belong and got me back in the mindset of giving God control. Glory to the Most High God for loving me enough to gently guide my tiny innovation and miraculously stabilize that which I could not. What an awesome, precious, loving Father we have.

Creatures of Habit

It's said that old habits die hard, but frankly new habits die hard, too. This was never made more obvious to Brad and I then when I recently moved a garbage can to a different location in our new home. We've not lived in this house a month yet, so we're still figuring out where we want to put things. Originally I had put our 13-gallon garbage can in our breakfast nook around the counter from the kitchen. Then a few days ago, I got the idea to put a smaller can closer and handier underneath the kitchen sink. I moved the bigger can in the breakfast nook to a far corner, to still have it available if needed. However, since we'd been throwing away garbage to the original location, Brad and I found ourselves going back to that area over and over again ... after it had only been there two weeks. It was a similar situation with our refrigerator. While waiting for a new fridge to arrive, we were using the old fridge which had been relocated to the laundry room. Even after the new refrigerator was in place, we found ourselves still walking the gallon of milk back to the laundry room fridge a good five days later. We are definitely creatures of habit. And how quickly we can instill those habits.

That being said, I found myself quite easily breaking a habit I had prior to the move: my devotion time. I like to spend the first part of my morning in Bible reading and prayer whether silently or through journaling. When we moved last month, with all the different things that needed done - unpacking, rearranging, cleaning, etc. - I found that I neglected my devotion time. I went right to the jobs and ignored that time with my Lord. I might say, "I'll get to it," but then never did. The Lord doesn't like it when I neglect that time, so he started waking me at 2 or 3 a.m. If I won't set aside time for Him, then He'll make so I have to. So in the middle of the night I was reading Scripture and praying. That's not a bad thing. I cherish those times with God (some great learning was done), but I still wasn't making room for Him myself. Then I started getting sick every morning. Allergies. They would wipe me out, not just in the morning, but all day. This morning I woke up and started to go about the day's work and began my usual early repetitive sneezing, In exasperation, I said to myself, "Everything can wait." I stopped what I was doing, grabbed my Bible and journal and found a cozy quiet place to sit.

I'm in the middle of the book of Daniel, so was reading Daniel 4 about Babylon King Nebuchadnezzar's crazy dream about a mighty tree, cut to the ground, stripped of its leaves and fruit scattered. Daniel interprets the dream for the king telling him it's actually about Lord driving Nebuchadnezzar from his throne for a bit, even to the point of madness, until he acknowledges that God is the Most High. Daniel gives the king this advice: "Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue." (Daniel 4:27) Rather than heed the advice, the king, just 12 months later, heralds his own mighty power and glory. Oops! So of course the dream comes true. The king becomes animalistic, eating grass like cattle, his hair thinning like feathers and his nails growing like claws. Creepy. Seven years later, he acknowledges and praises the Most High God and his kingdom is restored.

What a wake up call for me! I'm not a king, nor have a built a great city. I'm not eating grass, losing hair or growing scary claws. But the Lord was certainly getting my attention. I think the Lord gave me a little leeway with the busyness of the move, but that time is over. GOD COMES FIRST. He always does. I had created a new habit of ignoring my Father, and was suffering for it. The suffering can manifest itself in different ways, from loss of direction, loss of time and stumbling over road blocks during the day to even more grave issues, especially if making wrong decisions when not focused on the Father.

And when I do set that time aside for Him, it's so glorious! I delight in who He is! I confess and rid myself of sins! I learn something! I lift many others to Him for interaction and healing! I thank Him for the many blessings and challenges in His fine-tuning and pruning. Gosh, I missed that.

I've read it takes just 14 days to create a new habit, so I will be making a conscious effort to sit down with my Lord every morning. And soon hope that instead of looking at my unused Bible and saying, "I'll get to it," will instead say, "Everything can wait. It's time for my Jesus."

We're still not quite used to where the new garbage can is - Brad will walk over there and let out an "arrrrggg" when we realizes he's walked to the other place - but we'll get there. The new location is more efficient and smarter ... just like the devotion time habit I'm working on.

Leave Your Name And Number

I've just finished watching the HBO series "John Adams" based on David McCullough's biography. I learned many things about this Founding Father and second president of the United States. One thing that so impressed me was the devotion between John and his wife, Abigail. Their devotion is public knowledge because of the myriad of letters they wrote each other that have survived the times. They were married 54 years and lived through many hardships and work-related separations. For one period during their marriage, they spent three years apart while John was in Europe for diplomatic reactions. During this time, John sent few letters to his "dearest friend" for fear of interception by the British during the Revolutionary War and because, the movie tells us, he didn't want to share his failures with his wife. Three years with little to no correspondence between a couple that thrived on it.

Today while walking I had my cellphone up to my ear. I was calling my daughter in North Carolina to ask her how her peanut butter chocolate chip cookies turned out. She had called me earlier to say she was headed out for salted butter and would call me when she got home. Later she called to say the cookies were amazing. Three calls in about three hours. While I walked, I passed a driver in an SUV talking on his cellphone. He had obviously just left home and apparently needed to talk to someone right away.

So here's John and Abigail with hardly any communication in more than 1,000 days and then there's Ayla and I communicating over cookies, 400 miles, 180 minutes with the modern invention of the wireless telephone. I prefer this century, to be sure. Now, I have to say there have been times when I've tried to call my daughter and can't get a hold of her. She may be in class or working. Times she tries to call me and the result is the same. You get voice mail and leave a message or know that the "missed call" will brighten our tiny screens as a reminder to call back.

That got me to thinking about prayer. I can go to the Father anytime. Anytime. I can talk to him as I slowly drag myself out of bed in the morning asking Him to bless the day and open my eyes to His children. I talk to him during my devotion time, before I eat breakfast or any other meal, while I drive to work, while I walk, while I worry for a phone call from children who may be late, in song ... even on the toilet.

Not once in any of these times have I ever got a voice message. Never has the Father listened to me talk only to say, "Hold on a minute, I have another call coming." He has always been there for my correspondence. And He responds in kind by filling me with the Holy Spirit. Now, there have been times, sometimes long periods of time, when I don't pray. And I wonder why I'm feeling lost or spiritually dry. I see the Father, like Abigail, wondering to Himself why I'm not communicating.

We have this direct, always open line of communication with our Father and how often we let time slip by without speaking to him. First Thessalonians 5:17 says to "pray without ceasing." Keeping the communication open with God can only enhance our relationship with Him, giving us an overabundance of His blessings, wisdom and guidance.

Letters. Bah. Cellphones. Humbug. We have prayer! An invention that's been around since the beginning of time working with the same efficiency that it's had since its Genesis. How blessed we are to be given such a gift of communication. Were John and Abigail given that way of communicating to each other, would they have neglected it? Neither should we. It's communication in it's finest form with the greatest Love of all.

Oh Father, how I love you. I felt your rain on my face today as I was walking. I listened to the breathtaking "Magnum Mysterium" on my Ipod, tears in my eyes, and glorified you for your Creation. Lord you are so amazing, loving and gracious. I am blessed and bursting with thanksgiving for my soul seems to glow from within as your Holy Spirit fills me. Holy Lord! I love you, love you, love you. Thank you, as always, for listening. I am listening for you Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.