No, not the TV show--my life!
Have you ever noticed how once in a while God allows a day or a week where everything seems over-the-top as far as drama-trauma goes.That has been my experience, and I always wonder what God wants me to learn.Yesterday morning my friend and I went to visit another friend in hospice. She's a young lady, in her thirties, with a 7-year-old son, and a very loving husband. But she has lost her battle with cancer. It was a hard visit, but a good one. She's got her place in heaven reserved through Jesus.Then on the way home, my friend who had driven us there, got a phone call from her daughter's school that her daughter had been put on suicide watch. The teen was at home alone with her Alzheimer grandmother, having left school "feeling sick."The end of that episode was good. After the panic-enduced fear, we discovered the child at school who had raised the alarm meant another blonde teen.I went home expecting to do a radio interview in the afternoon. I thought the chat would be 10-15 minutes long. They have been in the past. Praise God the radio called ahead of time. I found out the interview would be 40 minutes. ACK! What do I possibly have to say that would take 40 minutes?That, too, turned out all right. The radio personality was a wonderful interviewer and asked great questions that made me sound good.Then in the evening, I caused a teen a great deal of distress. I had to ask her to change her behavior in a weekly group meeting, and it was like a stab in the back to her. To me it was a necessary part of maturing to be a more integral part of the group, but to her it was devastating. I hurt for her hurt, but felt totally inadequate to make everything okay in her heart. I am so glad God is in charge and will work even when I am so clumsy.Now we come to nighttime and sleep and no trauma, right?No.Our dog has been having issues. Yes, issues! Much like a wayward child. I woke up to dog pee in the bathroom. At least it wasn't the rug.Then we hurry, hurry, run, run to get the house polished and ready for the real estate agent to bring over a prospective agent, while the two grandsons express their displeasure at being hurried with totally inappropriate behavior.Is this 24 hour trial ever going to end?The doorbell rings a half hour early. They real estate agent and the people come in, turn around, and go out. The buyers are allergic to dogs. Somehow on our form the box that says do you have pets is marked no instead of yes.We promised the kids we'd go to McDonalds because we needed to be out of the house while it was shown. But now the house has had the peek-in showing without one hope of a sale from it, and the boys don't understand there is no longer any reason to go to McDonalds.So we go to McDonalds.A little girl gets her hand stuck in the sliding door between the playroom and the ordering counter. A teen runs over and rescues her without injury to him or her.Phew!That's it.No trauma-drama in the last six hours.What did I learn? I honestly can't tell you I learned one thing that I didn't know already. Maybe it's like scales that you need to do every so often on the piano to keep your skill up to par. Maybe it is like keeping in shape to jog, so that if you ever have to run for your life, you can. I practiced being a Christian more in the past 24 hours than I usually do over a month. But right now, as I sit in my brown comfy chair with my laptop, I feel closer to God than I have in a month.
Just to let you know the 24 hours was not totally bleak, let me share a spot of humor.My five-year-old grandson objected, as he does from time to time, to cleaning up his toys. He asked why Mama couldn't do it, and I answered, "Because Mama is not your slave." He turned, looked at me earnestly, and asked, "Who is my slave?"I had to laugh. I've never found a slave in all my years of looking, and I would probably be too guilt-ridden to "use" another human that way even if I found someone willing.
I hope you grab onto God's shirttail the next time you encounter a "24 Hours."
Have you ever noticed how once in a while God allows a day or a week where everything seems over-the-top as far as drama-trauma goes.That has been my experience, and I always wonder what God wants me to learn.Yesterday morning my friend and I went to visit another friend in hospice. She's a young lady, in her thirties, with a 7-year-old son, and a very loving husband. But she has lost her battle with cancer. It was a hard visit, but a good one. She's got her place in heaven reserved through Jesus.Then on the way home, my friend who had driven us there, got a phone call from her daughter's school that her daughter had been put on suicide watch. The teen was at home alone with her Alzheimer grandmother, having left school "feeling sick."The end of that episode was good. After the panic-enduced fear, we discovered the child at school who had raised the alarm meant another blonde teen.I went home expecting to do a radio interview in the afternoon. I thought the chat would be 10-15 minutes long. They have been in the past. Praise God the radio called ahead of time. I found out the interview would be 40 minutes. ACK! What do I possibly have to say that would take 40 minutes?That, too, turned out all right. The radio personality was a wonderful interviewer and asked great questions that made me sound good.Then in the evening, I caused a teen a great deal of distress. I had to ask her to change her behavior in a weekly group meeting, and it was like a stab in the back to her. To me it was a necessary part of maturing to be a more integral part of the group, but to her it was devastating. I hurt for her hurt, but felt totally inadequate to make everything okay in her heart. I am so glad God is in charge and will work even when I am so clumsy.Now we come to nighttime and sleep and no trauma, right?No.Our dog has been having issues. Yes, issues! Much like a wayward child. I woke up to dog pee in the bathroom. At least it wasn't the rug.Then we hurry, hurry, run, run to get the house polished and ready for the real estate agent to bring over a prospective agent, while the two grandsons express their displeasure at being hurried with totally inappropriate behavior.Is this 24 hour trial ever going to end?The doorbell rings a half hour early. They real estate agent and the people come in, turn around, and go out. The buyers are allergic to dogs. Somehow on our form the box that says do you have pets is marked no instead of yes.We promised the kids we'd go to McDonalds because we needed to be out of the house while it was shown. But now the house has had the peek-in showing without one hope of a sale from it, and the boys don't understand there is no longer any reason to go to McDonalds.So we go to McDonalds.A little girl gets her hand stuck in the sliding door between the playroom and the ordering counter. A teen runs over and rescues her without injury to him or her.Phew!That's it.No trauma-drama in the last six hours.What did I learn? I honestly can't tell you I learned one thing that I didn't know already. Maybe it's like scales that you need to do every so often on the piano to keep your skill up to par. Maybe it is like keeping in shape to jog, so that if you ever have to run for your life, you can. I practiced being a Christian more in the past 24 hours than I usually do over a month. But right now, as I sit in my brown comfy chair with my laptop, I feel closer to God than I have in a month.
Just to let you know the 24 hours was not totally bleak, let me share a spot of humor.My five-year-old grandson objected, as he does from time to time, to cleaning up his toys. He asked why Mama couldn't do it, and I answered, "Because Mama is not your slave." He turned, looked at me earnestly, and asked, "Who is my slave?"I had to laugh. I've never found a slave in all my years of looking, and I would probably be too guilt-ridden to "use" another human that way even if I found someone willing.
I hope you grab onto God's shirttail the next time you encounter a "24 Hours."
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