A Little Inconvenience

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind.  We are a pretty "on-the-go" kind of family, but even I am having a hard time keeping up with us lately.  For the most part our busyness has been due to fun things, like birthday parties, dinners with friends, and trips home to visit family.  I do believe you can get yourself too busy, though.  And lately, I feel like we are right on the cusp of that. 

Oh Lord, please keep my focus on you in the busyness of life.  May I not get myself so distracted that I lose sight of your purposes and your glory.

And for those of you keeping score, we are now in our sixth week of having only one car.  We have had to be pretty creative and very trusting in God's provisions.   We have had to be flexible and willing to be inconvenienced.  We have had to even ask for...gulp...help.  Yes, for two people who can get a little prideful in their independence, that can sometimes be the hardest part.  But help we have asked for and help is what God has sent our way.  God has indeed provided for us and made a way for us each and every day, mainly through generous friends, who have been willing to be a little inconvenienced, too.  So, for the most part, we have been able to get everyone where they need to be, when they need to be there, which has been nothing short of God's awesome grace and covering.  Praise you, Jesus!

Our car situation is still up in the air.  This is something that normally would have had me completely undone. But God has given both Eric and I a peace in the midst of all of this.  We are unsure if this is a GIGANTIC test of patience or if there is some other lesson in all of this that we are suppose to learn.  Or maybe there are multiple lessons that we just need a refresher course in, like learning to lay down our pride, learning to be flexible, learning to rely fully on our Creator, and learning to keep a right perspective during a trial. Yes, I have still had my freak out moments from time to time, but I have been trying to keep the perspective that even though being down a vehicle is an inconvenience for us, it is certainly not the hardest thing we will ever walk through. Praise you Jesus, that we are not dealing with a sick child or something worse than doing without a material possession for a time. 

We just had lunch today with my beautiful friend, Karalee and her husband, Derek.  Many of you know that Karalee was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer a year and a half ago.  After much prayer, chemotherapy, and radiation, Karalee is now cancer-free.  It was such a blessing today to sit with her and Derek and discuss "normal" things like potty training and preschool.  Conversations that may seem a little mundane, but after her battle (and it was a battle), it was so refreshing!  I was just so thankful that today those were the most pressing topics on their minds.  Praise you, Jesus!

God, thank you for when you inconvenience us to teach us something.  Thank you for taking us out of our comfort zone, so that we can truly meet you and learn to know you better.  Thank you for showing us that we need to be living outside of our comfort zone more often than not.  And bringing us to those places so that we can truly get a Kingdom perspective on life.  

Whether it is potty training, car woes, or cancer...life is full of twists and turns.  Some are simply inconveninces, while others are life-altering situations.  No matter what trial we may be walking through at any given time, there is always an opportunity for growth and learning through the adversity.  And more importantly, an opportunity to let God meet us where we are and grow us.  May we always walk through it in your grace, Jesus!

God, you are GOOD!