The last several days I have been totally immersed in restoring my home office to functionality. I tend to be project oriented instead of a “multitasker”. So I haven’t posted a blog or added anything new to my website lately. So here I am, back on the blog. I did NOT expect to do this today, but so glad I did.
Anyway, getting this office straightened out is a good thing, so please cut me a little slack for ignoring you. {smile} I have been reorganizing and restoring systems I basically neglected the last two years while I served in the business office of a church that was 57 miles away. By the time I got home from there, I was too tired and too stressed to do any of my own stuff, so nothing ever got done! Absolutely nothing!! Each day was a mad rush from dawn until dusk. I was overwhelmed.
Fortunately all my bills are on automatic payments, so that helped, but there are still things you gotta do to stay on top of your personal business, like filing your papers and processing the mail. My file cabinets almost moved out because they felt lonely and ignored. Of course there’s lots of household chores to maintain, too. Can you say “paintbrush, lawn spreader, and snow blower?” You didn’t hear those words around here. Instead most of my vocalizations included phrases such as “I need a nap” and “gotta get the oil changed in the car”!
So personal stuff was ignored, but I was also ignoring the assignment I have from God! I was created to fulfill a definite plan and purpose. I thought working in a church would create opportunities for that. It didn’t happen! I was confined in the office and had no real access to the spiritual life of the congregation. That’s nothing new. I’ve been in that situation before, but didn’t expect it to happen again.
All of these situations worked together to turn me into the kind of person I never wanted to be…..disorganized, off course, and far from the major goals of my life. As a result, I lost my peace. Joy was very elusive. Frustration and exhaustion were found in abundance. I needed a change. Not because I wanted to avoid the hardship, but because I didn’t want the hardship without any fulfillment of purpose and destiny. That’s called “wasting your life”! So what did I do? I ended the thing that was the source of all the stress and distraction….the job and the commute.
While I will miss the money (almost half of which was used up for related expenses) and the daily interaction with some awesome people, I am so happy to get back on track and move forward toward the goals God gave me and effectively manage the daily responsibilities of life in Gloversville, NY.
Another plus is that I am now available to support and assist my wife as she faces a drastic change in her teaching career….which is really a ministry to the families of this city. After 22 years of teaching 3 and 4 year-olds, she has been transferred to 5th grade. That is definitely going from the frying pan to the fire. Instead of educating through play she will now be educating by the book…..or should I say books! Math, Social Studies, Science, English…all that stuff, and she hasn’t been involved with any of it since 1978!! It’s like she’s starting her career all over again. It’s good-bye routine! Hello radical transformation! I’m so glad I can walk with her through this.
So this is all working out good, but nothing changes overnight. This is process, another step on the journey of life. Sometimes there are detours. Sometimes there are failures. But as long as I’m breathing, I have to take another step, everyday, moving forward, not looking back. The goal is to win the prize that God has waiting for me at the end.
As I look back over my life I know that the journey is so much easier when you are filled with hope, joy and peace. Those things come to me (and you) directly from God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Check out this verse written by the Apostle Paul:
Romans 15:13 NLT I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is a prayer Paul prayed for the church in Rome, but it is also a dynamic, life changing spiritual truth. Only God is the source of hope. His desire is to fill you and I completely with joy and peace. Not just a quart, not a gallon, but completely full!!
How did Paul know these believers in Rome could get filled by God like that? Because they trusted in God. We can’t find hope, joy and peace unless we live a life based on trust in God. When we trust Him we know everything is going to work out for our good (Romans 8:28).
Trusting God also releases a gift from God mentioned in the last sentence of verse 13. “Then you will overflow with confident hope….” We can live life with a, “Oh I sure hope this is gonna work out” mindset OR we can live with a, “I absolutely know that I know that this is gonna work out” mindset. Which one would you rather have? Confident hope is so much more rewarding. It promotes joy and peace in our lives!!
So join me in activating some fresh trust in God deep down in our hearts. That will make our journey much more enjoyable!
