At the used car dealer where we bought our van, this sign was hanging behind the office desks.
So while Jonathan is gone for ten days to Guatemala, after the first rather awful day of waking up and finding him gone, and everything seeming so awfully silent and stark--
no morning snuggles in bed,
no whir of the coffee grinder,
no voice on the phone supervising what happens today at the job,
no hubby wandering around the kitchen with a cup of coffee and his phone to read his Bible on and follow prayer requests,
no lunch box to pack or mug to fill,
no clunking of firewood into the woodstove till Sam gets up,
no kind voice talking to the children and me...
I have to make some decisions about attitude.
Thankfully, we were able to get through that first difficult day and then start a new sort of normal while Daddy is gone.
Thankfully, we were able to get through that first difficult day and then start a new sort of normal while Daddy is gone.
Here is a sweet, cute, humorous article I read one of these days when I just kind of needed to check out of the day for a while.
http://dorcassmucker.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-happy-pursuit-of-staying-at-home.html
I've had some quotes about suffering waiting to be posted.
(Not saying I'm suffering, just haven't had a chance to post these yet!!! :) from Desiring God.
"Suffering is undeniably bitter.
Sometimes God’s people, with good intentions to promote piety, can
undersell the heartache of suffering. Instead they look disapprovingly
at any believer who would question the necessity of God’s difficult
providences. To groan under the pains of life in a fallen world can be
seen as the pitiable reflex of the spiritually immature. This view is
difficult to square with our Savior’s own passionate, sweat-soaked,
sleepless plea on the eve of his crucifixion, “If it is possible, let
this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39)."
"Notice the word “endure.” It combats our well-meaning Christian
impulse to minimize the struggle we (or others) face in the midst of
suffering. Endurance assumes difficulty. One does not have to endure
that which is not bitter. No one asks others how they are “enduring”
their favorite bowl of ice cream. No one asks the radiant, newly engaged
couple how they are “enduring” their betrothal. To endure a thing is to
live in spite of its difficulty, not to live in denial of it.
Thankfully, Paul writes in such a way as to highlight the fact that
the process of suffering which leads to hope is not instantaneous.
Endurance denotes time. In order to endure a thing, one must make it
through its entire duration. That means there will be seasons, no matter
how long or short, where we cannot see or feel the hope which we have
been promised. These are dark and difficult times. We grieve while we
grope our way through the valley. It’s in the wrestling with it, while
strengthening ourselves with the promises of God, that we build
endurance. In those seasons, we not only pray for hope; we pray for
endurance."
From the following link was the following inspiring story about endurance--
and living "from tree to tree."
from https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/lord-help-me-endure-one-more-day
"I once watched a documentary about the toughest school in all the
military (or so the film claimed). It was the winter session of the Army
Mountain Warfare School which contained unbelievable trials — physical
and emotional — that seemed to assail the students from the time they
arrived. But the event with the highest dropout rate was a multi-day
hike up a snow packed mountain. It required traversing the whole
mountain, from bottom to top, through over ten feet of snow drifts with a
large, heavy ruck sack slung to their back and no special equipment.
They had their feet and sheer determination.
On the morning of the infamous march, a drill instructor spoke to the
soldiers. I expected it to be something full of bombast and bluster,
urging the group to complete the task at hand or face swift retribution!
Instead, the wise soldier simply said, “If you want to quit, look at
the top of the mountain.” He went on, “But if you want to make it
through, then just find the closest tree and tell yourself, ‘I’m going
to make it to that next tree and then reevaluate.’ And then when you get
to that tree, do the same thing again, finding the next closest tree.
If you’ll do that, tree by tree, soon enough you’ll find yourself at the
top of the mountain.”
“Suffering that yields bitterness, cynicism, and alienation is suffering gone awry.”
And today I read this sweet story shared by Avis Blowers:
By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me. --Psalm 42:8
"I was sitting on the stage at a large pastors' conference in the
Philippines. Outside a heavy monsoon rain fell while the crowd, inside,
was being entertained by a small band of blind musicians. Their music
was intricate and lively and the audience was enthralled with their
performance. Suddenly there was a rumble and a loud crash of lightning.
In the next instant, the entire conference hall went dark. The powerful
storm caused the lights to go out. Unfazed, the musicians hardly skipped
a beat, even though it was pitch-black. When their song was over, the
audience burst into thunderous applause -- the darkness gave us all a
unique and amazing appreciation for the extraordinary talent God had
given these blind musicians.
What really turned up the wattage on
the praise that night was the fact that they played through the dark.
The same is true when we live for God. Sure, our lives resound with
praise when he lights our path and we follow him -a disciple should
follow his master. But when there's no light for your path and you
follow him through dark times, the volume and the intensity of praise to
God goes up many more decibels.
Do we know the Savior by heart?
Have we practiced the presence of God to the point where, if times went
dark, if we couldn't see the conductor, we would still make His music?"
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