Livin' Large at the Laundromat

In the midst of moving, our dryer quit.  Trust me, there is a blessing in that.  It is one less thing we have to move. Plus,  I was not even worried because I have a huge clothes line.  But the weather is not cooperating so there was no avoiding the horrible inevitable:  The Laundromat.

Packing up all the dirty clothes for a family of 7 and heading to wash them with 3 kids in tow is no one's idea of a fun day.  I was kind of crabby and dreading it.  The younger girls were ecstatic.   Abby feels like a hobo.  As I was getting Maytag tokens I assured her, a hobo could never afford to do laundry here!

I am a slow learner.  I have had to have this shown to me more times than I care to admit.  Life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns.  Some major, some minor.  Sometimes the minor ones feel even worse than that major ones.  I flew through handling a major surgery but the laundromat will send me into a tizzy.

In times of change and times of routine; in good times and bad times; happy time and sad times; good weather and bad weather; if there's extra money or not I trust Christ to do his work in my life.  It seems like it is often in these little things that I see Him. 

I can choose to be thankful for time with the girls, find joy in their excitement, solace in a snicker bar from the vending machine, thrill in putting five load of laundry in at one time (I wonder how much these machines are?!  I want one!) and we can all enjoy the wifi!

I can choose to be thankful for a laundromat and clothes to wash.  I can choose to accept what comes day by day with joy and make it an adventure instead of a chore.

Adventure looms every day in big ways and small.  I am going to talk about God's will in my next post.  Today has me thinking, maybe I don't know God's will for my future.  I may not know what job to get or where we should live or how to cure world hunger.  But I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my family needs clean clothes today and I have some time with my girls.  Plus they LOVE doing laundry here!

I can give them the gift of a happy mom that is in it for the fun and adventure with them.

Pendulum

I know all the holding loosely stuff I wrote about before is true.  I know that we are following where God is leading us.  But most of my days these last few weeks have been spent swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

From the freeing feeling of submitting to God's leading,
to the heart pounding, soul crushing fear of what on earth have we done!?

From being confident of God's promises,
to trying to hold on to my own selfish security.

From the excitement of embarking on an adventure of faith,
to the sadness of leaving the people we love, especially now that our last Sunday is coming.

It's back and forth and up and down, which I should be used to from raising teenagers!  I get so frustrated when I have those lack of faith moments where I want to hold on to the things I can see instead of the things God promises.

The thing about the pendulum is that it is based on feelings and emotions.  All the emotions are good.  If we weren't sad to leave here, there would be something wrong.  If we weren't afraid of the uncertainty, that would be weird.

It makes me realize how much, even in my Christian life, I do not let my heart and life rest on the promises of God.  Feelings, emotions and situations change, but God does not.  His word is true and constant.

I keep rereading these verses.  It is so obvious to me that I have not allowed myself to fully trust God's promises.

"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9

"Therefore I tell you, do no worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Matthew 5:25-26

I know it's true, but it is good to live it.  It's good when you wake up and all you can do is say Ok God what's next?  I will go where you lead and do what you want even if I have no idea what that is.

Since we made our first leap, we have had some bumps in the road and some amazing provisions of grace.  In the bumps, it is easy to second guess and doubt.  In the grace, it is easy to say yep we've got this faith thing and be proud.  So I guess we need a combination of both.

No matter how much the pendulum swings.  No matter how many times my feelings change.  No matter how sad I am about leaving.  No matter how worried I might be about the future.  The words and promises of God never change.  That is what I need to hold on to.  That is what we all need to hold on to in times of change or normal routine. Everything else, for good or for bad, is secondary to loving and serving Him.