Redeeming the Time

You may have noticed that my weekly blog post did not appear in your incoming e-mail or my Facebook page last week...then again, maybe you didn't even notice. :) That was because we have had a whirlwind 10 days. It began a week ago last Friday, when we we made a very quick but very necessary trip to Pennsylvania for the purpose of visiting my mother-in-law in the hospital and so my husband could meet with the doctors and his siblings. I am sad to report that my mother-in-law's health is rapidly declining. The hospital was unable to help her, so she has been released back to the nursing home into a skilled care unit and is also under the watchful eye of hospice.

We were back at home Sunday for our normal full day of ministry. Monday morning we left for the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship pastor's conference at the WILDS in North Carolina. The beauty, the peacefulness, and the servants hearts of the staff at the Wilds make it one of my favorite places in the whole world. The situation with my mother-in-law and also many situations at the church involving seriously ill people, surgeries, problems, and accidents went with us to the WILDS, but still we enjoyed the refreshing services with great messages and outstanding music, as well as some much-needed alone time together at the lake, Cool Beans coffee shop, and playing mini golf (we had the whole course to ourselves!). I'm sure you are thinking, "much-needed alone time? You are alone together all the time!" Suffice it to say that even though that may be true in theory, when your husband is a pastor you get used to sharing him with everyone. A lot.

Following our brief time at the WILDS we headed to northern Georgia to spend 4 days with my parents. We were blessed not only to be able to enjoy some special time with them and my sister, but to complete many jobs and projects around the house that my parents needed some help with.

The older we get, the more we appreciate our Godly heritage and upbringing. Truly we can both say along with the Psalmist that "the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage." (Psalm 16:6)

Also the older we get, obviously the older our parents get. When we left to begin the trip home on Monday morning, my husband and I were talking about how it is getting harder to say our goodbyes to our parents. Eleven years ago, we said good-bye to my father-in-law in the parking lot of a restaurant where we had gone for breakfast at the end of a week's visit, and 2 days later he was in heaven - he died suddenly of a heart attack. While we understand that anything can happen to any of us at any given time, when our parents are at the age they are, it is harder to say those good-byes.

These thoughts all remind me of a couple of wonderful verses: Ephesians 5:15-16 - "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." "Circumspectly" means with thoughtfulness and great care. To redeem means to make the most of, to buy up. There is a contrast there between foolish and wise people. Foolish people live for the moment and for themselves, without much thought for the future. Wise people are thoughtful and intentional about how they use their time, and make decisions that are important in the long run, always aware that time is a gift given to us by God.

Being busy does not necessarily mean that we are busy doing the right things. I am asking the Lord to help me be more intentional in the way that I use my time and order my priorities, that I might truly walk circumspectly and redeem, or make the most of, the time that God give me.

Until next time,
Kathi

A Change of Perspective

Today I was going to write a nice, light blog post about spring and decorating. But when the time came for me to sit down and write, I wasn't in the mood for spring decorating.

For me, nothing can guarantee a headache like having to spend an hour on the phone with my health insurance company.

It all began when my pharmacist called and informed me that one of my prescription refills was being denied by my insurance company, and as a result they were unable to refill my prescription. This is a medication that I have taken on a daily basis for a number of years, and have never had a problem before getting it refilled. Thus the necessary phone call to the insurance company...and the four times I was transferred from department to department. Each new person I spoke with required the same information I had already given to the personnel before them, as well as the lengthy explanation for the problem I was having. I gave my information and repeated my situation FOUR times. Did I mention that I had other things I needed to do? I could feel myself becoming tense and short-tempered.

On the same afternoon, in one of the blogs that I follow, I read the moving account of a young married woman, a mother, who is in hospice care and has only a matter of days until she leaves this life and meets her Savior in heaven. She was sharing how it felt to know that the amount of time she has left with her husband and her family is very short. "Our long good-bye was becoming not so long." And just like that, I felt my problems melt away into nothing. Not only are my problems nothing in comparison to what she is going through, but I can actually be thankful for the problems I have. They mean I have a normal, although sometimes chaotic and frustrating, life.

It all comes down to a matter of perspective. Our challenges in our attitudes and our responses stem from our focus. Mrs. Beneth Jones used to tell our group of pastor's wives in her Ministry Wives class, "Where you look determines what you see."

What we choose to focus on determines what we are seeing. If we choose to focus on the problems, the negatives, the uncertainties and the disappointments, then that is all we will see. We will miss the blessings, the positives and the joys the Lord has given us. If you have the mistaken idea that ministry life is filled with nothing but blessings and wonderful things, allow me to set you straight on that. Ministry life, and life in general, is filled with people and situations that hurt and disappoint us. We can become discouraged very quickly by all the sad stories, problems, the wrong choices and priorities of people we pour our lives into, shortages of workers, and a myriad of other things. It also has many rewards and incomparable joys. It is a privilege to serve the Lord. There is nothing so wonderful as when you see people give their lives to God, and experiencing genuine growth and change. There are many blessings - if we aren't so focused on the negatives that we miss them. Our perspective is greatly affected by what side we are looking at. 

We all are in need of a "focus adjustment." I surprised myself when while on the phone I began doodling "this light affliction."  2 Corinthians 4:17:"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." This is what focus adjustment is about - reminding ourselves that the problems, sorrows, and negative situations in our life, when viewed in light of eternity and what really matters, truly are "light afflictions."

And maybe next time I will post about spring and decorating.

In His Joyful service,

Kathi

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Wisdom in Uncertainty

Do you ever have those times in your life which are characterized by lots of uncertainties? That is what is on my mind this morning....uncertainty. There are immediate, small uncertainties: meetings and Bible Study class today and tonight which may or may not have to be re-scheduled due to possible impending bad weather; whether or not a planned trip to Lancaster County to help my mother-in-law with some necessary things is going to take place. I can't even know what I am going to make for supper or if I need to pack until those things are decided! Then there are the larger uncertainties facing us right now: Because of some recent developments, we are putting our house in Illinois back on the market and wondering if it will sell this time, and what we will do next if it doesn't? My husband needs knee-replacement surgery on BOTH knees, and there is the uncertainty of when would be the best time for him to have that done. A couple of our children have some very important decisions they are facing, and there is much uncertainty concerning the outcome and possible ramifications of those decisions. I'm a person who does not like uncertainty. I like to be able to know where I'm going, what is going to happen, and plan accordingly.

We have to keep in mind that walking with God does not mean we are always going to be able to figure everything out ahead of time. Very seldom do we have the "big picture" of God's working in our lives. This reminds me of an illustration by Jim Berg that I have used in my teaching. He likens our view of life events as being like the view from the dashboard of our vehicle - we may not be able to see what lies ahead that is snarling the traffic around us. We may not know the cause of the barricaded lane, or when the accident that is blocking our way will be cleared. All we can do is practice the next right response to these situations. Jim Berg says: "Wisdom is not about having God's perspective of all the matters before us, but having God's perspective about what next response will honor Him, while keeping us still usable to Him." (p. 167, Changed Into His Image)

In the midst of uncertainty, I am so glad that while I may not have or know the plan, God does! This morning I was reading in Isaiah and found these verses: "Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country -Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed it, I will also do it." (Isaiah 46:9-11) We can take comfort in knowing that the Lord has had the plan for our lives established since eternity past. The word "counsel" in the KJV can also be translated "plan." Nothing can interfere with God's plan for us - it will stand no matter if we know what it is or not! Also notice that God said He will do ALL His pleasure - and His pleasure is always for our good. He says even if it means bringing something or someone from afar to execute His plan, God will accomplish it!

In the Ladies Bible study that I teach, we are currently studying "Not By Chance,"an excellent book on the providence of God by Dr. Layton Talbert. One of the things that amazes me from my study is all the seemingly "impossible" things that God did in order to accomplish His plan. In order to place His chosen people in His chosen place (Egypt), God orchestrated the intentions and actions, and the timing of those actions, of Joseph's brothers toward Joseph. He did the same with Joseph's master Potipher, with Potipher's wife, and the keeper of the prison where Joseph was unjustly imprisoned, the forgetting about him, the God-given dream to the Pharaoh which resulted in Joseph's release, and the 7 years of plenty followed by the 7 years famine - that meant God providentially controlled the weather for 14 years! Why is that all so encouraging to me? Because if God had His hand over all of that, I can rest in knowing God has His hand on my life - even in times of uncertainty. I might not know what is going to happen - but He does. And that is the important thing.

Hope this encourages you today!
Kathi