Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Falling

In my house things fall. A lot.

Mostly this is because things are constantly being put higher and higher to keep them out of reach of 6 curious hands. The other reason is because we have a habit of piling things instead of just putting them away.

Regardless, things fall. 

And I often get upset when things fall. It frustrates me that not everything has a place. It gets under my skin when people don't put their stuff away (including myself). It burns my buscuits that we don't have a closet for this or a drawer for that.

It really isn't the most mature thing for me to respond by screeching or cursing or blaming other people or throwing things across the room, but I have to confess that these are not unheard of reactions on my part. I have grown and am growing, but there is still plenty of room to grow more.

When I react to these things, rather than respond to them, I am like a wave tossed on the ocean, doubting and lacking wisdom. How embarrassing when I behave in such ways, especially in front of my kids and husband. Not exactly the example of the Lord's love and peace I hope to be in my home.

As I said, I have grown in this; now I have a choice to respond rather than react, laughing it off and cleaning things up and putting things away. What is the point of getting upset about it when I could have prevented it by putting things away anyway? When I still make the choice to react immaturely (usually accompanied with excuses like "it's been a really bad day already" or  "it's all [fill in the blank]'s fault"), I have learned to get over it quickly, laugh it off, apologize for how I acted, and move on with my day. I used to seethe about things like that for hours and hours, wasting precious time that could have been spent much more pleasantly and making those around me suffer. How foolish! I am grateful that this is something the Lord has worked on in me and is still working on in me.

This freedom I have to make a choice on how to respond when things fall (or other annoying things happen) shows me that I am becoming more like a tree planted by the streams of living water whose roots go down deep and whose branches bear much fruit - fruit that will last! This is truly my desire.

The amazing thing about all of this is that it isn't dependent on me, but it is dependent on my trust in the Living God. The verse in James about the wave is based on the concept of asking the Lord for more wisdom and Him giving it to me. The verse in the Psalms about being like a tree talks about delighting in the laws of the Lord and meditating on them all the time. The verse in John about bearing fruit is all about being chosen by the Lord and not only asking for things in His name, but receiving them as well. Wow! There is so much yet to learn.

So instead of getting upset about things falling, I will stop being lazy and put them away, first of all, but second and more important, I will rest in the Lord and become so consumed by His love and faithfulness that I can't even see the things around me falling as I fall into His goodness.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing, Shell. It's nice to hear your heart and your realness...even about your flaws! You AREgrowing and the Lord is faithful to complete His good work iin you.

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