August 15 2015

August 15 2015 Greetings My Friend My lesson again today has been “be patient, look at the heart not the method with which it gets done.” Junior moved inside to the TV room today a room I spend a lot of time in. The area rug has been taken up and a piece of linoleum has been put down until it is time to refinish the floor down the road. This means that most of the furniture is out in the sitting room and any pathway around the room is blocked making me maneuver around the chaos. I am learning to not rely on my own steam and I immediately reach out for something to hold onto as I make my way through the room. I ask Junior if I can help and he replies “ sit and let me do what I do.” I decide to watch TV and find little things to do such as make the bed or fold a load of clothes. I feel antsy but I stay out of the way. Bedtime comes and he finishes one of the projects he was working on but the furniture is still askew. My prayer as I go to bed is that Junior will have the furniture back in place when I get up. I worry I won’t sleep because I haven’t moved about much. I did fall asleep fairly well and this morning all the furniture was in place. This means I can move through my usual day of sweeping, arranging or whatever. I asked him to put a corner shelf up that was original to the home and he did so this needs to be cleaned and decorated. I looks good and I am thrilled when I can use some things that were original to the home. Since spring Junior has been extending our front porch and I have a little section set up to go outside and quietly reflect on God’s awesome creation. Several days a week though I have to maneuver through some of Junior’s mess’. Junior feels that if he keeps things orderly then he spends less time working. It is foreign to me but through the years I have grown accustomed to his way of working. I seem to also relearn this lesson with each project. The good news is that I move through the learning part quicker and feel less aggravation. I admit that I have not done this on my own will power. I still have to take each of these things to God and ask to be taught how to cope. As I think on this I recall early on in my faith journey learning that we are to “pray without ceasing.” My first thoughts were how in the world can I do this? I found some set times to pray and I could occasionally lift up a popcorn prayer but praying all day everyday? With today’s answered prayer I understand more fully how I have started to learn to pray throughout the day. When I quit thinking that I had to say pretty prayers, use a format such as ACTSS with each prayer session and learned to start talking to God as if He were right next to me I am learning to pray without ceasing. I still use a format from time to time to get myself started in quiet reflection time. I also am learning to talk to God about what is on my mind at the moment. Sometimes I surprise myself when my words to God are poetic. If I think on this isn’t that a life in general anyway? We move through each day in quiet, in conversation and sometimes we make something beautiful. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet