So it was that week! You know the week after you come back from vacation and everything and everyone needs your attention. In truth, all I really wanted to do was curl up with my book in the sun in my hammock. First problem - its only 40 degrees. I could have easily solved that with a laz-e-boy and an afghan though! So we press on and re-adjust to the “real world”!
It's kind of like getting out of addiction. We crave the comfort and familiarity of our substance and the “mode” it puts us in. However, just like vacation, all good things must come to an end. Not that the addiction I was in was “good,” but it sure felt like an escape! So you leave the sun and R&R behind and move into your big girl life. Even though life is demanding and overwhelming sometimes, I found a lot of joy in coming home.
1. It was Easter! He is Risen! I was very clear when we planned our vacation that I wanted to be back for Easter for many reasons. The first, of course, being the reason we are celebrating in the first place. God sacrificed so much for me I can certainly cut my vacation short by a day. I wanted to worship with my husband on Easter Morning and attend our new church together.
Secondly, I wanted to be with my whole family to observe this day. I missed them! Even though we got home at 3:00 in the morning (major flight delay,) we had Easter dinner on the table by 1:00 (lots of preparation before I left and family brought some great sides for the Easter ham!) Not to mention it was my first Easter as a Grandma too and I wanted to see my little guy for sure that day. I put some baby approved treats in some plastic eggs for him, but then his Great Aunt gave him a chocolate bunny and I was like never mind the baby food! He fell asleep anyway, so we had fun with those eggs when he was over a few days later instead.
2. I missed the normalcy of my life. My quiet time in the morning after my husband leaves for work. That is my time alone with God where I talk with him about what the day should look like. I present my agenda and then he basically revises it! I am one of those people with a plan everyday and need to be constantly reminded what I am here for is not my list but His.
3. I like doing things all things mundane that Moms do. My daughter-in-law was teasing me on my vacation because I kept wiping up the little kitchenette we had in our room! That’s what I do though! Wipe it all down, put away the dishes etc. Totally not necessary, but I couldn't handle not doing it. It's been ingrained me for way to long! Creature of habit, I guess!
Those are just a few things. I do not take for granted that home is a place of peace and love, instead of turmoil and unrest like it was for so many years. I see that as nothing short of a miracle in my life.
There is a song that I am opening my radio program with on Friday that I am absolutely in love with. It is by Bethel called “No Longer Slaves.” There is a line that says “He split the seas so I can walk right through it” Think on this for a second! One morning in Mexico, I was sitting alone on the beach staring at this magnificent body of water. To even sit there and listen to its roar is amazing in itself. I tried to picture what it would take to part that water all the way to the other side of it. I looked at a map and it looks like a long walk that would put me in Havana somewhere! I would be dry? Not eaten by a sea creature? These walls of water on each side of me would hold firmly in place?
Sounds impossible, but that is what He did and is capable of doing for you and me in this life. He splits the seas so we can walk right through it every single day. It is our choice, just like it was for the Israelites. God delivered them from he oppression of the Egyptians. He brought them through the wall of water safely and the enemy drowned. Look at your struggle like that today.
Are you ready to take that step into faith and leave your enemy to drown? If you trust God, it is all possible. If you read about the Israelites in Exodus they wandered and whined a lot whenever things weren't easy. Actually, this is more human nature than anything, but what strikes me is what they had come from. They were slaves treated horribly, in a life of bondage and now they were complaining about food and being stuck in the desert. They were already giving up on God's love and plans for them. They were not trusting Him.
Lesson here is: if it's not easy, we quickly want to give up when it gets hard. That's what giving up an addiction is like. It is so hard, but we have to be patient in the waiting and trust Him! Trust that everyday He will provide all the manna you need to survive. In all things you can trust Him to help you through. Psalm 40:4 “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust!” Make Him your trust today. Don’t give up when the first hard thing comes up. Turn to him and trust that He can help you through whatever you need. He is there with arms wide open.
Peace,
Sherry