Have you been in an automatic car wash lately? Good grief! I thought I was on a carnival ride! That may not be a big deal to you, but it sure is to me.
In case you haven't tuned in to our regularly scheduled broadcast lately, this middle-aged, Midwestern gal is full of neuroses. Snakes, heights, speed, enclosed spaces, etc. So what am I doing in a car wash?
It's like this: I love Tom a whole lot. Tom's always been meticulous about our cars. That's a good thing in my book. Usually Tom does ALL the car stuff. (Yeah, I know, I'm pretty spoiled.) But, Tom's been working a lot of overtime. And it's winter.
A rare warm day, with several more predicted, seemed a good day for a car wash. With little thought other than lessening Tom's load a bit, I got in line.
While waiting my turn I made good use of my time. I ate a snack. I checked my email. And then it was my turn. And then I remembered one of the reasons Tom washed the car.
For crying out loud! As soon as I entered the tunnel, my throat started closing up. Thank goodness a short attention span kicked in to distract me. Lots of bright and shiny lights distracted me from gasping for air. Huh! Would you look at those! They're big and bright so you can see where you are in the cleaning process, step by step. Great! The lights gave me an idea of how long until I could get my breath.
Then God took a seat in the car.
"You see those lights? They're all around your world. Traffic lights, microwave lights, even movie theater lights. You're used to knowing what comes next, and when. That's not how it is with me."
(Don't worry, Dear Reader, Neuroses Nelly, wasn't hallucinating, maybe fantasizing a bit, but mainly trying to be sensitive to the Spirit.)
That's how it is, though, isn't it? As much as we'd love a system of progress lights or a road map from God, He doesn't seem to work that way.
While sitting in the car wash, I was temporarily confused when it seemed the car was moving. It wasn't. It was the washing arm that gave the illusion of the car moving. It's so easy for me to get off track when I don't keep my heart and soul fixed firmly on the One Who Created It All.
What works for me is knowing that even David, "the man after God's own heart", didn't ask to see the whole plan. ("Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path." Psalm 119:105)
What are you in the middle of? Are you longing to know the next step, or the next? Can we pray together to believe God just a little bit more when He says, "For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope,"? Will you join me in taking the plunge?
On Wednesday, I'll be linking this post to Giving Up on Perfect and Coffee for Your Heart.
In case you haven't tuned in to our regularly scheduled broadcast lately, this middle-aged, Midwestern gal is full of neuroses. Snakes, heights, speed, enclosed spaces, etc. So what am I doing in a car wash?
It's like this: I love Tom a whole lot. Tom's always been meticulous about our cars. That's a good thing in my book. Usually Tom does ALL the car stuff. (Yeah, I know, I'm pretty spoiled.) But, Tom's been working a lot of overtime. And it's winter.
A rare warm day, with several more predicted, seemed a good day for a car wash. With little thought other than lessening Tom's load a bit, I got in line.
While waiting my turn I made good use of my time. I ate a snack. I checked my email. And then it was my turn. And then I remembered one of the reasons Tom washed the car.
For crying out loud! As soon as I entered the tunnel, my throat started closing up. Thank goodness a short attention span kicked in to distract me. Lots of bright and shiny lights distracted me from gasping for air. Huh! Would you look at those! They're big and bright so you can see where you are in the cleaning process, step by step. Great! The lights gave me an idea of how long until I could get my breath.
Then God took a seat in the car.
"You see those lights? They're all around your world. Traffic lights, microwave lights, even movie theater lights. You're used to knowing what comes next, and when. That's not how it is with me."
(Don't worry, Dear Reader, Neuroses Nelly, wasn't hallucinating, maybe fantasizing a bit, but mainly trying to be sensitive to the Spirit.)
That's how it is, though, isn't it? As much as we'd love a system of progress lights or a road map from God, He doesn't seem to work that way.
While sitting in the car wash, I was temporarily confused when it seemed the car was moving. It wasn't. It was the washing arm that gave the illusion of the car moving. It's so easy for me to get off track when I don't keep my heart and soul fixed firmly on the One Who Created It All.
What works for me is knowing that even David, "the man after God's own heart", didn't ask to see the whole plan. ("Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path." Psalm 119:105)
What are you in the middle of? Are you longing to know the next step, or the next? Can we pray together to believe God just a little bit more when He says, "For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope,"? Will you join me in taking the plunge?
On Wednesday, I'll be linking this post to Giving Up on Perfect and Coffee for Your Heart.
This shows about how brave I am sometimes about taking a new plunge of faith.
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