The house is a total mess... I'm pretty confident I'll never get my summer cleaning, re-arranging, throwing away, giving away project done... My house is waaaayyy too small for all the stuff we have accumulated (and keep accumulating...) and for several weeks now I just keep pulling more things off the shelves in various rooms in an effort to streamline our eclectic possessions.
And I have dirty laundry that just keeps on giving... and giving...and giving... and giving....
I have two dogs who slip out of our fence every time the batteries in their shock collars go out... which happens to be the case this week. So until we get more batteries, I have Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee doing time in our laundry room, plotting their next escape I'm afraid, instead of repenting from their sins... ha! They are loved pets but they also guard our property so we need them...
I have a hard-working husband who feels pressured by his job, works long hours for little pay, and is uneasy about the intermittent pain in his back. As a mechanic, pain in the back can be a serious hindrance to work. Right now we're thankful that as long as he does his exercises, the pain goes away.
We have a grown son who is a good person but who doesn't always make the decisions I would make for him. It's hard to let go and just stand back and watch while he finds his way in the world.
I have neighbors who are wonderful and neighbors who are one step ahead of the police. Last night I met with some of the sweetest people in the world for our monthly Neighborhood Time of Prayer. I love each person in that group. On the flip side of that coin, another neighbor got arrested last week. He has a pleasant personality and a generous spirit. However he's also the one who celebrated Christmas 2012 by setting off a pipe bomb a few yards from our house. I don't think he means to hurt anyone, he just likes guns and loud noises. Still, that's kind of a dangerous hobby.... Since he was on probation when he got caught shooting a shotgun in our neighborhood for fun, he will be off the streets for a couple of months. I am praying God will use this time to change his heart, re-direct his life. So, yes, I have neighbors who are wonderful and some who are not so wonderful...
I have faithful friends who pray for me -one in particular who lets me cry on her shoulder in public, who is always there for me. I have other people in my life - extended family members, former friends - who drive me crazy with their choices, their eccentricities. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, praying for a loved one who is so headed down the wrong path. I can see the train wreck coming but I can't prevent it. I've found 3 a.m. is a good time to pray...
I have pain almost daily from geriatric knees and as I approach 60, I don't know what the immediate future holds. I didn't know what the future held when I was 20 either, but as I enter my sixth decade the possibilities seem a little less appealing than when I was young... ha!
In addition to all that, we aren't rich by any means. One big expense could wipe us out, truly. We don't have a big bank account or a house worth a lot of bucks.
But this morning I woke up with joy in my heart.
And that's because Jesus lives in my heart and He is enough!
9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
II Cor. 12:9-10
Good testimony on the trials of life not stealing your joy.
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