Ordinary

Today was a pretty ordinary day, God used two ordinary circumstances to speak to me and remind me just how extraordinary living life with Him can be.

Last night I started a project in my room, I'm painting a chalkboard on my wall. I didn't follow the directions and rushed through what I was doing. It said to do one coat and then wait four hours for the second, I waited thirty minutes. This morning I tried to apply a second coat and it looked even worse. I left for work pretty frustrated. I had no other choice than to ask for help...which is something I'm not a big fan of. I asked my dad if he could fix it and when I came home from work it looked perfect.

God used that to remind me that His timing is perfect. Even when I feel the need to rush through things, I need to wait on Him and trust that He knows what He is doing when He tells me to wait. He showed me that it is wise to follow directions. They are there to help me not frustrate me. Also, with the paint, I kept trying to cover up the previous mess. Covering the 'messes' in my life are only going to make it worse. It wasn't until I humbled myself and asked for help that things worked out and my chalkboard was finished correctly. I couldn't do it by myself, I needed my dads help. I needed him to 'make it all better'. Same goes for life...I can't do it alone, and when I do mess up only God can 'make it all better'. He will always be there to clean up my mess and to fix what I broke.

Last night my dad saw how frustrated I was getting, but he stood back and kept silent about the whole situation. He knew just as well as I did that he could fix it. He was waiting for me to ask for help. Same goes for our Heavenly Father, He is more than capable to help in our time of need...but we need to take that first step and reach out.

Good stuff, huh?

The second circumstance He used was nap time at work. All my kids were asleep except for Lily, which is not unusual. Lily likes to do things her own way and doesn't listen very well, and nap time is no exception. Usually the other teacher puts her down but today it was my job. Lily did not like that very much and did everything she could to test me. I tried everything I could to get her to fall asleep and nothing was working. I was very frustrated and not very patient after trying for almost 45 minutes. Every time I went to stand up and walk away the Holy Spirit kept telling me to sit down and keep trying. He reminded me that God NEVER gave up on me, the God was patient with me, and how He even allowed me to do things my way for awhile until I finally recognized that His way was best.

I never got Lily to sleep today...but God used her to speak to my heart and to encourage me that He is always with me and that He loves me and is fighting for me even when I'm resisting Him, even when I'm ignoring Him, even when I'm being stubborn.

Tonight I'm grateful for His unending, limitless love. His faithfulness. His patience. His power. His provision. His grace.

Getting tired of your everyday life filled with routine and an endless list of things to do? It was in an ordinary everyday moment when God spoke to Moses through the burning bush. God is always trying to gain our attention, He is always speaking. Are you listening? Are you looking for ways to let Him in?