sunrise thoughts write31days
I'm reminded daily (okay, multiple times daily) that I am a very flawed individual. Thankfully, the Lord constantly reminds me, when I'm seeking His direction in all that I do, my "flawed being" can & will be used by Him. That doesn't make me perfect OR make everything I do just right. But, it does give me the assurance that God is at work in me moment by moment... to convict, to make pliable, to mold & shape... to use in His big plan. One of my nieces who is attending AU posted a great quote a few days back on Facebook. It really spoke to me:
"If we have the idea that we have to put on our 'spiritual face' before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are." - Oswald Chambers
In a recent 4-day holiday weekend, I awoke in the wee hours of the morning every single day. Yep, on the days when the LOML (aka hubby) could sleep in beside me, I was wide awake before 5am! The motivated, effective person would get out of bed & get a jump start on the day. That's not me though -- at least not lately. So, I quietly stayed in bed, reading all the devotions I get via email in my FOUR accounts. I saved quotes, copied photos & read passages of the Bible related to each devotional. I refused to get up & about totally. I chose to catch a few more minutes of shut-eye when my body became sleepy again - usually around 7 to 8am. Then, I let my husband be my alarm clock when he woke up & made coffee for us.
I could have fretted about what I did & beat myself up for being so lazy. If I told my MOTHER about what I'd done, she'd lower her head & shake it in shame. And, to be honest, I should have used some of that time to do a few other things... but, I didn't. The choice I made gave me the opportunity to call out to God & move forward. God uses even our wasted time when we give it over to Him :) And, sometimes our wasted time isn't really that wasted in God's eyes.
I love God! He's all about grace :) I want to be like that too, recognizing that God is working for good in all situations - even the horrendous ones.
Yep... I blew it! I thought about it during the day. But, I was too lazy to do what I needed to do when I thought about it. I was enjoying cuddling up under a cozy blanket as the cool temps took over our house. The next time I thought about it, it was TOO LATE. Reluctantly I climbed from the warm comfort of my bed this morning & shivered. It was cold, really COLD (and I hadn't left windows open, as I am known to do this time of year). When I checked the temp it read 35 degrees outside & 58 inside. Brrrrrrrr!
At that moment, I thought of my tomato plants behind the barn. Oops! I should have covered those plants when I thought about it yesterday! I love my fresh tomatoes. As, a matter of fact, I usually can't make it to the house without eating a few! I kept kicking myself all morning as I thought of those tomato plants! And, before I headed out to walk with my neighbor in the afternoon, I decided to quickly check on the plants. Not a good find:
I once again kicked myself and thought, Ruthanne (my neighbor) would NEVER do that. I bet she still has tomato plants growing in her garden still! While walking with her, I mentioned how cold it had been the night before & learned she had not covered her tomato plants either. It made me feel better! And, it reminded me, that mistakes are mistakes but, we should learn from them -- not just condemn ourselves because of them. When I am craving some fresh tomatoes on a salad or in a sandwich in the coming weeks, the lesson will be reinforced in my mind :)
SUMMARY: Make a mistake... Learn... Move On :)
