Waiting Rooms-Home of the Easily Annoyed Heart

 

Ever need a healthy dose of perspective in your life?  Well evidently I needed one today...... As I was sitting in the waiting room today it occurred to me how many hours I've spent in the last dozen years in the waiting room with several young children in tow (or within) me.  Please understand that I am a healthy young mom with healthy young children, but even in a healthy family there are still many times that you find yourself in that all too familiar waiting room with the clock never far from your mind.

First, let's stop and think about the term patient.... orthodontist, or chiropractor, or doctor, or dental, or any other area... you are someone's patient.  Ironic title, isn't it?  It certainly does not describe the tone of the waiting room I was in today.... or ever, as a point of fact. 

Think about the last time you spent a great deal of time in the waiting room.....remember it??.... surrounded by rolling eyes, loud sighs, sarcasm, people checking the time frequently, whispers for children to be patient from their own not-so-patient frustrated parents, restless children, people complaining, schedules being adjusted, and far from private phone calls or posts that seem to increase at the same rate of frustration ensuring that everyone possible can share in your temporal affliction.

Truth is, I'm just as guilty as the next guy.  Even if I don't wear it externally, there have been many moments where I've boiled inside over the time I've spent waiting in an exam or waiting room.... especially in those emotionally unstable moments as a new or very expectant mommy.  According to Jesus, internalizing it is just as bad as all the adult temper tantrums I was surrounded by today.... for the Lord above all cares about the condition of our hearts.  Today for the first time I was given some healthy and needed perspective.....

We all have seasons where we have needed urgent attention and been the one to affect someone else's schedule, yet we all struggle to give grace to those who are affected by this daily.  Today as I sat in my waiting room, I wondered what it would look like to follow Jesus here.

God knows everything.... He sees the person that was in our room before us.... He knows the bad news the doctor had to deliver earlier that day..... He knows the urgency and affliction that is all around us...  I wondered if He was sitting in any given waiting room today, offering all that He knew, how much that the tone of place would change..........  how quickly we'd all go from annoyed to grateful.  Grateful... we would all be grateful.  We'd be thankful for the small treatable sicknesses, the well baby visits, the immunizations that we have the terrible freedom to argue about, we'd celebrate our pre and postnatal care, and repeating our medical insurance information for the ten-millionth time. 

Sure, many of us will likely face a medical giant at some point, but most of us will likely spend a great deal of time as someone's relatively healthy (and annoyed--at least internally annoyed) patient first.  Sadly, I don't think it is until that giant arrives that we gain the perspective we should have had all along.  I'm choosing not to wait for it.

I remember one of the things that stood out to me as I watched a young friend battle cancer, was that somehow God had given her an incredible perspective in her suffering.  Even though she was facing this giant cancer, and even though in many moments in the hospital she may have been the most critical patient, He had given her more perspective than most adults to realize that even in those moments, it still wasn't all about her..... even up to her last breath she was praying for those around her.  Wow.

It's time for me to break past being easily annoyed.... and break through to seeing the world around me, and offer my smile and my prayers.  Anybody with me?

I can't speak for you, but I'm following Jesus into my next waiting room....


Heavenly Father,

Lord, you know me... inside and out, and you want to tend to all of me, not just part of me.  Thank you for pursuing my easily annoyed heart.  Father I need you to search my heart and lead me... even and especially when I am easily annoyed.  Give me your perspective to remember that even when I am someone's patient, the world doesn't revolve around me.  Help me to extend grace, offer a smile, and pray for those around me who may be dealing with a medical giant.  Empower me to do these things in good health and in sickness, and replace my annoyance with Your peace.

In the patient name of Jesus I pray,
Amen

Going Beyond: A Road Trip with Jesus

I have a friend who decides on a word or some words that is going to characterize how she is hoping to grow in the Lord that year.  Last year she chose the words "Go Beyond." Now, I can't say I'll never do this, but things like this typically set me up for feeling like an unfaithful failure--so I avoid them, but that is not my point.  My point is that her words stuck in my head and heart.  We shared some things that God was really stretching us both to do, and do well.  We talked about these often, and had wonderful conversations about following Jesus down paths that we certainly would have avoided without Him.  Recently those words have surfaced in my own heart again, and I've been pondering where Jesus wants me to Go Beyond for Him.  This got me thinking....

I realized quickly how many areas in life that he wanted me to also go beyond--right now.... we all have them, but we avoid them naturally.  It takes some intentionality to go where we otherwise wouldn't.... for the good or the bad.  A lot of people have asked me questions like:  "How do you have the time and patience to be able to mentor the lost... or work with girls struggling with self-destruction.... or do marriage counseling..... or parent 24/7.... or be a stay-at-home mom.... or homeschool.... or all of the other things that my day often consists of.  My answers is simple:  "I don't."  I don't have the time to do any of those things, none of us do.  I don't have the time to go beyond... things like this are done when we MAKE the time to do them.  We all have the same amount of time each day to manage, and we all have plenty competing for our time.  Going beyond means that you are going to follow Jesus down a road He wants to travel, and He's invited you on a road trip... and you get to be the navigator.  Everyday there is a road trip with Jesus that we can CHOOSE to take, or we can cozy up with our friend the internet in our snuggies and hot cocoa and pay bills all night.  = )  There is somewhere in every single day where we can MAKE the time to Go Beyond.

I wonder today how God is asking you to go beyond, just. for. today.  Not thinking any farther than that. I know today He will give you the opportunity to go beyond... in fact, He probably already has.  Some of the ways I have been challenged to Go Beyond this week are simple (but hard).... such as not having the last word when I feel right, sacrificing sleep or entertainment to serve another, putting my shopping cart back at -15 degrees, loving the ignored, encouraging the discouraged, making points of touch that are long overdue, apologizing..... if your a wife or a mom, you probably have at least a dozen ways to Go Beyond before your feet have even hit the floor most mornings.
 

I know you are thinking...... good. for. YOU...... or boy, I'm glad that works for YOU.  Well, the truth is this is not just for those who have reached a certain "level"... or have a certain amount of free time.... we all have 100% free time, and the terrible freedom to fill it however we desire.  We know that there is a time for all things... and if you follow Jesus, He wants to be the Lord of your time.... all of it-not just some of it.  You see, you either follow Jesus, or you don't..... it's not something that "some" of us are called to do with "some" of our free time.  We are all called to Go Beyond--every.single.day.-- if we follow Him.

I often see walls that are put up, or fears that are in the way, or insecurities that prevail over the work that God has to do in peoples lives.  This happened in my own life this week as I worked really hard to recognize a couple of areas where I knew walls, fears, and insecurity, past hurt, and  were preventing me from Going Beyond.... and I'm working on those in my life step by step.  But I've also learned this week, that as I follow Jesus and go beyond the walls, the insecurity, the fear......... that I have absolutely nothing to hide nothing or to fear because perfet love casts out fear..... it always protects, always preservers, holds no record of wrongs... it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  If the One who is capable of all of that is inviting me on a road trip each day to God Beyond with Him.... why on earth would I ever fear or hide?  Yet we naturally do.  So let's pray.... for the courage and selflessness to GO BEYOND today. 

And thanks friend... for two simple words that are forever woven into the fabric of my life.



Heavenly Father,

I love you Lord.  I thank you for the incredible privilege to GO BEYOND with you. Lord, the truth is we all are scared.... scared of the letting go that is needed to follow you.... scared of the unknowns that come with following you..... scared of the hurt and pain that may surface.... scared of walking into the places we've abandoned that never went away even though we've been ignoring them for a very long time.  You are the God of all these places, and you are One who can empower us by Your great strength.  Grant us the courage to follow you, from the first step until the last.  In places of comfort, and places of pain.... with people we love, and those who are less than loving.... in the yesterday, today, and tomorrow.... for You are the God of them all.  Reveal where You want me to GO BEYOND.... and give me ears that hear and a willing heart.

In the name of Jesus, who went beyond....
Amen.

 

Goodness Gracious-There is no goodness without His grace on us!

Ever notice how much our kids talk so much about being good..... Jesus wants me to be good.  He was good today.  The bible says that we need to do good things for people.  Jesus, help me to be good boy today, Amen.  And then there is always that one kid, that just isn't very good, or doesn't look very good..... I find this fascinating....

What I really am hearing is an incredible emphasis of the expectation of goodness in their itty bitty selves.  Basically they think that the kids that look good and do good, are doing things God's way.  I think this speaks volumes into the expectations they feel about performing in this life, and what we are likely living out ourselves.  They know exactly what our main objectives for them in life are, even if we haven't told them directly.  Indirectly, they learn our expectations by what we choose to discipline them for, praise them about, and expect of them.... even if it has never "officially" been established.

So what is it that we desire of them?  Our kids already have it figured out.... time for us to think on it for a bit.  The truth is, many of us haven't spent enough (or any) time figuring out how to follow Jesus here for ourselves, much less for the little ones we've been entrusted to help navigate.  Let me help you with the basics, I think it's safe to say these likely make the list (like it or not) of what we hope our children will be:

To be good.
To be kind.
To be honest.
To do good things.
To be respectful.
To love others.
To be responsible.
To be a nice sibling.
To look presentable.
To not whine or complain.
... and the believer would add:
To be saved.

The list could go on and on, but you get the point.  All of these are good things to teach children.  But, the result is not a dependency on God, but on self.  I am convinced that a large part of the self destruction trend among teens today is the result of pressure to be something unattainable... and where there isn't self destruction, there is often an overabulndance of self righteousness.  Now look back at that list,--------reread it, really-------- now tell me....... without the help of Christ, honestly when was the last time you were all of that in a day?  Humbling. 

(Most of you are rereading it now instead.... it's okay, you're helping make my point.)

A follower of Jesus is more than just morally good... and has more than just morally good expectations for their children.  I'm not saying that the list needs to grow and add more pressures, I'm saying that the Jesus I know, came to blow lists like these completely out of the water.  He came because we had proven that on our own we could NOT be good enough.  He came to say enough lists and pressures, it's all about Me.  The truth is that is freaks us out to think about what following Jesus as a parent looks like, so we've just jumped on the moral bandwagon that everyone else is riding on..... many of us without even knowing it.  My question is:  How's it working for you?   It's not, because we can't mold goodness into something God desires to be broken for Him to use. It comes by grace alone, none of us are strong enough to remain good on our own.

We want to believe man to be mostly good, so we have no need for God.  But the bible teaches there is no good found in sinful man without Christ's offer of grace, so we have a tremendous need for Him.  Let's change the compass of our expectations from following morality, to following Jesus, and focus more every day on our reliance on Him for goodness than our unattainable expectations of goodness.....  For us, and our children.


Heavenly Father,

Forgive us where we have followed the compass pointing anywhere but you.  Empower us to teach the children you have entrusted to us in a new way, seasoned by grace and rich in love.  Help us to remind ourselves of who we are in You, so that our children may know who they can be in You as well.  Thank you father, that in You I am complete and lacking nothing, because I know full well on my own that I am simply nothing and incomplete.  Release our children from any chains of bondage that our unattainable expectations have held them captive in, and create in our homes a new tone of goodness centered around You.

In the good name of Jesus I pray,
Amen