Isn't it funny how God prepares us for things and we don't even know it! He's just constantly acting in our lives and many times its through the things that are so aggravating to us. But... we if push through and listen to our gut those are the experiences we look back on and are so thankful that He ordered our steps in that way to prepare us for the here and now.
This has become very evident in my life this busy busy weekend. I'm sitting here in the dark typing this post on my phone. It's almost 2 am on Tuesday morning and my mom is sleeping since its my shift to stand watch over my grandmother who is in the hospital as they are checking her out after a fall this past Sunday.
But ... My amazement starts back on Saturday morning.
If you're my Facebook friend you know we had a couple of dear friends get hitched this weekend and the baking bride and I were helping run the show. I decorated, and did hair and just about any of the forgotten tasks that needed to get done (ex. Covering the ugly black planters and downloading the exit song while the mothers were being seated) while She did such an awesome job coordinating the people and the plan side of things. Anyways, Friday I had a lot of stuff I had to get done so my mind wouldn't stop so I was up after just 5 hours of sleep. We worked until 12:15 am sat getting ready then finally got in bed around 1 am and set the alarm for 7:42( this time allows for 2 snoozes before 8 am actual wake up time) but alas the mind wouldn't stop once I half woke up to turn the pillow to the cold side at 5:30 am. After about 45 mins I decided I'd just get up, get ready, and get a head start. So at 8:15 I loaded my bag in the car and headed to the church where I was the lucky one to discover a default in the alarm(it has since been fixed so don't go trying to break in the church ... You WILL regret it!) after an hour and a half of our earsplitting alarm the techs made it out and fixed us up. At some point in there I realized how gracious God was in letting me get an early start so that satan didn't have the opportunity to steal ANY of the bride's joy or stress her out. They got most of it fixed before she even arrived and we were able to laugh about it while rolling her hair instead of sitting in the car and crying together.
Also the running on just a few hours of sleep the past few nights prepared me so much for this hospital experience being that we were in the emergency room at 2 different hospitals for 14 hours Sunday night. My mom, aunt and I took turns sitting with Mamaw Dot and sleeping while the other kept guard over our stuff. We all got just about an hour total of sleep in that waiting room but it kept us going. If my body wouldn't have been conditioned to the lack of sleep it would have been a much harder task to stay awake and in good spirits.
And finally ... without too much detail... There were several skills I learned last year teaching little ones that have come in handy while caring for Dot that the weak stomachs of my mom and aunt haven't been forced to handle in 10-15 years!!
This fact that God is constantly at work in our lives is one I really needed to experientially learn here lately. The "Why me?" and "Why not me?" questions come to my lips far too often. God has given this realization to me as encouragement to me to press on through some unpleasant (and they are simply that.. just not as pleasant as I would like...not awful or dreadful or even hard) things right now so I'm better prepared and can handle things in high stress situations later on down the road. Also it's further proof that everything happens for a reason, and although a situation may really stink while I'm living through it, all things work together for those who love Him. And I do! :)
Grace and peace to each and every one of you. Take time to thank God for the experiences in your life that have done some sharpening to make you a better more efficient tool to further his kingdom, and be open to the spirit's work in and around you so you can be a useful tool as well.
Until next time!
Chelsea Lou
A blog I found the night after I wrote this post. It is kinda long the same lines and has a very encouraging video there at the end. Check It out!!
http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com
This has become very evident in my life this busy busy weekend. I'm sitting here in the dark typing this post on my phone. It's almost 2 am on Tuesday morning and my mom is sleeping since its my shift to stand watch over my grandmother who is in the hospital as they are checking her out after a fall this past Sunday.
But ... My amazement starts back on Saturday morning.
If you're my Facebook friend you know we had a couple of dear friends get hitched this weekend and the baking bride and I were helping run the show. I decorated, and did hair and just about any of the forgotten tasks that needed to get done (ex. Covering the ugly black planters and downloading the exit song while the mothers were being seated) while She did such an awesome job coordinating the people and the plan side of things. Anyways, Friday I had a lot of stuff I had to get done so my mind wouldn't stop so I was up after just 5 hours of sleep. We worked until 12:15 am sat getting ready then finally got in bed around 1 am and set the alarm for 7:42( this time allows for 2 snoozes before 8 am actual wake up time) but alas the mind wouldn't stop once I half woke up to turn the pillow to the cold side at 5:30 am. After about 45 mins I decided I'd just get up, get ready, and get a head start. So at 8:15 I loaded my bag in the car and headed to the church where I was the lucky one to discover a default in the alarm(it has since been fixed so don't go trying to break in the church ... You WILL regret it!) after an hour and a half of our earsplitting alarm the techs made it out and fixed us up. At some point in there I realized how gracious God was in letting me get an early start so that satan didn't have the opportunity to steal ANY of the bride's joy or stress her out. They got most of it fixed before she even arrived and we were able to laugh about it while rolling her hair instead of sitting in the car and crying together.
Also the running on just a few hours of sleep the past few nights prepared me so much for this hospital experience being that we were in the emergency room at 2 different hospitals for 14 hours Sunday night. My mom, aunt and I took turns sitting with Mamaw Dot and sleeping while the other kept guard over our stuff. We all got just about an hour total of sleep in that waiting room but it kept us going. If my body wouldn't have been conditioned to the lack of sleep it would have been a much harder task to stay awake and in good spirits.
And finally ... without too much detail... There were several skills I learned last year teaching little ones that have come in handy while caring for Dot that the weak stomachs of my mom and aunt haven't been forced to handle in 10-15 years!!
This fact that God is constantly at work in our lives is one I really needed to experientially learn here lately. The "Why me?" and "Why not me?" questions come to my lips far too often. God has given this realization to me as encouragement to me to press on through some unpleasant (and they are simply that.. just not as pleasant as I would like...not awful or dreadful or even hard) things right now so I'm better prepared and can handle things in high stress situations later on down the road. Also it's further proof that everything happens for a reason, and although a situation may really stink while I'm living through it, all things work together for those who love Him. And I do! :)
Grace and peace to each and every one of you. Take time to thank God for the experiences in your life that have done some sharpening to make you a better more efficient tool to further his kingdom, and be open to the spirit's work in and around you so you can be a useful tool as well.
Until next time!
Chelsea Lou
A blog I found the night after I wrote this post. It is kinda long the same lines and has a very encouraging video there at the end. Check It out!!
http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com
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