Woah, a lot has happened in the past few days. What a whirlwind! The most important thing I do daily is spend time in the Word of God and pray. Yet, these past few days, I've neglected it..."I'm too busy." I'd tell myself. With so many deadlines and items on my to-do list demanding attention, I'd wake up every morning and get to work, trying to complete as many items as possible.
Since we've moved Zeke into his new apartment, all that hard, grueling work hasn't pushed us much further toward our goal of listing the house on October 1st. We're now more behind than ever.
Thankfully, the Lord gave us a wake-up call last night while celebrating Rebekah's 15th birthday. We had taken her and the whole family to see the new Kendrick movie, The Forge, which was excellent. It's a story of discipleship and the power of prayer in a young man's wayward life. Watching the main character suffer consequences when his priorities were skewed was my wake-up call. Even though his life circumstances didn't become any easier, his ability to move through adversity when he put the Lord first was my reminder and facepalm.
I have spent my entire week running on the proverbial treadmill. I was going nowhere fast. This morning, I corrected all of that. Time in God's Word was the first thing I did, and it filled my cup. This was my reminder that you can't fill an empty cup. Next, this blog. This is my journal; without it, my whole day feels off. Too many stories, emotions, and stresses remain in my heart and brain when I don't blog. This allows me to let things go or give them a place of honor.
So, how does all of this relate to teeth, demolition, and birthdays?
My crazy week when I didn't have my priorities straight began with an early morning appointment to have Bethany's braces removed and permanent retainers installed. Look at that smile!
While I spent my week tying up loose ends regarding never-ending appointments and deadlines for purchase agreements, etc., my capable guys spent their days demolishing walls, flooring, and trim. Our home is now a construction zone with construction dust and debris everywhere.
It was a hurry-up and rush-to-every appointment and meeting and an "I don't know what's for dinner, I'm not sure I'll be home in time to cook" kind of week—until Thursday morning.
A long-standing family rule is we don't work on birthdays, and Rebekah turned 15 yesterday. When Bill and I woke up yesterday, we still operated with that now familiar stress we've been carrying around all week, but at the same time, we knew we had to pause to honor and celebrate our daughter. We had changed direction, but the result was still the same. Now, we were decorating and preparing with the same chaotic stress we'd been dealing with all week.
Stress is a very low frequency that doesn't allow the mind to relax or be creative. Decisions made under stress are almost always horrible and take you far from the path the Lord would have you walk. However, it can appear as if all is going well during stressful times.
Our morning appeared "textbook-perfect." The home was decorated, our baby girl enjoyed her favorite breakfast and time with family opening gifts, and we even played games afterward. But by the afternoon, when we had made reservations to go to the movies, we were frantically rushing to make the movie on time. The previews are usually between 15 and 20 minutes long, and we crashed into our seats just as the last preview was wrapping up.
The movie began...
For two hours, time and stress stood still. God had a message for all of us. We received His message and enjoyed Bekka's birthday fully present and without tomorrow's stress.
This morning, the most important things came first. Bill and I had a wonderful time reading the Bible, drinking coffee, and sharing how His Word is helping us during this move. I've also spent time in my online journal, my Victorious Mother blog. We may not hit our deadline of October 1st to have our home listed on the market, but at least my family won't be torn apart by stress. To God be the glory.
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