The Weekly Encourager - February 11, 2010 - Water, Water, Everywhere

this is my new entry:

 The Weekly Encourager - February 11, 2010 - Water, Water, Everywhere

When is a flood not a flood? 

Do you have a task you've been putting off but you know you should do?
Have you prayed for supernatural motivation?
Have you asked spouse or Christian friends for help?

The morning after Christmas Day, with two ladies and one's daughter expected for tea and conversation, I hurried down to the basement to wrap their presents.  Unfortunately, what I expected to be a lovely calm day of fellowship with dear friends by the fire, while husband and son went to a LAN party, turned out to be a frantic morning of sopping up water en famille.  Rapid snow melt after a large snowstorm earlier that week had caused basement flooding.  On one hand, if the friends hadn't been coming, I might not have discovered the water until much later and the damage would have been greater; but, on the other hand, I missed a golden opportunity for fellowship.  My friend Hannah was able to come for only a short time.  After Dave and Austin and I finally got the furniture and boxes moved out and water cleaned up, she could only stay a few minutes more.  It was sad because I only get to see Hannah about twice a year, once in summer and once at Christmas.  Yet God's timing is perfect, right?

The stressful process of moving things out of the water's path brought about some important revelations.  Are you a storer of stuff?  It seems that between my growing quilt business, my office, things saved from the past, things inherited from relatives who have passed on, my gift closet and gift wrap area, etc., I have a whole lot of stuff in the basement.  Of course, I also have a whole lot of stuff in the garage, and in our bedroom, and in the guest room.  Now, those of you who know me are saying, "I've been to your house and it always looks beautiful!"  It's true that I have an unshakable commitment to keeping the public areas free of debris so that I can invite people over at a moment's notice; but, I have to confess: I have a lot of stuff in other parts of the house that you don't see. 

Having to move so much out on short notice brought me up short.  Seeing my husband's reaction as he saw how "efficiently" [his term, bless him!] I can pack spaces, feeling the embarrassment of not having things better organized and having him see my mess, tapping into deeper issues, arguing with my son over how best to move things out of the water, and missing sweet fellowship with my friends upstairs, were all things the Lord used to motivate me to change.

The long-delayed conversation with my husband about the reasons for accumulation came a few days later.  My parents were raised in the Depression, and they taught me well the value of saving and reusing things, and buying on sale.  We've had serious injuries, deaths of loved ones, and other stressful events to deal with in the last few years, which have taken time and energy away from mundane tasks.  A quiltmaker does need a lot of physical space for all the fabric, tools, supplies, books, etc.  And the wrapping paper!  Every year my sons' schools did fundraisers I felt I had to buy one roll from each school.  But now, when we give smaller items to fewer people, do I really need 40 rolls of wrapping paper?  And the gifts!  I have had to face the fact that, for someone who's been asking people to give "no more gifts," I sure have accumulated a lot of gifts to give to them!  And sure, it's a lot more fun to decorate the living room than it is to file papers in the office, but it has to be done.

A sea change is occurring.  For the past few years, as my children have been growing more independent, I've been dipping my toes into different careers, trying to see where the Lord would lead me to use the gifts He gave me for His glory.  As a Christian woman, I should get my husband's input, so Dave and I scheduled a meeting to discuss my career options.  His insights were excellent and I took notes.  I sensed that the Lord was answering prayer.  Probably the most important thing I got from that meeting were the two things that are hindering my career at this time!  I realized that there was no way I could move forward with any of my career options until 1. I helped Dave with his business, and 2. I cleaned out some of the mess in the house.  And how interesting that both of these are things important to my husband.

Now, I've taken a long time to get here, but I wanted to record the process the Lord used to reveal His will for me at this time in my life.  I looked honestly at the gifts, interests, circumstances, etc. that God has brought, noting also what others have mentioned over the years.  I prayed for God to show me how to best use His gifts to honor Him and serve others.  I tried out various options.  I consulted my husband.  I continued to pray and work.

What I have seen is that no matter how long, boring, or frustrating these two tasks are, I must do them.  I need to honor God by taking care of the things He's given me.  I need to honor God by taking care of the things that bother my husband, especially when they are starting to affect our marriage. 

First, the business.  My husband has been asking for my administrative help with his home business (Sermons Online) for years, and I've been saying no, that's not my gift; first, let me establish my own career.  But after more prayer and the career discussion this Fall, the Lord granted me new motivation which I must acknowledge was clearly from the the Holy Spirit, not of myself.  I began to actually want to get up each day and get to that work!  Spending several hours each day on this business for months, I successfully completed the first internal audit of all the customers, clearing out dead wood and increasing revenue by about 50%.   I say this not to brag about what I did, but to point to what God did.  I also began to feel that it's our family business, rather than my husband's business.  Today there are still emails to answer and issues that crop up, but things are back on track.  When I determined to obey God and my husband and work hard, the Lord prospered the work of my hands.

Now, the basement.  Yes (pat self on back), for the past couple of years I've been freecyling at least one thing every week, giving things to charity, etc., but the flood revealed that a Major Effort would be needed to get the basement in order.  I, who have helped others with home organization (one of my career options! pride!), have been letting my own house go.  It's been too overwhelming to face alone, but with God all things are possible.  With His help, I determined to do what is right, no matter what.  Every time I'm tempted to put it off, I remind myself that no temptation is greater than we can bear, including this one.  There is always a way back to the right road.   Procrastination is a sin.

Snowed-in and with another blizzard coming, I started with one tiny area at a time.  My husband was a big help by offering to clean out some of his own junk, giving me a jump-start.  All my snowed-in quilting friends are using this winter to enjoy sewing projects, but me, I've been cleaning the basement - day after day after day, and sometimes into the evening.  Why is it taking so long?  Because I left it so long.  Simple as that - the piper must be paid.  It would be sin for me not to do it.  Again, since I determined to obey God and my husband and work hard, I am seeing the Lord prosper the work of my hands.  I have almost completely cleared the area that Dave wanted done the most, thanks be to God!

I know I haven't written in a while.  It's because I have too much to say, and I don't want to ramble on too long.  I need to know that only those who want to read this, will do so.  My hard heart has been humbled and I am seeing the Lord at work all over the place.  When is a flood not a flood?  When God means it for good.  When He pours out living water upon our souls.

If you have something you've been avoiding doing, I encourage you to pray for the Lord's direction, power to resist temptation, and motivation to get it done.  Then, exercise your will to make a start, however small.  Just make a start.  When we are weak, He is strong.  Be faithful in small things, and watch God do big things.

God is faithful,
j

Copyright 2010 Janet A. Marney