frustration

Getting Squeezed

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Now that I have returned to work at Chick Fil A, it was inevitable that I would become hooked on their newest product, the frosted lemonade…or as I call it YUMMMMM!!!  Seriously!  It is addictive to the maximum, and one reason that I love it is because it has no milkshake base- it’s just their vanilla softserve mixed with lemonade.  Oh. My. Word!  I finally managed to leave today without drinking one!

But this blog is not about how delicious it is.  It IS about the process that goes into making it.  Chick Fil A uses fresh lemons, not any powdered lemonade mix or such.  Today was my day to handle that process, and God spoke to my heart the whole time.  Those lemons are quite content in their little (heavy!!) box in the cooler, having a great time.  Then along comes an employee who drags them out, sprays them with water, washes all the dirt off and then…..gasp!……starts cutting them!  Those lemons never knew what was happening!  Before long, a lemon massacre has happened in the sink, and no lemon is spared.

The next step is even worse.  There is an electric juicer involved, wherein each lemon half is placed on a whirring knob, and then pressed down on.  And pressed is a polite word!  They are MASHED on the knob, and left on there until every last possible bit of juice is out of them.  The lemon seeds are cast aside by this machine, and scooped out later and thrown in the trash.  And then that lovely lemon juice is made into some of the most delicious, refreshing drinks.

Ok – so you know where I am going with this!  Born again believers are simply sinners who have been washed clean, and then they are ready for use.  But not the use most of us think of!  They are ready to be cut, and then squeezed, in order to be made into something delicious!  And along the way, the squeezing gets pretty intense, but that is in order to wring out every good thing, and to make sure all the seeds (sins) are gone! And like the lemons, there are times that the squeezing could stop – but then some of the good stuff would be sacrificed..the lemon wouldn’t be used to its fullest potential.

Now, I do not like the “squeezing” I receive sometimes – hardship, illness, frustration, financial distress.  But without it, I will never be the refreshing, beautiful, and helpful “lemonade” in God’s Kingdom!  So here’s my prayer for today – the next time I feel “squeezed”, I will remember what God can make of it, and I will try to endure till the end of the process!

Two Lane Trouble!

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9e036ce4cce7f1daf056f5040063bdc2[1]I will preface this blog with two thoughts.  First, yes I do spend a LOT of time at Walmart.  Second, there is a bell that rings every Wednesday morning (lol!) for all senior adults to proceed to our local grocery store (which has Wednesday only bargains) and then to finish up at Walmart!

Now that you know those things, as I was in Walmart today, I headed toward the checkout only to find a near senior adult riot occurring.  There were only 2 “regular” checkout lanes open, but our Walmart now has “self check”…and those machines were almost totally unoccupied!  And the griping and complaining could be heard everywhere near the checkout – “I can’t believe they only have two checkouts open”  “This store doesn’t care about its customers” and “they must be cutting back again, since there are NO cashiers!”

Now I understand that seniors and technology do not always go together.  However, they were not the only people in line.  There were all ages represented, and each line was 10 deep. And when I went to the self checkout, it scanned all my groceries, let me use my coupons, and took my debit card..and I was out the door before about half of those in line.

How does that relate to anything?  Many believers are the same way!  They want to come on Sunday morning, occasionally on Sunday night or Wednesday night.  And then, they complain.  They complain about the service being too long.  They complain they are not cared about.  And, they are the first ones to say, “I just don’t feel like I am growing spiritually” or “something’s just wrong with my spiritual life”.

AND YET!  God never intended for us to “stand in line” all the time, waiting and complaining, and not receiving the “service” from Him that we need.  He is ALWAYS there.  Just like those self checkout lines, we can “speed up” our growth, our happiness, our contentment, and our usefulness – all we have to do is “self help” ourselves!  We can self help through the Bible, His written and inerrant Word, and through prayer.  There is never a line for either of those, you can just step right up, and receive.  And I have yet to see a local church, at least here anyway, that is so crowded that you cannot find a seat and “self help” yourself by becoming part of a local fellowship!

So, if our relationship with the Lord, seems lacking, or stale, or stalled, it may be time to look at our self help habits, and see what we are missing out on!

Five Years….Really?

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“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”  I have been asked that in several interviews/applications, and my first thought is, really??  I know the question is supposed to give the interviewer some clue about your motivations, plans, goals, etc.  But it is also one that puts the one who is answering in a huge predicament.  We all know that the correct answer is “working faithfully to provide for my family, always seeking to rise in the job I am in, and reaching high goals.”  However, my faith and my walk with Jesus causes me to want to answer, “I don’t know because Jesus hasn’t told me yet!”  Or, “I don’t know, because nothing in life is sure or certain.”

I have lived long enough to lose childhood friends to disease and accidents.  I see every day that life is being valued less and less.  According to the news, the economy is constantly teetering on the verge of disaster and the price of gas is going back up.  And in my own life, had I answered that question 3 1/2 years ago, I would have answered it wrong…because I would have said working there until I retired – and look how that turned out!

Honestly, the answer is truly, I don’t know.  In an ideal world, I will be healthy, productive,and doing ministry through whatever avenue that God gives me, and working to provide for those goals.  In God’s plan for my life, I don’t know.  AND YET!  I am not distraught or upset by that!  Knowing that He has promised that He will care for me, that He will never leave me, and that He has a hope and a future for me (Jeremiah 29:11) keeps me content and focused on living the life that He has given me TODAY, and letting tomorrow, next month, or 5 years from now take care of itself!

So….I am have been challenged in answering that question – and maybe you have been too – but to live in a world of uncertainty is not a bad place, when you know the ONE who has the answers, and the power to make them happen!

Denied, but NOT Defeated!

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DSCN0113Okay, so today the score is unemployment 2, me 0.  Or so it appears.  I got my denial letter today for my unemployment benefits,and if you’ve never had the pleasure of getting one of those, it is NOT an ego booster.  At all.  It is rather a reminder of all that you don’t have now (paycheck) and why you don’t have it!  And it seems on that paper that it also says, “by the way, no one cares”.  It doesn’t really, but that is how it can feel.

I also got the news today that the job that I interviewed for on Monday was offered to someone else.  Sigh.  It was one that I was really interested in, somewhere I have always wanted to work and something I have always wanted to do. It was not, however, in God’s plan for me. So, I took myself to the Dept. of Labor and filled out appeal paperwork for the denial, and turned in yet another application at another company, and will buy another Sunday paper and hope for an ad.

AND YET!  God continues to pour out his blessings.  We received our income tax money today and I also received the money from my 401K – which turned out to be MUCH more than I thought (I had not looked at my last statement apparently).  He continues to show me that He will fulfill His promise in Matthew 6:28-29 “Observe how the lilies of the field grow, they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.”

SO!  I am still loved and cared for by my amazing Lord, and He has not forgotten me.  And He has a plan to provide for me until I go home to be with Him.  Take that, unemployment, and turn that score around to unemployment 2, and me 1 very big God!

No Comparisons Please!

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I had a most interesting conversation with someone this week.  A friend’s husband hugged me, and asked if I was still unemployed.  I said, “gratefully yes”.  And before I could explain what I meant – that God was taking care of me, and I was learning to be grateful in ALL circumstances – his wife retorted “Well, you must not be REALLY unemployed!”  And she spoke from some experience, because they are currently experiencing unemployment as well.

My first response was, really?? although I did not say that out loud.  But I thought Is Robert and mine’s unemployment less upsetting and frustrating because it’s me, and not him, as in their family? Are our bills any less paid than theirs, and does it really even matter?  The hunt for a job is the same, whether you made $40,000 a year or $12,000….it’s still a hunt.  And it is still aggravating and unnerving all the same.

Later that day, as I was still mulling this over, I realized it was not the issue of no job that was bothering me, it was the comparison!  I was reminded of when my Dad died, and my sister and I quickly tired of the comparisons to other people’s grief..”at least he didn’t suffer” or “at least you had him for a long time”.  Equally not true and not helpful.

God made each of us differently, with different talents, abilities, and most importantly, different losses and suffering, and different reactions to those!  Just because I am not sulking, or having a pity party, or having more than anyone in a situation, does not mean that I don’t feel.  I am being positive about this experience as much as possible, because that’s the way God made me and that’s where I am spiritually.  When a huge flash of lightening and thunder occurred at church last night, several adults in our Bible study were afraid, while others were not.  That’s just the way God made us.

So if you and I react differently to hardship, great!  My “and yet!” God is working on behalf of all His children, and I believe He would much prefer us to follow this verse: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).  I want to make that my goal!