A New Do

As we conclude this week with part 4 of our 5 part series on transformation entitled, “Will Be a Process,” it is easy to agree with a resounding yes. This life is not only a test but an opportunity to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

For the past 3 years I feel like I’ve been on a growth-spurt that I actually solicited with a simple prayer, “Father, make me like your Son.” Little did I realize the cost, but little did I realize the blessing.

Please forgive me for skipping last week’s post. It has been a challenge with a right broken shoulder to do any task. I’ve discovered the weakness of my left hand as I’ve been determined use another weak part of my body—my right brain—to teach myself how to do chores with having my right arm in a sling. My poor little left thumb is swollen because it’s never worked so hard to grab things in the past.

The doctor has confirmed it is a miracle that I do not need the extensive surgery he first suggested. Because of your prayers God has enabled my body to produce the needed compound to patch up and heal the shattered pieces of my shoulder. Thank you for your prayers. Yes, God still heals!

God’s choice to heal my arm has not stopped at the shoulder but has moved on to my heart. Here are just a few lessons He’s taught me in my request to grow into the likeness of His Son; how present the Lord is in my day; prayers are always heard; patience is a must; pain hurts; family and friends love me no matter what; the world often rushes by without seeing affliction; how amazing the body is to repair itself; how others have suffered and have learned to adapt to their injury; how sweet it is when someone holds the door open; how much a left hand can do; and most of all…how it’s okay to have others blow dry your hair. I have a new slogan this week that reads, “Transforming a Broken Wing into Hairstyles of Humility.” Lately, my hairstyle has looked exactly like my husband’s. Little wonder why.

Praise God for opportunities to transform as we thank Him for experiences that teach us how others feel. As we pray for Jesus’ 5 senses to become our senses too, we can count on an eventful life; never a dull moment with Christ.

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:5

How is He guiding and teaching you today?

Next week we will begin the last part of our series on “Will It Ever End”.

Twist and Shout

Not startled by the sound of the 5:00am alarm on a Monday morning proved that retiring for bed early the night before paid off. My husband and I leaped out of bed to get a head start on our coffee drinking. He had packed the night before so as not to be pushed for his early morning flight to Los Angles.  

“Where are you going?” he asked as I sprinted out the bedroom door. “Thought I’d grab my laptop and check on my task list to see what I have going on today. I’ll be right back. Be thinking of what you’d like for breakfast.” Today we would, both, accomplish much.

My memory served me right as there sat old faithful on the kitchen desk in the brightness of a streetlight. No reason to turn on a light for this was going to be a quick and deliberate trip. But then…the dance began as my foot stepped down on the lid of my grandson’s sandbox in the foyer, which was not his fault. (Further explanations will be another blog one day.) I began to twist in the air like a goofy ballerina on the lid of a Little Tikes turtle shell made of plastic. I landed on the tile floor with great force and…you guessed it…I shouted.

I knew immediately this was another bad fall. Five falls within four years is not an impressive record. I lay on the cold tile, in the dark, unable to move. The pain shot up my neck and down to my fingertips as I listened to the sounds of my husband starting the process of getting ready in the back bathroom.

“I think you need to take me to the emergency room,” I greeted him with my return. “What?!” In a split second our day had changed. My X-Ray proved a fractured shoulder in several broken pieces. My split second decision to save my laptop left the bone in my right arm in pieces. Did I really think my laptop was more precious to save than my own personal injury? Hindsight tells me I should have let go of the computer and hung on to the counter top.

What would you have done? I can clearly hear your reply, “I would have turned the light on!”

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

I’m praising God today for not only putting the pieces of my heart back together but His ability to do the same for my shoulder. He can heal anything! Do you believe that too?

Outsourcing

“What is it, again, that we do?” I repeated to my husband when we first started working together. He patiently answered, “We deliver body parts.” Body parts? (Try explaining that to your closet friends.) Then, he would smile and remind me, “That’s automotive body parts. We are a logistics company for dealerships. They outsource their deliveries to us.” I’d slowly shake my head in my blonde kind of way.

It was a process for me to understand the industry of transportation but one day I slapped my desk and shouted, “Oh, I get it! We pick up and drop off. Companies sell their goods and we deliver them.” As simple as this may sound—it took awhile to understand the total operation from start to finish.

Over the years of working beside my husband I have had many opportunities to ease drop on this fascinating industry. We are all turning into a global society that wants our items delivered…fast! Other methods can take too much of our precious time. Threshold services have enabled the world to receive items we were not able to receive at one time. As I have now experienced the Lord opening doors of opportunity for much more than automotive parts.

A couple of decades ago few were familiar with the buzzword outsourcing. At first, companies were skeptical to trust a portion of their business to another. However, with time, it has proven to bring about benefits such as: saving cost, focusing on their core business, improve quality, reduce time-consuming methods, and getting rid of the delivery headaches. It has been a win-win for all.

God is calling us to outsource to Him too. He yearns for us to do what we were originally created and designed to do while He does what He does best…take care of our headaches. He truly wants our core assignment to be Jesus to others by learning to live with the qualities of, loving others, being at peace, and living in abundant joy. Why is that we want to hang on to worry, fear, anxiety, and stress? Not sure, because we don’t have to. God says to outsource our worries to Him so He can bring about victories from even the worse of circumstances. Trust He will deliver you in perfect time.

“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17

Would you trust the Most High Deliverer? It’s His specialty.