Currently . . . Kind of.

I was woken up to my roommate telling me that the basement had flooded. Again. For the second time in less than a year. I wanted to curl up in bed and ignore the call to get up. The call to be an adult, grab the phone, call the plumber. The call to take responsibility.

I called the plumber and their truck with all of the "heavy-duty" stuff (it's always slightly terrifying when your problems need to be fixed with heavy duty stuff) is stuck in the snow.  Which means he will either miraculously be able to come by today, or we will have to wait until Monday. Monday. Three days away. No showers, no laundry.

He takes my information and tells me he will call me back when he figures out what is going to happen with the truck. I have two options at this point:

1. I can crawl back into bed, cry, and feel sorry for myself.

2. I can set my eyes on the Lord, trust His leadership, and cast my cares upon Him.

And though the second option takes much more effort than the first, the second option is far more rewarding in the long run. So, I pick the Lord.

I pick reading His Word and giving my cares to Him, instead of dwelling in how incapable I feel to be an adult, to own a house, to take care of problems. Because, guess what? 

He is capable. He is strong enough to carry my burdens.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything 

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your 

requests be made known to God."

- Philippians 4:6

Lean into the Lord. It's always worth it.

On Being Patient

Patience. A quality that I want to posses desperately, but I don't want to go through the rigors of cultivating it. Patience takes time and I'd rather have it be instant. Even if it completely defeats the purpose.

Waiting kind of stinks. But, here's the thing, we have a God who enjoys waiting. He loves the process that our very human hearts fight against. We long for the waiting to be over and He finds delight in the journey. We want the desires of our hearts to be satisfied. Right. Now. But God is more than willing to wait for the perfect moment.

I was spending some time in Psalm 37 yesterday and the constant reminder to wait was being pushed into my mind. Psalm 37 is most well-known for it's fourth verse:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

But, I feel like the real gold in this Psalm is found in the rest of it's verses. It's found in the little commandments laced throughout the Psalm. In fact, the psalm starts with two words:

Fret not.

In modern-day language that means "stop worrying." At the beginning of this psalm David is reminding the readers/singers (and maybe even himself) to not worry. Why? Because he is oh so acquainted with how the human heart lends itself to worry and anxiety. Especially in the midst of waiting for the desires in our hearts to be fulfilled.

The rest of the psalm continues with phrases much like the first:

"Trust in the Lord."

"Be still"

"Wait patiently"

"Fret not"

"Turn away from evil"

"Do good"

"Wait for the Lord"

The Psalm is a reminder that waiting is a necessity in the life of a believer. But, instead of treating it like a necessary evil, we should delight in it. We should not worry, but instead wait patiently. Even when it looks like wickedness is coming against us, even when it seems as though we can come up with a much better solution than Him. We wait.

We wait on the Lord. For what He has planned at the end of the waiting is far better than anything we can come up with in the midst of it. 

So, beloved, wait on the Lord. Be still. Don't try to strive to make things happen in your life. Delight yourself in the Lord, wait for Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

Enjoy the journey.

On The Reminder Found In Free Coffee

Over the past eight days I have gotten six free cups of coffee. Six. Not because I work at a coffee shop, because I do not. Not all from the same person. Not because I asked for a single one of them, because I'm not very persuasive. But because the Lord me of something that I so easily forget. The six cups of coffee are God's way of screaming at me:

"I see you. I see the little desires in your heart, like coffee, and I'm going to give 

them to you because I want you to realize that I see the big desires, too. I see 

your heart and I've actually put a lot of the desires in there. They will come to 

pass, it's just not time yet."

My heart so desperately needed this reminder over the past week. In the midst of comparison, hurt feelings, and evaluations I wasn't expecting. In the midst of the waiting, which stinks, I needed to be reminded that the Lord's sees me and that He values the things in my heart.

So, be encouraged, wether it be with free coffee or not, that the Lord sees you. He sees your heart and He's working all things for your good.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work 

together for good, for those who are called according to Him purpose."

- Romans 8:28

Hallelujah.