Yesterdays happenings leave me feeling blessed and humbled to consider how all-encompassing Gods hand of care and provision really is. Here are the bullet points: - Drove up to St. Louis to get my new chair and realized that we hadnt paid attention and grabbed the directions for the van repair place rather than the wheelchair place. Despite four wrong turns and a good amount of confusion, we still were only 15 minutes late. On top of that, Elena McMillin (more on her later) saved the day with her 22nd century smartphone; the point of that one: take a moment to think about just how much capability the piece of technology youre looking at right now has. - In our rush to make up time, we got pulled over (first time in my life - kind of exciting actually) for going 76 in a 60, but the police officer was kind enough to let us off without a state-mandated $275.00 ticket. Even with that, still only 15 minutes late. - Once we arrived, wheelchair-repair savant Rob Hails spends the next 6 hours of his Monday when he was supposed to be on vacation to go through every detail required of a wheelchair fitting with the patience of a saint, all so that the chair could be processed by the insurance in time. A: Thankful to even have insurance of any sort. B: Thankful for a wheelchair guy as skilled and as patient as Rob. - Now it gets fun. Because I use a minivan and typically only have one chair inside, I only have one set of straps. Having just gotten a new chair, we came back with two chairs and one set of straps... you can see the problem here. On pulling out of the first stop sign, the vacant chair (brake on) charges toward Elena, yet thankfully doesnt hit her. Not wanting to break a nurse or a window, my dad renders the verdict to take one strap off of my chair, place that on the vacant chair, and tie the rest down with bungie cords that he purchased from the gas station (he would have preferred rope). Neither chair moved an inch the rest of the way. Beyond thankful for a dad who is a master at improvising, a nurse who was gracious and patient when we werent - and she herself was exhausted - but more than that, you cant tell me that you can drive 60+ mph through St. Louis to Marion with bungee cords for straps, make it home perfectly smoothly, and not have Gods hand of protection on you. The Lord provides! As I type this, two things go through my mind. The first: how many things did God do for me yesterday that Im not even aware of? How much sanctification did He accomplish by reminding me how blessed I am? How many drunk drivers did He keep out of our path? I can already tell that the new chair is helping me back up more easily; how many other advantages did God add to my life from this new chair? Who will benefit when the old chair is donated and someone else can be blessed? Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33) The second: I should be much farther along in my spiritual maturity than I am. With a nurse as gracious at putting up with my garbage as Elena, anything less than patience and love is, simply put, sinful. With the amount of blessing God has provided for me, there is little room for anything other than gratitude and generosity; anxiety and complaining simply have no place. I dont think its wise to compare sufferings or condemn oneself for not being as strong a Christian as the next person (their circumstances are their circumstances and yours are yours), but the simple fact is, to whom much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:40something) I am convinced that one reason God made His blessings so obvious to me yesterday was to convict me that my love should be abounding MUCH more than it currently is. His blessings are everywhere; why should I not be continually thankful? I am surrounded by a group of loving family, nurses, and church body who are nothing but committed to my wellbeing; what reason do I have for impatience? Answer: NONE! The Lord has been nothing but gracious to me, and always will be. Its time to commit to appreciating Him more and to letting the sweetness of His Spirit produce the fruit He wants to bear. He is more than worthy of it. Father, Your greatness surrounds me in more ways than I will ever know. Thank you for your love and constant provision for me. Help me to be more aware of it, and from that, to abound more in showing your love to others. Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 04:29:50 +0000
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