Patiently Waiting, or Wasting Time?

While waiting for a 2 minute video to download on my mobile phone I decided to patiently wait and give it time.  But when the downloading time was longer than the video itself I decided to stop trying and just delete the message from my phone and maybe later watch it on my computer.  Another time about four years ago when I moved to my new apartment I had to catch a bus to the train station.  The bus stop is only a 2 minute walk from my building and I arrived a few minutes early before the arrival of the next bus.  It was late, yet I waited.

Well it never came and it was time for the next bus, and the temperature was cold and wet.  The second bus was late too (and there was no transportation strike – ‘greve’ en Francais, for if there had been, I could have investigated the times on the internet or possibly walked to the “gare” – station – a 30 minute walk), and I didn’t know what to do.  What if I walked away and the bus arrived, and I would be too far away to run back to it? (That has happened to me too.)  How late would the buses be? Was it normal for this bus line and company to be unusually late?  Was this a sign of what I had to look forward to and expect living in this new city?  I continued to wait.  After 35 minutes in the cold, the bus finally came.  By this time I was no longer waiting alone, but I had waited the longest.

So how do we decide when waiting is profitable and when it is a complete waste of time?  I’m sincerely asking this question because I don’t know.  For instance, if you’re waiting for someone to meet you and they are late, and you don’t hear from them, how long should you wait?  How can you decide whether to wait or to leave?  What if you call them but they don’t respond to your phone calls?  You don’t know if they’ve lost their phone, or if it was stolen, or if the battery died, or if they had an accident and cannot respond.  So how long do you wait, and how do you decide when you’re being patient and when you’re wasting time?  That’s just a few possible scenarios.

In our American culture, or at least my family culture in America, we did not wait too long for things to happen to and for us.  We were taught that idle hands were the devil’s workshop and we needed to be “doing” something at all times.  So we, or at least I sought jobs to make money that I may acquire what I needed and wanted thus not having to wait and depend upon others.  Even God, because being invisible He’s slower than anyone I’ve ever met.  At least concerning me.

One of the things I hate most in life is waste, and wasting time has to be the number one on my list of “things I hate most”.  I like for every moment to be filled with something constructive and productive; I like for every moment to count.  This doesn’t mean (anymore at least) that I have to be “kill-myself busy” but it does mean that I should be able to answer the question “why are you doing that”? with an answer of productivity “because . . .”

In the Bible, in the book of Genesis, Abraham and Sarah had to wait a long time to receive, or to catch the bus they were promised, by God, would come.   He never told them when the bus would arrive, at least not for 24 years He didn’t.  Can you imagine waiting for the bus for 24 years and it never comes, or the one you need to catch never comes, or the one you do catch turns out to be the wrong one and it takes you a route far away (Shrek II) and out of the way of your destination, and you have to spend time and energy (bus tickets and money, and you have to go to the bathroom – this is not America, and you’re hungry because 4+ hours have passed since your last meal, and you’re already late for your rendezvous, and your feet hurt from fatigue from standing on and off the bus because it was packed like sardines so it didn’t matter that you wore your Reebok orthopedic walking shoes.  You now need to invest in standing shoes.)?  Humph.

Anyhoooo, another couple (in the New Testament) had prayed for years for a bus to come their way, and they never received a promise or indication that their prayers would be answered according to their request.  No one answered their telephone calls.  The phone just rang and rang.  It would have been better if an operator had answered and said “this number is not in service.” :-)  So they finally “let it go”.  Then one day in their old age, while they were minding their own business and doing their daily and civic and religious duties, the hubby received an unscheduled visit from a representative of the bus company.  Zachariah was told that a bus line was going to be created through his neighborhood stopping right in front of his house, so he would never have to miss it because the driver would blow the horn upon arriving and would wait for him and/or his wife to descend.  It was a “special services” bus line.  Hmmmm.  His waiting paid off?! You might ask or exclaim, but really, what choice did he have?  He was trapped by his “job” (and lineage assignment) – the priesthood, so he was not able to take a second wife while his wife was living, or a concubine to fill in the “missing children” blanks of their life.  He lived in a perpetual state of waiting, never knowing if his heart’s desire would be fulfilled.

In our “do it yourself” society and “create your own destiny” world, and “your destiny is in your hands” existence, we believe it is ludicrous to wait that long and pray without a sign to an invisible Being Who is not only NOT hearing and listening, but Who might not answer the prayer according to the desire.  We live in a “why wait, when and if you have the resources to make things happen for yourself?” society.  We no longer believe it’s necessary to believe in invisible resources when we’re surrounded by so much man-made amenities.  We don’t really need God like that anymore, do we?  Even those of us in Christendom have problems believing and waiting on God.  I should know.  That’s why I can write this article with sincerity.

So what do you/we do?  I don’t know.  I cannot tell anyone what to do for his/her life because I don’t know what your tomorrow holds.  I don’t know what my own tomorrow holds. :-)  I don’t know God’s purpose for creating you and what He will, and will not allow to happen in, with, to and for you.  I am not one of those to make blanket statements using Bible verses to make people believe God will or will not do certain things for them, without seeing the bigger picture concerning His purpose for their lives.  I’ve done that for years and it has not worked for me.  Some of us get to choose and some of us don’t.   I’m having my own challenges dealing with learning my own purpose for being on this earth, and thus why I have to be so different from everyone else.

If you’re a true believer in Jesus Christ then you have to do what your beliefs in Christ will govern you to do according to His written and revealed will.  If you’re not a believer in Christ - and what I mean by ‘believer’ is: one who not only has asked Jesus to come into his/her heart as Savior, but who is everyday surrendering themselves to God’s will and choices for his/her life, allowing the Lord to be the governor even against one’s own desires and drives.  (It is not easy if you are one full of dreams like I have been.)  So if this description does not fit you - then you can knock yourself out doing your life the way you want.  Nevertheless, there are consequences on both sides of the fence.

The Christian life is simple and not complicated, but it is not easy because we have to daily choose Someone else’s will for our lives over our own will.  When we are finally consumed by His love and sacrifice for us, and we agree with Him – saying what He says and learning to think as He thinks, then choosing His will won’t be hard at all (for we will be one with Him in our heart), and waiting won’t be, or won’t feel like a waste of time.  So how do we know if we’re patiently waiting or if we’re wasting time? 

Well, unless we have a schedule to guide us, or some other form of specific communication, all we can do is wait and see.  When you’ve done all you can do to “rectify” the situation, investigate and educate yourself; when you’ve gone as far as your resources will allow you to go, all you are left with is waiting.  In Abraham and Sarah’s day, and Zachariah and Elizabeth’s time, when it came to wanting to have children, they did not have clinics to help them.  (And they had the financial resources to cover all the bases if those clinics had existed.)  Abraham’s culture allowed him to have multiple wives and concubines and maids to have children, but doing so did not fulfill the promise God gave him and his wife.  God told him that his own wife, Sarah by name, would have his promised child.  So all he could do was wait for the right bus to come and take them to their destination, no matter how long he would have to wait.
 

If you have a promise from a credible source, then your waiting won’t be in vain, and it won’t be a waste of time if you use it constructively.  Even if they’re a little bit late, either they will eventually show up, or they will “contact” you, somehow, some way.  Waiting is only a waste of time if you come away from it having learned nothing new that you can use for living.  “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings like eagles.  They shall run and not be weary.  They shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31 [NKJV]

Peace.     

Hello? We've Been Disconnected.

This is what happens often in our world of cell phones – we are having a great conversation whether walking, riding, or sitting still and then suddenly there’s nothing.  We no longer “feel” the openness of the phone line and say “hello” several times.  Sometimes we’ve just passed through a blank spot in the air waves, and the reception will quickly return, other times the battery may run out, and sometimes we inadvertently press the cut off button with our cheek or chin.  And In many cases we just run out of phone units and have to recharge by purchasing more time.

The beauty of it is you know where the person is and they know where you are.  Maybe you’re even traveling towards one another for a rendezvous.  Neither of you are “lost” even though the connection has been temporarily lost through technical difficulties.  This reminds me of another moment in human history where the connection was lost:  The Garden of Eden.

God and Adam were one, and even when Eve was brought forth, they still were all spiritually and intimately connected.  God knew everything about them, their thoughts and imaginations, their whereabouts in the garden at all times.  Because the Bible doesn’t give us more details of their time in the Garden it appears to us that they disobeyed God only a few hours or days after Eve was created.  But we do know that before they sinned God was not controlled or limited by time, even though He created the 24 hour period we call “night and day”.

Adam had lived in and with God alone longer than he did with Eve, so it stands to reason that he had to have had some quality time with her, his wife, enough so that when she disobeyed God and offered him the forbidden fruit, he was compelled to obey her over His Creator and Father.  He and she had such a pure and strong intimate connection, they were knit together and could see and touch and experience one another in such a way that they never could or would or did with God, that they were magnetized, and he could not see being apart from her.

So when they ate of the fruit, the line between them and God went dead.  They were disconnected.  Not lost in the sense that they could not be physically located, for God always knew where they were, but there was now death between them and God.  The line of life was severed and God said “Adam, where are you?”  This is the equivalent of our “hello, heeeelllllooooo?” when we can no longer hear the other person on the other side.  You can even “feel” within the phone the disconnectedness even if there is no click or fuzzy feedback noise.

This problem of communication is prevalent throughout the earth in every type of relationship.  We seem to meet people and hit it off well after we find that “common ground”, but then something happens along the way – words spoken or unspoken, deeds done or not performed, strange facial expressions and unexplained actions may at times cause the line to go dead.  Or we hit a blank spot and we don’t know why or how to respond, or how long we should wait before cutting off the phone ourselves since we don’t know how long it will last.  We don’t know that the other person’s phone battery died, or they dropped their phone, or it was stolen, or they forgot to turn it on at all that day, etc.  So many reasons as to why the line of communication has been interrupted, but what (and Who) is inside us will determine how we will respond or react to the dead line.  I’m learning, and some days are better than others however, that if I will give others the same reasons and excuses that I give to myself, before jumping to conclusions, new problems will not be created. 

The Bible says that “no temptation has taken us except what is common to man.”  In the context of this article I’m receiving from the Lord that everyone who has a cell phone is subject to the same challenges, rules, and regulations of having and using a cell phone.  If it has happened to you, whatever “it” is, it has also happened to others, but we all can learn from each others’ experiences and of course, the “powers that be” and even everyday normal people will come up with another solution to meet the need of everyone experiencing the same things.  Whew!!

How do you respond and react to “dead lines” of communication?  How do I respond or react to interruptions in communication or delayed responses?  How did God respond?  In Genesis we see that God searched for Adam and when He “found” him, and confronted what he had done, even though He had to evict him and his wife from the garden, He continued manifesting in the earth His plan to restore the lines of intimate communion with humans.  There are several scripture verses I can safely lift out of their contexts and not lose their meanings to reveal how God feels about restoring the lines of communication and intimacy between us and Himself, and in our human relationships too. 

One of the first ones is found in Matthew’s gospel 5:23 & 24.  Jesus teaches “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you, leave your gift at the altar and go.  First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift.” [Amplified Bible]  This is in cases where you know the other person is holding something against you.  Sometimes communication stops because people get busy and fall out of touch.  When this happens, the level of intimacy of those relationships (depending on the type of relationship, and also the reasons) may decline in intensity.  For instance, if a man or woman you are dating becomes interested in someone else, he or she may distance himself/herself from you in order to sever the line with you.  Unless he or she comes right out and tells you that this is the case, you could be left feeling the ever increasing coldness between you and assume you’ve done something wrong.

God however doesn’t desire to move away from us.  He longs after us.  His heart and soul desires us in every way.  He is not content with blank spots in the air waves, temporary cut-offs, and delayed responses.  He shows us in His Word how to keep the line connected and open with Him unto ever increasing levels of intimacy with Him.  But we have to go into another garden to get our new “mobile phone” and calling plan. J  We must meet Him in Gethsemane and walk with Him to Calvary (which one gospel writer records to be a garden also) where we surrender our will back to God “Garden of Eden” style, and then we are crucified with Christ so we can be resurrected with, and in Him.

 In Gethsemane Peter and Judas (and all the disciples) got disconnected from the Lord.  The difference between Peter and Judas is that Judas gave up trying and not only hung up the phone, but cut off his service.  Peter on the other hand kept his phone with him just in case. . .  “It might ring again.  He might call me again and I can apologize; He might give me another chance, for after all, He knew me better than I knew myself, and He even warned me in advance of what I was going to do.  I just over estimated the strength of my commitment to Him.  I won’t discard my ‘phone’ neither cancel my phone plan.  Just leave it open, for anything is possible.”  Then one day women came telling him “The Lord is alive!! And He asked for you specifically Peter!  He said to meet Him in Galilee.”

“Wow!!  He rang my phone again.  The lines are open again.  We can communicate, talk, clear the air, start over again, get to know each other better, respect.”  Hmmm.  “Hello”?

Peace.

Back From the Future: Coming Full Circle

Recently I asked the Lord what is it time for now?  What’s next?  On a personal level I could hear Him speaking in my heart:  “It’s time to go back to the beginning, back from the future.”  Perhaps when you see that statement you may think it means to return to living in the past or rehashing and rehearsing the past, or maybe trying to bring back the “good ole days”.  (For many people those were not good ole days.)  But anyhoooo, that is not what He meant at all.  I could tell this because I experienced a great sense of anticipation, something I’ve not had for a long time.

Going back from the future means going back to where life began to get off track so you can get back on track.  It doesn’t mean throwing away all the years and life experiences one has accumulated along the way.  But many of us somewhere in life stopped “being” in the “present” and projected ourselves into the future, so we missed a lot of “being” along the way and left behind important clues and tools we need(ed) for our lives now.  Clues to, and tools for fulfilling our purpose in life, so we can enjoy the journey of living in the now.  Because we still have time, God has allowed us to come full circle and “start over again”, but now from an elevated position.  Here is my short unfinished story, and I hope it will inspire those of you who may also find yourselves starting life over again.

I was living “alone” in my bedroom in my parents’ house – alone in and with my thoughts and plans, and life projections, childhood fantasies for an adult life, when it all got interrupted with the needs of life and living in the now.  I heard too much and absorbed and assumed too much adult responsibility for myself, first in my mind, then in my imagination, which carried me away to my first real job search at age 12.  I stopped being a child dreamer and started to become an adult worker before my time.  Even though I still dreamed of the future, now those dreams became filled with “adult stuff” – the need to provide for myself so I would not have to depend upon others.  The American Dream to become rich and wealthy and self-dependent.  I was hit by the “I will” Mac truck.  I was stung by the “I can” Bee.  I was bitten by the “Me-Myself-and I” snake of “I can do all things through ME who gives me strength.”

Don’t get me wrong, I was not a selfish child or person as an adult, for I had lofty thoughts and plans for our family of eight to become a large corporation of some sort.  I could not believe that God allowed us to all be born and live in that house together without a larger-than-us purpose.  At that time I did not know what we could or would manufacture and distribute, but I knew it would be important to and for the world.  Well, at least for the United States.  That was our world. J  We were a family of athletes, musicians and singers back in the day, but then we all went our own individual ways, to do other things.

I learned early, whether voluntarily or by coercion to give of myself and my resources to many others, whether or not I could afford to do so.  And this fueled my need, drive, and desire to make money – so I would always have enough left over after I had given everything away. J  I knew that in order to continue living that way I would need to become a wealthy person, but I thought I had to do it all.  I did not think there were people in this world who would be willing to help me accomplish something greater than what I could do alone in order to help others.   I thought because I was the one carrying the dream, the vision, therefore I had to do all of the work to bring it to pass.  Even though I knew God was “there”, I still had not seen Him do much in the lives of those I lived with even though they (we) prayed to Him every day.  For after I saw them huddle and plan then get into formation, they punted the ball, threw the ball, caught the ball and ran the ball.  And yes they got tackled more times than you can shake a cheerleader’s pom pom before they could make it to the end zone.  They did everything.  They were my She-roes.  I hardly ever “saw” God do anything.  Sadly, this was and still is for many Christians, the way of their world – “I am I-dependent”.

So now I’ve come full circle.  I’m an adult now living in a foreign country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.  But I’m alone in my room again, with my thoughts and adult needs staring me in the face.  What will I do this time?  Will I allow the needs of this life to take me on another 20+ year trek around the world off-track of what I was created to be and do, or will I let my dreams lead me this time?  Better yet, will I allow God to lead me by and into the dreams He has for me, but with my eyes open this time?  He’s been dreaming longer than I have and He has a bigger head and a larger turnover rate than I do. J

I’ve been spending some quality time sleeping, I mean dreaming J and I’ve met some interesting people along the way who followed their dreams through hell and high water, and also have made an impact in our world, for good.  I met more men than women, like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, Solomon, Joseph (the earthly father of Jesus), and some Wise men.  Also Pilate’s wife (I couldn’t get close enough to get her name.  In and out like flint you know.), Paul, and John (he truly understands what it means to be alone with your thoughts and visions). J

All of these . . . dreamers’ (visionaries) lives were changed because they paid attention to God speaking to them in their sleep, and waking moments.  They believed the images God imprinted on their souls were possible for they did not allow the tyranny of the urgent, or the necessities of daily living dictate how they would live.  They lived from another dimension enabling God to manifest His plans not only to them for their own lives, but through them for the positive effecting and affecting of generations to come. 

I never met him personally, but many still living have met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  He said “I have a dream . . .” and because he believed his dream was possible, we are living his dream today, all over the world, not just in America.  His dream became the standard for equal rights all over the globe covering all phases of humanity, not just ethnicity.  Steve Jobs said it differently and our way of communicating through the internet will never be the same.  So many in our contemporary times known and unknown to us are living their dreams and some of them are turning our world right side up (with much difficulty too), while others are revealing to us that their dreams are really nightmares, turning our world upside down spinning in the opposite direction on its axis.  God forbid!

Full circle.  Back from the future.  I’m back, starting over again, but this time I won’t let fear – the fears of others becoming my fears (no thank you very much) – dictate how I Won’t live my life.  Some gifts we just need to refuse adamantly and fear is one of them, because fear disables.  Faith and love empower and enable us to live above our needs (not being constricted and controlled by them), by-passing the temptations of greed, to rise above our one-dimensional desires to sit with Christ and see ourselves from His perspective.  A place where all things are possible with God, in the plan and will of God.  (Yes, that place is somewhere over Noah’s rainbow.  Can you say “covenant”?) J  “And He raised us up together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified Bible)

Keep dreaming.  Keep seeing.  Keep hoping.  Keep believing.  Go back and get your dreams and ask God to help you make them happen.  Better yet, ask Him to fill you with His dreams for your life.  Because we have today, we still have time.  I still have a dream.  Rinnnng!!!!  It’s time to wake up!

 

Peace. 

Is it Time Yet? Am I Ready?

2012 is the year!!!! Okay. For what? For who? I heard this same phrase for 2011 and 2010 and 2009 and . . . and you know what? I believe everyone was (and are) right, because each year is the year for something for someone, somewhere. Of course each of us would like for it to be our year for something special, especially if we’ve been waiting for something to happen for a long time. And when I say “waiting” it’s not to say we’ve been doing nothing and waiting passively for that unique event to occur.

For many of these special dreams and desires, we have to be doing something to prepare for them. We have to be ever learning, creating, changing, investigating, deleting and completing and maybe a host of other things to move us in the direction we desire to go. Can you say “Preparation”? Nevertheless, try as we might, we cannot control every single thing in our lives to make “it” happen when we want “it” to happen. Yes some things take time, and some things take MORE time. Ugh!! How much time? For me, in my opinion, some things are taking just too much time, but try as I might, and believe me I have tried, I cannot make “it” happen. But this is the normal mentality for normally impatient people. LOL!

Most of my efforts have landed me in situations which have taken more time to recover from. So you have to be careful if you ask me “what are you doing to make 'this' happen for yourself?” It’s not a very good question to ask, so don’t. J Anyhoooo, recently I’ve been running into a similar theme through different writers and also just my own method of studying, and it has been this phrase, “My time has not yet come.” It takes a pretty humble person, someone who knows him or herself, someone who understands his or her purpose, someone who knows why he or she is where he or she is, to say something like that.

Just recently my best friend and I have been having some great conversations and in one of them she said (and I'm paraphrasing) “as much as I want to do 'this', and as long as I’ve been waiting for what I can feel and know is coming soon, I know I’m not yet ready. I still have much learning and changing to do.” I truly admire her because she is honest and not afraid to say “I’m not ready” and therefore “it’s not time yet”. Me on the other hand, most of my life I’ve been a little more cocky. LOL!! Why? Because of fear. Fear that the wheel will not turn around again to bring me that opportunity, so I feel I have to take it while it is there. Strike while the iron is hot, even if I don’t know what I’m doing. I can learn along the way. J In band we call it "sight reading". Sometimes this has worked, but many times it was not the best thing to do. I can admit I was not very humble because people who live in fear are not humble.

Humble people know and respect their limitations and acknowledge that they need help, and they are not afraid to ask for help. Those of us who fear missing what could be our dream job or the moment-of-our-life-which-may-never-pass-this-way-again, we may know our limitations and know we need help, but we also may not respect our weaknesses and ask for help. Somewhere along the way we’ve been taught and told that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. We’ve also been told that “you don’t want to wait too long, for some things in life will only come around once, and most things will not wait forever.” Can you say “tick-tock bio clock”? We’ve been taught to fear that the future may NOT hold anything good and positive for us, so we have to make the future happen NOW! We don’t live in the present, but we live ever making the future our now reality. But now is all we ever have anyway, so what the heck?

Like Bart and Lisa asked repetitively with impatience in the car to Homer in one of the "Simpsons" episodes, “Are we there yet?” Is it time yet? Are you ready? Which scenario would be best: A) To be ready before the time and to be kept waiting. B) To not be ready when the time arrives.? And of course there is a third and fourth scenario: C) To not be ready and it’s not yet time. D) To be ready on/in time. Of course D would be the ideal, but I’m more interested in the first two scenarios. Some of us know ourselves well and others of us only think we know ourselves.

I don’t know who penned the lyrics to this song but I love it. It says “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play today. Look at me, I could be centerfield.” LOL!! Maybe that athlete is ready to play and the coach needs to give him a chance or maybe the coach knows him better than he knows himself and that’s why he continues to sit on the bench, or pitching balls in the dugout. Either way, his mentality is one of “I’m ready”, and I believe to think one is ready is half the battle even if we are not ready.

As life continues to reveal to us what we lack on our way to becoming “ready”, our ready mentality is what can keep us from falling backwards into discouragement and depression as time continues to pass us by. Or it could cause us to become closed-minded to learning new things which would aid our much needed continued preparation. The problem is we cannot SEE what’s missing for maybe we don’t know what’s all involved and needed to do what we want to do, and go where we want to go.

Also, if there are other players (no pun intended, but it is apropos) involved, maybe they are not ready and therefore we cannot move forward until all the legs have been nailed to their chair or table (or coffin. LOL!! Just a little humor.), until all the wheels have been mounted on the bus, until all the appliances have been installed in the house. You see what I’m saying I’m sure. Is it time yet? Are they ready? Are WE ready? Hmmmmm.

In different places in the Bible, in the Gospels, we find verses which quote Jesus as saying “My time (hour to act) has not yet come.” [John 2:4b] (Amplified Bible) In this particular passage, they were at a wedding and the wine ran out. Mary, the mother of Jesus told Him about it and He had to lovingly tell her that she could not tell Him what to do. He could not do what people wanted Him to do just because they wanted Him to do it. There’s a time and a place for everything and it is important that we know our times and seasons so we will be in the right place at the right time, with the right people.

The wisest man King Solomon penned these words, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die . . .” [Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a] (Amplified Bible) In another place Jesus responded to His biological brothers that His time had not yet come for they were pressuring Him to go to a feast and reveal Himself and His powers to the public. Has that ever happened to you? Peer pressure to do something before you are ready to do it? Before your time?

As I was walking to the store one evening I grabbed the branch of a tree and it was rubbery and bendable. It did not snap, crackle or pop. Yet the season is the mid-winter and I thought to myself “should not all the sap in the trees descend into the ground for the winter, rendering the branches more likely to break rather than bend and bounce back?” I continued to ponder times and seasons versus circumstances and conditions. Nature knows what time it is I’m sure, but for several years now our winters have sometime seem like spring and summer, and I wonder if nature gets confused and responds to “the conditions” (environment) rather than the calendar by which we are informed of what season it should be. Of course nature doesn’t take her cues from humans, but the other way around. But if nature continues to become unpredictable, how will we know what time and season we really are in? J

“. . . a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal. . .” [Ecclesiastes 3:2b-3a] (Amplified Bible) 2012 is the year for all of us in some way or another. Maybe what we expect and desire will happen for us this year and maybe it will not. But I’m sure that either way, at the end of this year we will be closer to our goal(s) than we were last year and than we are right now. J A good question to honestly ask ourselves is “am I ready?” for whatever it is I’m aiming and waiting for. And even if we think we are and KNOW we are, what can we do in the mean time while we wait for all the other players to get in place, for we do not exist in this life alone, and we do nothing by ourselves. I know I’m not ready to be left alone in a pool of water for I cannot swim, yet. But maybe this year it will be my time to learn. What about you? What is it time for you to do? What ARE you ready to do while you wait for that great desire, that great opportunity to present itself to you? It IS time for something, and we are ready for something. Always.

Peace.

Some Things Take Time.

I’m in a good place right now. The sun is shining outside and it’s after 5pm; it’s cold out there. But I’m inside, snug and warm, sometimes too warm. I have all the things I need to live in this tiny place for a few more days without leaving, if it comes to that. But I hope I can venture out tomorrow. We will see. Okay, I will come clean. I’m one of the victims of a silent and invisible predator, but once it lands silence is the last thing you hear and feel because you’re coughing, sneezing, and wheezing all out of key. There is no three-part har-mo-ny, anywhere. (Did you catch that rhyme? Trying to write a new song.) Then you become a hypocrite because first you’re hot and then you’re not, and you cannot make up your mind which side to lie on in the bed or to keep the covers on or off of you instead. (hmmm, a little bit wordy don’t you think?) You’re hungry but you don’t feel like eating because your throat and chest hurt from all the coughing, and you’re too tired to even hold up your head.

Oh, the heavy head. Yes full of congestion, so you try to b-r-e-a-t-h-e, “respirer” en Francaise. (Now that’s the hook. Whatcha think?) No, this is not the H1N1 taking vengeance on me because I made a joke about it in a past blog, for I don’t have the pain in the arms and legs, and I did have a fever from time to time. Thank God for fevers! Why do we fight them when they are the body’s signal that something needs to get out, and quick!? This is a subject for another time but some things don’t need to be fought but “caught”, studied and understood. Like fish. Remember that the next time you or a loved one encounters a fever. Catch and eat fish!! LOL!! Seriously moving on.

It’s taking me longer than usual to type my thoughts because I’m tired and coughing sometimes, chasing my nose . . . you know all about it because you too have either been tackled recently, or someone close to you has been run over and you’re helping them to repair Humpty Dumpty’s shell. I guess sometimes, some things take time. Even the things we usually take for granted, moment to moment, day after day, etc. eventually encounter road blocks or stop signs where there haven’t been any in the past. We’re taken by surprise and even sometimes angered because it usually happens at a time when we’re on our proverbial role, or roll (both are correct if you expand your mind) and we don’t expect to be stopped by an “officer”.

“Excuse me sir, but what laws did I break?” “None ma’am.” “Then why are you stopping me?” “Because you’re just merrily rolling along, not looking to the left and right, not enjoying the scenery, the countryside, the journey, those in the ‘vehicle’ with you. You’re just focused on where YOU’RE going and what YOU have to DO each and every day, and not only are you rolling along, so is time, so is your life. So we decided to arrest you to help you refocus, adjust your route, your speed – even though you were ‘driving’ (or were you being driven?) the speed limit you were using the ‘cruise’ feature, assuming all was well and going ‘your way’.”

“Yes officer, but that’s not illegal. It’s there to make ‘driving’ ‘easier”. Surely you cannot fault me for using this built-in feature from time to time.” “No ma’am, we don’t fault you for using it from time to time, but we noticed that you use it all of the time. So sometimes we stop people and give them a warning to slow down, other times we stop them and write up a ticket. But in some cases we find it necessary to stop and arrest them, handcuffs and all, and confiscate their ‘vehicle’ for a time until they get ‘rehabilitated’. Ma’am, you fit the third category. Please park your ‘vehicle’ and come with me.”

Hmmm, sounds like that might be a good story, but I will stop here because I think you get the picture. Sometimes we are just doing our thing whether it’s working well or not working at all. We stop long enough to fill the “tank” with petrol but usually neglect the tires, the engine, the fan belt, all those things we cannot see and don’t care to see and names we don’t know, and don’t want to be acquainted with. We just want “them” to “work” for us and keep us going.

Cars are not the only things we treat this way. We treat our bodies, our relationships, our employees and coworkers the same way. We don’t know the names of our hidden body parts and we don’t take the time to learn them and why they even exist inside of us. Yet each day, no matter what we do or don’t do, to, with or against our bodies, we expect them to work for us 24-7 and not break down.

Sometimes our friendships, marriages, parent-child relationships experience “cruise” times, more on than off, and after many miles and states covered then we notice Janie is no longer sleeping in her bed because we didn’t realize she wasn’t in the car two days ago, two states away.

Employers many times don’t know the names of their employees because they’re too far up the totem pole (sorry, “corporate ladder” for the politically correct. They just take away all the good fun.) to deal with the pawns below. Sorry, but that’s the way it feels “down here”. I’ve been down and half-way up and everything rolls down hill. Anyhoooo, they’re “hidden” and don’t need to be seen. Just put out the product and get your paycheck and go home and be happy you have a job. And be grateful you got the benefits you do have, even if there are none, because others would love to have what you don’t have either. Hmmm. Some things take time.

The past five years of my life have seen the most life changes in quantity and quality than I can remember in any other time of my life. Yet it is during these years that I have learned to appreciate time more than ever before. Yes, part of it is because I am older and still have not accomplished dreams and goals I thought would be a good 15 years old by now. I was burning the candle at both ends on the calendars and clocks of my life to “just do it” as Type A personalities like to live by. But I was using more time than I was saving because I did not want to stop to smell the roses, kiss the babies along the way, pet the dogs, or to sharpen my saw. I read a story earlier this year, whether based on facts or not, you will see how “truthful” and applicable to real life it is. (I don’t know the author, but if you do, please send me the name so I can do the right thing. Thanks.)

There were two lumber jacks working in the same vicinity. The older one used an axe all of his life and career and saw no reason to change. But when the younger guy saw him with the axe he kind of ridiculed him saying there was no way he would chop down that great big tree and split it faster than he would with the chain saw. The older man just humbly smiled at him and prepared himself and his axe to get to work.

So they both began to work on their trees. You could hear the chopping of the axe and the buzzing of the chainsaw at the same time, but every so often you would only hear the chainsaw. Then after 15 or 20 minutes you would hear the chopping in the background with the buzzing. Then sometimes you would hear only the chopping for a few minutes, then the buzzing would resume.

Finally at the end of the day both trees were down, but the older man’s tree had been split into log-sized pieces, while the younger man’s tree was still in huge chunks. The young man approached the older man and said disbelievingly “how were you able to do all of that with that axe, while I was using a chainsaw and I still have much to do? You kept stopping and taking breaks, but I kept working, only stopping to put gasoline in the chainsaw. Tell me old man, how did you do it?” The older man sat down, grabbed his water bottle, wiped the sweat from his face and patiently, and quietly responded, “I stopped to whet and sharpen my axe.” The young man never stopped to sharpen the blade of his chainsaw.

Most of us alive now have been raised in, or are just intimately acquainted with “fast lane” and “fast food” living. We live in the era where from corporations on down to dog houses in the back yard “faster and longer is better”. We believe that if we stop for anything, or stop too many times we will lose time and momentum, we will lose our edge, we will lose our spot or our place in line, our opportunity, our prize, etc. blah blah blah and yada. Everything must be done NOW and FAST and keep it moving, don’t stop. Yeah, it takes time to sharpen your axe, but it takes more time and energy to struggle with a dull chainsaw.

One of the Proverbs, chapter 27:17 in the Bible (NKJV) says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance (character/personality) of his friend." Real change and progress in all parts of life can only happen when we take the time to deal with ourselves face-to-face, and sometimes in the face of safe friends. (Be careful with the bisous-bisous at this time, please.)

Sometimes we don’t take time to look others in their face, or eyes to say "hello" or "goodbye", to ask “are you okay?” or “what’s your name?” or “are you going my way”? or “can I give you a lift”? or “can I give you a hand?” or "have a great day!" and on and on. Why not? Because this takes time, something we don't seem to have enough of? And I’m talking about with family and friends. Strangers don’t stand a chance. (Or do they? Hmmm, that’s a thought for another time.)

Living in Paris I’m surrounded by an unbelievable paradox and yes, here it is, I’m going to explain it as I see it and have experienced it. On the one hand, or both hands comme tu veut, you run into (no they run into you) impatient people running to get here and there, everywhere and nowhere, chasing trains like dogs chase cars, running through the metro quais like herds of cattle, and yes, that’s what I call them. You can hear it in their feet on the pavement and then the “whoosh” as they pass by you if you’re fortunate not to get thrown down, or caught up in the fray. The only thing I’ve not yet heard is the “mooow” and “Hello, I’m Mr. Ed”. Head ‘em up and move ‘em out!!! I usually slow down my pace and let them pass, and sometimes I pull my “vehicle” off to the side until all the Rushians ;-) pass by. Occasionally I’ve thought out loud to myself “who let the dogs out” when some humans start barking at and biting one another. But still, some things take time.

Then on the other hand, once that impatient person makes it to the front of "the line" (whatever line that may be), they want to stand there and take up all the time discussing current events and dog food with the cashier while everyone behind him/her now waits on him or her to move on. It seems impatient people have no problem making others wait. France is like that. Very impatient driving and running here and there, but they want to sit and talk about nothing all night long, and smoke cigarettes, and keep you waiting, which takes time. You figure them out.

Trying to become well and whole physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and financially – they all take time, and guess what? We can either give the time willingly, voluntarily, and cooperatively, or we can wait for the “life’s accidents police” to come and arrest us. But either way, time is going to be “taken”. As I stay in this tiny flat and deal with the coughing and hacking, etc. mostly by lying down and breathing and sleeping, I notice that my body more easily and readily surrenders the fluids sitting inside my lungs having a tete-a-tete at my expense. But this takes time.

I have no voice with which to sing, or to even speak well. I have no desire to travel in a car, train, plane, bus, box with or without a fox. I have no desire to put on my public persona, which is the same me, but just with clothing on. LOL!! I had to cancel myself from two paid engagements with no insurance to cover what I am missing and no backup. Hmmm, years ago I was very nervous of missing work even with insurance and backup, but now I realize, what’s the use? I cannot recover by lying here being nervous and afraid because I’m ill in my body. My primary relationship – the one I have with myself inside this body – takes time. And if I refuse to enjoy the journey with me and take care of me, I will have nothing to give to anyone else, and I will be a poor testimony to the love of God for me. I won’t even have me to give to me to live out my dreams.

It takes time to learn how to love yourself like God loves you, but when you do, you are really available to love others, because then and only then, (and not before) you will really see them as the special people God created them to be. Because you will know by experience what it means to be special. The same hands and feet God uses to love others through you are the same ones He will use to love you first – you! I learn how to touch you by touching myself. I learn how to “feed” you by feeding myself. I learn how to serve you, by serving myself. I learn how to forgive you, by forgiving myself. I practice on myself and learn what works and what doesn’t, but under the watchful and loving eyes and care of a Holy and wonderful God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Practice makes perfect, whether you practice it wrong or right. It will be perfectly wrong, or perfectly right. :-)

The most important things in life take time, and so do all the other non-essentials we’re convinced we must engage in. We must decide now, or later when we will “serve time”, but we must remember, we will make or take the time. Otherwise, time will make us, and then take us. Let’s get it right.

Peace.