Yearly Check-Up!

So it's time to talk New Year's Resolutions..... yes, I know I'm behind, but my Christmas tree is still up, so work with me!  I have a few thoughts, but I am trying to keep it very simple this year.

1. Weight Loss- I feel obligated to list this since it's probably not normal to need my asthma inhaler after tying my shoes. If the weight loss thing falls through, my back up resolution is to locate slip-on or Velcro shoes throughout the year in size 9 1/2.
 
2. More focus on my household needs. I am really tired of digging 22 packets of McDonald's ketchup out of the fridge to make meatloaf because I forgot to put it on the grocery list. ( And if resolution one  survives there will be less opportunities to obtain McDonald's ketchup, so that definitely needs to change.)  I would also like to see actual toilet paper in the bathrooms and not paper towels, Kleenex, and napkins because I forgot another staple on the grocery list. If this resolution falls through- Note to self: Ask for extra napkins and ketchup at drive-thru.

3. More focus on personal needs. Just this morning I had to add water to two empty shampoo bottles to get enough suds to wash my hair. This was followed by using a cotton swab to scrape the sides of my deodorant for remnants to make it through the day.  It's yet to be seen (or smelled) if I've applied enough to get through the day- I haven't tied my shoes yet.

4.  More focus on my spiritual needs. Is there anything sadder than a starving Israelite whose too busy to gather fresh manna from outside their tent? God deserves so much more from me than what He's getting.  I could spend a year thanking Him just for a family to make meatloaf for, a husband to smell good for, feet that require shoes to tie, great friends and family to share all those hip swelling meals with, and every breath He gives.

Have you ever wondered what God thinks about the upcoming year? Does He call for a Heaven-wide meeting to evaluate finances, failures, fresh starts, and new beginnings? Does He look over the past year- setting new goals for the upcoming year? Well, let me put your mind at ease. He doesn't think about the new year any differently than last year. He will not re-evaluate- because that would require change, and He does not change. I love this verse-

Lamentations 3:22-23

²² It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
²³ They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  

EVERY DAY is New Year's day with God. He gives His complete attention, full effort, unwavering focus, unfailing attention to us each day. He is completely perfect every day- no highs or lows, no increase or decrease in productivity, no successes and failures, no lapses or more fervent activity. He is the ever burning bush, awaiting those who will seek Him out and listen. He is the fresh manna daily provided for our ravishing hunger.  He is the well dweller, waiting for those who will put forth the effort to pass by and drink His thirst quenching water. He is the possessor of the cattle on a thousand hills, waiting for us to open gates and allow Him to fill our empty pastures.  He is the Wonderful Counselor whose couch is always available, the Great Physician who provides our coverage at His own cost, and the Prince of Peace providing an anesthesia-like calmness to our spirit allowing us to rest-regardless of the flurry of activity and chaos around us.

The greatest factor deciding the fate of this New Year for each of us, is in full force- Jesus Christ- the Author and Finisher of our Faith. If we will keep Him as the key element in the formula for the year, the ingredient we always have in stock through prayer and Bible Study (no drive-thru substitutions for this) and the driving force behind all we do, our year will be one for the scrapbooks of Heaven to record and eternally rejoice over! 

So, I'm seeking the burning bush today, barefoot, anticipating His call to draw near and hear His word for this hour of my life- but I must say, I am carrying my inhaler in case I am asked to put my shoes back on!  Love to you all, my Patient Sisters!

The Waiting Room

Don't make eye contact- I might get asked why I'm here, or worse feel obligated to listen to someone else's laundry list of symptoms which brought them here.  I just want to get my alone time with the physician, and head to the car with my prescription in hand, which promises relief in 2-3 days. In and out with a minimum of wasted time, and hopefully without the manifestation of any new uncomfortable symptoms I didn't arrive with.  Quick diagnosis with an even quicker recovery-that's the plan. 
Unfortunately, I'm not in the waiting room of just any physician, I'm in the waiting room of the Great Physician, the Wonderful Counselor. There's no promised time of appointment, I'm just told, "In His perfect time." I'm not sure why, but I feel pulled from my normal, everyday schedule of routine acts of service and living.  Everything I depended on shifted, every certainty changed. After cruising down the Highway of Smooth Sailing, I was suddenly exited on an off-ramp where the road signs were unfamiliar, but my GPS (God's Planned Steps) seemed unaware or unconcerned with the change. There was no "re-calculating"  message.  I found myself hyper-ventilating at the thought of facing the unfamiliar, and frantically searching the rear view mirror for a glimpse of the comfortable. The vehicle came to a screeching halt at the corner of Desert Lane and Wilderness Drive and the GPS calmly said, "Destination directly ahead." I saw the offices of Peace, Trust, and Faith directly ahead with office hours of "Open 24 hours". Great. I don't even have the assurance I'll be seen before they go home for the day.
And so I sit. And wait. I ponder my symptoms- depression, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, and fear. I know I've come to the right place, but how long must I wait? I've already gotten a thousand other opinions from others- there was no waiting necessary on those.
"You're just out of the will of God."
"You have unconfessed sin."
"God's done with you."
"You're just a dreamer. This is where Christians are supposed to be."  ( This came from a fellow patient who had set up a tent in the corner of the waiting room with a hot plate, who had stopped listening for her name to be called and was content enough to start getting her mail sent there.)
As the room becomes more crowded I notice a chair blocked by an unclaimed shepherds staff, and numerous other items. Seeking to be useful, even here, I took the staff and other items to the desk.
"Excuse me, this staff was left laying in a chair, I think someone left it." With a twinkle in her eye, the receptionist replies, "Oh that was David's. When he left here, he left a king, not a shepherd and didn't need the staff anymore." 
"Oh. What about this rope?"
"That's Joseph's. Rarely do people waiting in a pit, get out and carry their ladder with them. He wouldn't need it in a palace now would he?"
"I guess not...well somebody left this pile of crackers."
"Manna. Wilderness snacks, but they were traded for milk and honey." 
"Well, what about the bulky telescope by the window?"
"Abraham's. He passed his time here counting stars."
"Ok, but who leaves a negative pregnancy test in a waiting room?"
"Sarah, but she had to carry a baby home."
 "How old is this office?" I ask intrigued by the list of clientele.
"As old as the Alpha and Omega." 
"I've never heard of a doctor practicing that long!"
The receptionist laughs as  she replies, "Oh goodness no! The Clients are practicing the Physician is perfecting!"
And so I return to my seat somewhat pacified by the good company I am in.  When I relinquish myself  to not wasting these precious moments, I notice there are no outdated Reader's Digests scattered on the tables, but open Bibles of Scripture, each one highlighting the Word that I need, the promise to stand on, and the perfect verse for this season. Even in the waiting room, the Master begins treatment, assuring me of His presence and compassionate care. As my mind becomes renewed, I become aware of the music playing through intercom- my favorite songs of deliverance which are accompanied by a strong tenor's voice from behind the office door I will soon be asked to enter.  Now, it's no longer waiting, but anticipating. It's no longer tallying the minutes I've waited that consumes me, it's now the countdown of seconds. Soon my moment will come.. but what will I leave behind? What will speak to those who replace me in this chair, revealing the change in me. I run to my car and in a moment return. This token speaks of my time in this room, an item I hope to cling to no more. Next to David's staff -I lay my rear view mirror. No looking back- embracing the future.

Maybe you're sharing this space with me today in God's great waiting room. Take heart. It's the deep breath before diving into the fullness of God's plan, the last dark rays of night before the first rays of a new beginning on a new day, it's the last steps in the wilderness before your first steps in Canaan.
My patient (pun intended) sisters, let us wait together and enjoy our time together in the Crawl-In Clinic. There are many more rooms to explore, behind each we will find the Presence of God, and the fullness of JOY!