He Shows Up

I will tell you right this minute that it should NEVER surprise me when God does something lovely, because He has been doing lovely things since creation, and I should consider them the norm, not a surprise. But I'm human and have {along with many of you} the world's shortest memory, so such moments DO take me by surprise. And today I want to tell you about a moment of loveliness from yesterday.

First, I should tell you that a couple of days ago, I came down with some sort of weird 24 hour blah-bug that left me feeling pretty miserable...aches, chills, fever, and no appetite. {That last part always scares me. When the appetite leaves, that's real.} So yesterday morning, I was finally on the mend from that, but still a bit draggy. {That may also have been because it was five thirty in the morning.} And that same day, Ryan was grumpy, which is about a thousand percent unusual. He had a KILLER run the night before - so proud of him for one of his best times ever - but he paid for it by being super sore and grumpy.

So there we were, grumping around the house in the pre-dawn hours, Braeya following us in between our feet, and crying loudly because {the TRAVESTY!!!} we would not stop to watch her eat, which is one of her daily demands. It wasn't our finest moment. We weren't mad at each other at all, but our personalities were far from shiny.

For me, it wasn't just the leftover sickies. It was feelings of inadequacy that bubbled over the surface. We had some work done in our house this week, and my job was to attend the crew with anything they needed, including answers to questions. I probably don't have to explain to you why being the answer-giver to a construction crew was daunting at best. It brought up in me the truth that I don't know much about houses, and Ryan would have been better suited for that task. But he was at work, and I was the designated house-sitter, so I had to make the best of it.

In full disclosure, I didn't even pray about it. I just moved to the couch with my grumpies in tow and began to scrapbook while I waited on the crew to show up for work.

And while I scrapped, an email came in. A friend of mine had a bad day, and she needed a place to unload her thoughts. So she did, and I answered, praying as I typed for God to give me the right words. I guess in fairness, she didn't say she felt it was a God-ordained answer, but she DID answer and she said she loved me, so I interpreted it that I'd done something good and maybe a little right in that moment.

Not an hour later....another email came in. Another friend wrote and said she'd shared this little blogaroonie with a friend, because she thought her friend might find some encouragement here. And that was the moment when God tapped my shoulder and said, See? You might not know much about houses and construction, but while you sit IN the house observing the construction, I can use you.

Why do I forget this stuff? Why do I forget that life is not made up entirely of moments that are easy and fully tilted toward our giftings? Why do I forget that hidden in the moments that aren't easy, are other moments when He IS fully at work, using what I have. {In my case, my words.}

So today, I'm grateful that He showed up for a blah-riddled girl sitting on her couch observing a construction crew. I'm grateful that He can use my words and carry me as I limp along with the stuff I'm not that great at doing.