Dear Mom...

  Dear Mom,

     Well, it's the night before we leave for Grandma Doris's. And wouldn't you know, the house is in a mess and only the minority of the family is packed. As I sit in the living room with pillows all over the floor and dishes on the coffee table, I think : How in the world are we going to make it out of here early tomorrow?
   Furthermore I know that the fault is mostly mine, if I hadn't begged you to take me to that last minute fundraiser today everything would have been done already. The kitchen would be clean, the carpets vacuumed, the bags packed, the laundry done, and that bottomless pit that I call a closet wouldn't be full of dirty cloths. On top of all that, it's looking like dad's three day weekend is going to be shortened to two and a half days, or maybe even two and one fourth.

    So what can I do to make up for all of this? There is only one thing.

   It's going on midnight and I'm still up. I can feel my limbs slowly loosing their strength and my eyelids beginning to droop. But even when I catch a glimpse of that couch and think how good it would feel to just lay down and forget everything, I'll remind myself how many sleepless nights I've caused you and press on.          First I'll jump in the shower, hoping it'll wake me up a little. Then I'll sneak into the kitchen after your asleep, put on a pot of coffee and turn on some of my favorite ( and most energizing ) music and get to work. I'll wipe down all the tables, fold all the clothes, clean up my room, wash all the dishes, pack my own bags and recheck Charlene's already packed bags. All without making the noise of even a mouse. And when I'm standing over the sink and hear the rooster crow outside the window, I'll ignore his wake up call and finish my job. So that when six 'clock rolls around and the sun is rising over the horizon, I can go out on the front porch and watch the day begin while I drink my sixth cup of coffee.
     Then I'll come back inside, make the breakfast and clean the kitchen once more before helping load the car. This way, maybe we'll get out of here before noon. c ;
     And a few hours after that when I can hardly keep my eyes open, I'll try my best to be as civil as possible for the sake of the rest of the family.
    I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight, if I get any at all. And I know you told me to go to bed, I hope your not upset. But as I sit here thinking of all the things you've ever done for me, I can't help but feel that you deserve at least this.
   I know that the only reason the house will stay clean for three whole days is because we won't be here, and that as soon as we get back I'll be cleaning carpets and washing dishes again. But I guess that's okay, just so long as I have you to do it with.

  Thank you for all the time, care, love and sleepless nights you have put into raising me and the rest of us. And thank you most of all, for showing us who God is, and guiding us into loving relationships with the true, living Father who you know so well.When I have children, I hope I'm at least half the mother to them that you are to us.
 I love you.


~ Chelsey



P.S. ~ There's fresh coffee for you and dad in the kitchen. c ;

P.S.S. ~ When we get to Grandma's, I can take a nap right?

Attentiveness, Learning and Guidance

Attentiveness

          When we learn to seek Christ with our whole hearts, He will begin a life long work in us to straighten out the kinks of our character and teach us valuable lessons a long the way. Sometimes however it's in ways we wouldn't expect. God uses unique ways to get our attention. It could be a bible verse that you read during church, a comment that someone says which sparks your interest, an event ( whether major or minor ) that gets you thinking, a song that you hear at just the right time or even a scene from a movie. He knows what will get us to say "Hhmm, was that a coincidence?"
  This is why we must stay attentive, and never blow anything off as coincidence. After all, if God is omniscient then He already knows what were going to think when we hear that song or listen to that sermon. And through those things ( among which reading the bible is prominent ) He speaks to our hearts.
 


      Willingness to Learn


 
   So, being attentive to God and learning how to listen to Him is easy right? Just pay attention and when He shows you something, act upon it. Sounds simple doesn't it?
   Well maybe the being attentive part is easy and simple, but it's the next part that becomes very difficult.
   If God is the potter and we are the clay, that means He's molding us, working out the impurities, smoothing out the rough spots and making us beautiful. But that doesn't always mean we're going to enjoy it. In fact I can almost guarantee that you won't.
You see, when you become a christian, you officially wage war against your flesh nature and satin himself. And you can bet that as soon as that happens the enemy is going to "give you his best shot" so to speak. He'll attack your weaknesses the most and try to bring you down in any and every way possible. And he does all this at the same time God is trying to teach you good things. Granted when we have Christ in us, we always have the power to overcome his advances, it's just a matter of choosing to. This is where the willingness to learn comes in.
   In order for God to mold us correctly we have to choose to give Him the upper hand. For example : If you are struggling with a certain flaw you have such as anger, and Christ is working on ridding you of that, it may not always happen in ways that you like. If someone were to provoke you by shoving you in line, calling you a name, pulling out in front of you when you have the right of way, or just being rude in general, when you've done nothing wrong. Your flesh nature would give you a fierce command to fight back. But you know the bible says to turn the other cheek. You also know that you've been working on not letting your temper flair up. And so you have a choice to make.
  Here's another example, more to the point of being willing to learn: We all make mistakes, were not perfect so it's inevitable. But what is our reaction when someone points out something we've done wrong? Defense.   ( just like I mentioned in the other post ) We know we've done it, we ignore the fact that we've done it and that we knew it was wrong. And now were being confronted with it. This, my friend is an excellent opportunity to grow. We can say were sorry and sincerely promise to do better, or we can deny the truth and make matters worse. But if we have a willingness to learn, most likely we'll choose the former.
  If we keep this as a key part of our mindset we will see these situations as opportunities to better ourselves instead of as a trap we can't escape.


                        
             Open to Guidance

  

   When God changes a person, it is always for the better, even though it may not feel that way at the time. But we must remember that He has our best interests at heart, He's always looking to better us and bring us closer to Him. So during the times when things are going well and we think we have it all figured out, and during the times when we are at rock bottom and have no idea what to do next, we must remember to let Him lead.
  And again, that doesn't mean we will always like where He is leading. You may have the heart of a missionary but God has plans for you to stay home and raise a family. Or you may be perfectly happy staying at home, while God has plans for you to travel the world and feed the hungry. I think a lot of people are surprised that when they choose to let God lead and control their lives they end up doing something they would have never imagined, yet they couldn't be happier with it. That happens because God knows us better than we know us.
  When we stay open to His guidance no matter where or how He leads us, we will find that our lives are much more satisfying than if we had done our own thing. And that our lives are daily bringing glory to God and drawing others nearer to Him.