Are We Listening?

Here is a little replay of a day in my life this week…My husband and I begin our mornings by reading Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Here is our reading for the day.

Yep, got it, thanks God! NEXT!

My husband and kids leave for school and work, I enjoy my coffee, visit with my neighbor briefly, shower and prepare for my day. I check over my schedule to confirm that there are no “surprises”. Manicure at 10, Bible Study at 12, Team Mtg at 2, perfect! No surprises, I go on with my day. After a quick chat on the phone with my husband I decide to put a couple pork loins in the Crock-Pot with barbecue sauce. Note to self: Stop at Target and grab buns and fries.CHECK!

I look around the house, there’s a bed that didn’t get made, a handful of daily chores that weren’t completed, a few dirty towels on the kitchen counter, and I just kinda growl and go about my business. I was on my way to my first appointment of the day and I was frustrated, angry, discouraged, hurt even. Are you familiar with the term “effective frequency”? This is an advertising term that basically means,  “The number of times a person must be exposed to a message before a response is made.” Well, I am driving to my appointment, singing along with the radio and minding my own business….when the morning reading replays in my head. “Your routines are not running smoothly. You tend to feel more secure when your life is predictable. Let Me lead you to the rock that is higher than you and your circumstances.” I’m sorry, what’s that God? I can’t hear you because I am busy doing my thing. 😉 

Over the course of the day, this message just kept playing over and over and over. I shared it with my bible study group, I was trying to hear it. I was. 

I return home from the store with the kids and finish making supper. I reminded the boys before they got out of the Suburban that they needed to grab everything that didn’t belong in the vehicle and come in to do their homework. I tell the two youngest boys that they have a few chores that need to be completed after snack/homework time. I tell them that the consequence will be no TV time or outside time. I proceed to put away the items I purchased at the store and check my email, then I grab a drink and snack for myself. So, the youngest never even made it in the house, every time I turned around I saw a mess, I sent for Darby and specifically told him what he needed to complete. I then told him, he was NOT to go next door for the remainder of the day. Consequence of NOT listening.  Let’s just say, an “attempt” was made to complete my to do list, not their best attempt by any stretch of the imagination AND…he went next door again! Cue meltdown. Not the children, ME. 

Now, in order for you to fully grasp an accurate state our home was in, fast-forward a few minutes to my husband returning from work. He enters the house, kisses me, asks the kids how their day was, looks around and says, “Wow Honey, the house looks REALLY GREAT, you must have been busy cleaning ALL DAY!”  Um, remember my schedule from above? I left at 9:45 and didn’t return home again until I picked the kids up from school and stopped at the store. I had been home about 45 minutes, so I hadn’t been cleaning all day, in fact, I hadn’t done a thing to the house. It was just as they left it. 

Now, I am POSITIVE my husband is the most tolerant & patient man on the planet because the series of text messages he had received prior to returning home, may have led him to believe that the house was a complete disaster and that our children were heathens!

What?!?…..“When you are shaken out of your comfortable routines, grip My hand tightly and look for growth opportunities. Instead of bemoaning the loss of your comfort, accept the challenge of something new. I lead you from glory to glory, making you fit for My kingdom. Say yes to the ways I work in your life. Trust Me, and don’t be afraid.” Huh, there’s that “message” from God again. “Oh, your children don’t listen to you? That must be frustrating”….well played God, well played! So, I have these moments when I half expect a smack on the back of my head from an invisible source. That doesn’t happen though. God is patient. Our growth and our successes are left up to us. God is waiting for us to find Grace and Peace in our lives. He is leading us to His kingdom. However, whether we follow is up to us. 

This Easter my prayer for each of us it that we will take His hand and follow Him. He gave His Son for us. How do we honor Him? That is up to each of us. Ask Jesus into your heart. Embrace the love and lessons God has for us. Share this love and these lessons. Trust that the message He has for us is the one true message worth hearing. When you don’t get it, He will keep trying. He will never give up on us. Think about that…and listen to what He is telling us.

Happy Easter!