A New Day Dawning

As the mom of four children, I have often been guilty of rushing here and rushing there only to find that I am late, I'm grouchy or I've forgotten an item needed. I have rushed us through chores just to get them done, I've rushed them out the door, I've rushed them through meals or rushed them off to bed. In all the rushing, one loses the day, the moments, the words of life. God built us to live not rush...He made us to savor, not scarf...He fashioned our days much like He has fashioned our hearts.
Morning does not break forth suddenly, the sun does not hurry to be at full crest the moment a new day begins. The day dawns, the dark gives way to light gradually, the sun takes hours to crest and begin to descend. Our lives, our children, our hearts must also emerge in like fashion. We grow into maturity, it's not instantaneous, our children need the time we have to give and the words we have to speak, for they are dawning each and every day toward life that is full of purpose. If all we demonstrate is rushing then the lesson taught is our purpose to "hurry up and get going". There is a time for immediacy, but it must not come at the cost of the dawning. As I sit here, reflecting on my children and how quickly it seems that they have "dawned" into ladies and a gentleman, I find that life provides all the speed my heart can handle. I am thankful for the time and wish only to cherish all that has been given.

This quote from Ann Voskamp says it so well:

“Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing.... Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.”
― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Technical Issues of Life

I had to walk away from my computer this morning for a time...I was frustrated and when I'm frustrated I"m fairly useless.  In my work, I am called upon to be the person showing someone how to do something, using the help guides and manuals when I don't know off hand.  How it's supposed to work and how it works are not always the same thing---but it should be.  This morning, after working with my team to get a program to function correctly and being unable we had to reschedule a meeting that had been anticipated by many.  There were no other options at that point.  It came down to a programming issue over which I have no control.

This has been mirrored in life in general recently for me.  As a mom, wife, friend and christian I am sought out for answers, advice and direction.  I generally can point to the Word, experience and the prompting of the Holy Spirit to provide these nuggets, but what do I do when I don't know?  How life is supposed to work and how it works are not always the same thing.  In the past year I've had several friends to whom I've given truth, spoken words of direction and even encouraged with hope but the situations did not actually turn out the way I saw them going.  At these times I am left to wonder, it's not like life can be rescheduled until a more convenient time.  Did I hear wrong? Did I give the wrong direction? Was it my own emotions that encouraged hope?  But it comes down to something much bigger, God has a different plan/purpose/problem that will be used for His glory.  I cannot control the words, only speak what I know to be true and trust that the one who has designed this life knows more than I do about the "programming" of the persons. I have seen miracles take place in the middle of these tough situations, been able to look back and see that the delay was the time God was using to prepare for the answer and see the times that hope was given to build up a foundation that allowed for a better outcome than the one for which I'd been hoping.

I am most grateful to know that God is the perfect designer when it comes to creating a product (us) and that He has planned and provided for each technical issue that comes up in our programming.  What may look like a glitch is really just a new option we didn't recognize before.