Not why? but what now?

Proverbs 31 ministries post yesterday:

 

I’ve realized that trying to figure out why God allows certain things to happen is a bit like chasing the wind and trying to turn it into something visible. It’s a chase that will simply wear you out to very little avail.

 

So I’ve just about decided asking ”why” is the wrong question. Instead, I ask “what now?” Now that this is my reality, what would You have me do…learn…glean from this?

 

“What now?” is a much better question to ask. If we make the choice to let it lead us from our hurt to positive changes, it will! God will.

Continuing to ask “why” will leave us stuck and frustrated. And really, even if God gave us the answer to our why question, it probably would never satisfy us. We would probably weigh out God’s reasons against our hurt and still be hurt. Our human perspectives simply can’t process God’s multi-dimensional, eternal reasons.

 

Isaiah 55:8-9 confirms this, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Bare bum (story from April)

I woke up and hit the button on the monitor to check on the kids like I usually do before getting ready; make sure they’re not already awake and just hanging out. And when the monitor flips to Rawley’s room I see him sleeping on his belly, curled up next to his monkey but he’s got no pants or diaper on. “Huh, Rawley knows how to take his diaper off.” So I rushed to get myself ready anticipating he’s wet the bed and will need a bath. Nope, completely dry. The front of the diaper stayed in place so there was no mess….until I picked him up. He didn’t want to cuddle so I set him down on the floor to stand. I walked to his closet to pull out some clothes and hear that unmistakable sound. He was standing there peeing on the rug…and Madi’s medal from school which also happened to be on the rug.

 

The look on his face was priceless. I lost it then because he was so confused about what was happening. “What’s that Mom?” would’ve been his question had he been able to talk. I think I laughed the entire time I was getting him dressed.

Rug and medal to be washed this evening.

 

Madi's first school field trip: Country Pumpkins

Friday Madi had her first school field trip. The 4's class was going to Country Pumpkins in Zionsville from 9-1p. We started the day with doughnuts at home then went to school to drop Rawley off and meet up with Aunt DeeDee.

 I was supposed to drive another boy from her class but his Mom decided to drive so it was just Madi, Aunt DeeDee and me. After talking with Miss Stacey she said they didn't plan to get to the pumpkin patch until close to 10a. It was 8:30 so Aunt DeeDee, Madi and I took off for "adult coffee" (Madi's choice).

 At Starbucks I had a migraine hit (getting those a lot lately) so instead of driving separately we left my car at Starbucks. I fired up the GPS so Donell would know where to go and sat in the passenger's seat with my eyes closed waiting for the fuzzy vision to stop. We got to the pumpkin patch, parked by everyone else and made our way to the tent for orientation. There was a little presentation about what grows on the farm, what's friendly and what to expect during our trip. Then we made our way to the animals. Madi wasn't into touching the animals. We saw chickens, rabbits, turkeys, goats, pigs, sheep and ponies. 

Next stop was the play zone. There was a corn kernel "sand" box and swing set but Madi spent pretty much all her time roping cows or running bales of hay. Look at this cow girl!

Our third stop was a hay ride...yay!! All the kids loaded up towards the back (side) and the adults sat in the "loading" area. It was a well thought out process to put the kids in the safest spot of the wagon. We went around the farm and stopped at the honey bee station. The kids learned that bees are more scared of us, fly close to us looking for things that are sweet and if we see a bee by us we're to Freeze! As one who's allergic, definitely agree with the Freeze! concept. 

Next up was the corn maze. Had we known what it entailed I think the adults would've chose to skip it. There was straw down the first 1/3 of the maze but then it went to straight mud. Kids were slipping, parents were slipping. It seemed the end would never come...but it did! Here's some shots of "children of the corn." Ha! I crack myself up!! 

Madi & Raphy. Best friends since the 2's class. Raphy's Mom is 6-mos pregnant with a girl. Raphy's Dad was telling us that Raphy's decided the baby's name is going to be Madi. Donell sat near Raphy on the hayride and was asking about him becoming a big brother and whether he knew if it was a boy or girl. After he said it was a girl she asked what her name should be and he said "Her name's Madi." Dad was right!!

After the maze we had our picnic lunches, picked out a little pumpkin to bring home and then said our goodbyes. Madi, Aunt DeeDee and I went up to the general store to search for gourds and pumpkins. Ever since the kids and I painted pumpkins Madi's wanted pumpkins for Daddy's house. Since he didn't have any yet she picked out three little pumpkins/gourds to bring that afternoon. One for her, Daddy & Rawley. It was very sweet.

...and that's the story of Madi's first school field trip.

sermon notes - Where is God When it Hurts?

Genesis 32:22-32 & Psalm 13


hopeheals.com
We have been very blessed to suffer greatly at a young age because it informs the way we live the rest of our life.  - Katherine Wolf
     Katherine suffered a brain stem stroke and lost the ability to care for their young son for a long while. She wasn't supposed to survive the stroke but did.

None of us are immune to misery or forces beyond our ability to manage.

There is intimacy involved in wrestling. Physical manifestation of desperate prayer. God's answer is I'm here. I'm engaged with you. You matter to me.

God could've won with Jacob yet He blessed Jacob.

Our authenticity with God comes from our moments of strife.
Imagine you meet up with a good friend who asks how you're doing. You reply that things are good. In actuality your dog ran away, your car broke down, you might lose your job, your Mother is very ill. Your friend later hears all these struggles and confronts you about your "I'm good" reply. Why didn't you tell me about the tough things in your life right now? Do you not trust me?

Reject or refuse to wrestle with God is unhealthy dynamic of your relationship. We're careful in how we speak to others, restraint with our words to be respectful and pc. But we need to be truthful with God. Be bold for He already knows. Honesty draws us towards God.

Wrestling words, bold prayer define your relationship, trustworthiness with the Lord.

Psalms are stories of how to know God. 70% are laments ("wrestling")


Magnify God - not your challenges.


What does it look like for you to wrestle with God?