Tag: patience

Wait and See

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I schedule a haircut every 4 to 5 weeks, depending how quickly it grows. Looking online at my hairdressers availability she had several openings, but Tuesday at 10:00am felt right. I checked my schedule to see if that would work, but didn’t make the appointment immediately because the weather forecast was calling for a rainy weekend all the way through Tuesday.

My daughter has left the nest, but I still have her two dogs and they’re afraid of storms, so I was hesitant to leave the house for a haircut if that was the case. I decided to take a shower and start my day, but as I stepped out of the shower the thought, ‘Tuesday at 10’, came to mind. I decided to check and see if the haircut appointment was still available considering that’s the only ‘Tuesday at 10’ I’d thought about.

It’s difficult to have faith in meteorologists and I don’t coordinate my life around the forecast. Sometimes it’s best to take a look at the sky. It will tell you it’s story and always has one to tell. Storms are a stress factor for me. I don’t like thunder, lightning, high winds or torrential rains. My neighbor, Hercules sits on his front porch and enjoys watching the storm, while Barb is over here praying for God to calm it.

Texas has some mighty storms and I wasn’t excited over the possibility of more. I believe God knows my heart and knows how much I can handle. With all the changes that have occurred already this year, I was on edge toward anymore disruptions. I kept thanking Him for His plan which has a tendency to trump the forecast. I’ve seen it so many times before where no storm came even though it was in the forecast.

I scheduled the haircut appointment by faith. The salon is closed on Sunday and Monday, so I wouldn’t have adequate time to cancel the appointment if needed. On Monday it continued to rain, but it was gentle and I slept peacefully through Monday night. Tuesday morning I awoke to stillness and realized I’d be able to make my appointment because there was no storm. My hope for you is to put more faith in a greater plan. No matter what the world is predicting, faith overcomes fear and can weather any storm.

Trust and be willing to wait and see.

A Good Sign

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Three weeks ago, I reactivated my Bumble dating app, and it was similar to flipping a switch on a revolving door of men. There’s so many men named Michael, I had to start categorizing them by the town they live in. There’s a few things I’ve noticed at this stage of my life in finding the right one.

  • There’s no rush. The tricky part is finding a human not in a rush.
  • I’m still willing to drive the distance, but under an hour is sweet.
  • Someone who loves their life, but would like for you to join in.
  • My prayer before each date is, “Keep my ears open and mouth shut.”
  • Laugh your asses off together, and in the same moment.

The hug is the litmus test, and it shouldn’t be quick. It’s when you’re willing to hold each other as long as possible, before it becomes awkward. Where you simply relax in each others arms, and breathe it in. That’s a hug.

Looking back at the men I’ve hugged there was one thing I always did near the end. For some reason, my hand would automatically pat him on the back. It was an odd feeling, and the men didn’t appreciate it, but eventually I’ll hug someone, and my hand won’t automatically pat him on the back.

That will be a good sign.

P.S. If you haven’t met Michelle GD, you need to. She’s a blogger here at WordPress and she hosts a monthly workshop entitled, ‘The Quiet Page.’

The In Between

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Since publishing All or Nothing, I’ve been practicing holding the pose in that ‘in between’ area of life. Walking the ‘fine line’, between all or nothing.

Monday, I was driving to get a haircut and the CD player switched CD’s to a teaching I hadn’t heard in years. I didn’t remember having preacher/teacher CD’s loaded in the player, so I listened while I drove. He was talking about the ‘eventually’s’, and how the dreams in our heart come to pass eventually. It’s always God’s timing and not ours, so therein lies the in between.

I was asked to partake in a new position with one of my jobs, and went through some of the training videos to prepare for it. Then, December rolled around which is the busiest time of year for most, and the training stopped. The new position is just hanging in mid air waiting for the man I work with to pop it back into my court. If the position is meant for me, it’ll come back around, but sometimes God will test our willingness to walk in a different direction.

Show me a direction and I’ll show you a decision has been made.

It’s still warm here in Texas, but I’m keeping an eye on the Hibiscus. It’s sitting outside blooming in December, but will come indoors if the temps drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and remain there. This plant has taught me a lot this year and I want to protect it to learn more from it next year. You’d think full bloom would be my favorite part of this plant, but recently it’s been the in between. The bud begins to open then decides to enjoy the space of halfway there.

As you can see my darling, there is beauty in the in between.

That’s My God

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It’s the little things in life that never cease to amuse me. Standing at my kitchen window after an hour’s worth of steady rain, looking at the plants I just watered yesterday. A smile came to my lips as I chuckled at the conversation I was having with God in my heart.

The weather forecast wasn’t calling for rain, but I can’t rely on weather predictions. The best way to know the weather around here is by noticing what it’s doing. God wants to be noticed and it was like He was saying, “If you’d waited Barb, you would have seen my plan for those plants.” We have conversations like that more than we should.

I depend on God in every situation, but sometimes I run ahead. One of my most spoken prayers is, “Here’s my life. I lay it at your feet. Your will be done, not mine.” Then I go on about my day with my plans and actions, so I’m grateful when God shows up with a similar plan, only better.

Life is amusing when it comes down to my plan versus God’s plan, and it’s instances like these that continue to amuse me. That’s my God.

The First Step

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I woke up at 4am, and couldn’t decide whether or not to go back to sleep. It’s amazing how many tiny choices we make in a day, with each one altering the next.

I began thinking of my French Press and how I haven’t used it very much. It was one of those things Barb ‘had to have’, but I couldn’t get satisfied with the taste of the coffee. I have read articles from coffee experts, and the instructions that came with the press, but this early in the morning, I wanted some simple steps. Google led me to an article by the easy to follow woman behind Gimme Some Oven.

Her way of making it just made sense to me, so I hopped outta bed at 5:00 am, and strolled quietly into the kitchen with instructions in hand, ready to try again. There are several steps involved in making a French Press, but anything that’s worthwhile has steps.

First I had to see how much water the press would hold. It held 4 cups, so I poured the water into the gooseneck kettle and sat it on the stove to bring it to a boil. Then waited. After it begins to boil, the water needs to rest for a minute, so I took it off the burner to rest.

I opened the timer on my phone and set it for 4 minutes, and poured the freshly ground beans into the French Press, just going through the steps. The hot water was poured just over the bed of grinds, about 2 inches, and stirred with a wooden chopstick to wet every grind, and the timer began.

My favorite part is watching it bloom. Putting my face over the press, I inhaled the magical aroma. If it’s really good coffee it should bloom, or foam up. The more it foams, the better quality. After one minute had passed, the rest of the water was poured in and the lid was put into place. The screen rested on top of the water with the plunger standing up.

I watched the countdown of time ticking by with the numbers illuminated blue in color. It was interesting when the timer got down to the last 30 seconds, the numbers turned red.

The one thing that bothered me about using the French press in the past was the feel of the pressing. I know how it’s supposed to feel when you press the plunger down with the palm of your hand. It should have some resistance, and not be effortless. This time it had plenty of resistance, so in the past I hadn’t poured enough in.

Le Creuset Café Stoneware French Press

Lessons learned:

  1. Don’t go back to sleep. The day is waiting for us to step into it.
  2. Keep using what we have and get it right.
  3. Follow some instruction. If the first ones aren’t to our liking, find better instructions.
  4. There’s a waiting period after every step.
  5. Let the water get boiling hot, but don’t let it spew. Anything that gets that hot needs a minute to rest.
  6. Watch the time, and be attentive to the red zone.
  7. Pause and enjoy the bloom. Breathe it in.
  8. When we begin to press through and there’s resistance, it’s normal. Nothing worthwhile should feel like an easy plunge, just continue to gently press.

Was getting up early, and trying once again to make a French Press worth it? You better believe it! That was excellent coffee. Keep trying and be willing to go through some steps to get to where you really want to be.

It all begins with the first step.

A Thrilling Place To Be

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A friend found out today that he didn’t get the house he had placed an offer on. He found this house last year, and fell in love with the property. It would be a perfect place to live, and house his business, but God has other plans.

A lot of us prayed fervently about this house.

But, we all prayed in accordance to God’s will.

Sometimes God’s ‘no’, should be our ‘thank you.’

thankyou

I told my friend, ‘Answered prayer.’ It may not seem like an answered prayer, but it is. The house was perfect, and maybe it all looked that way to us, but something wasn’t right.

We couldn’t see it, but God could.

What my friend did right was clinging to his faith. He was patient with the back and forth about the house, for months. I’m sure he became frustrated with waiting, but God was watching, and I believe my friend won today.

He didn’t get this house, but he’s better equipped for the next one that comes along. I encouraged him to keep looking, and to follow his heart to what he really wants.

I think that seems too big to us.

But, it’s not too big for God. What He has planned for us is more than we can ever imagine, and that’s a thrilling place to be.

Peonies in December

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This particular grocery store has a row of fresh cut flowers on display as soon as you enter. I pause, look and smile. Strolling by the row of buckets, each containing fresh cut bouquets, I stood still and gazed at the last bucket.

There stood our favorite flower.

The Peony.

time

This flower is prevalent in summer.

Sitting at the coffee table this morning gazing at the Christmas tree, through a vase full of Peonies. It’s fabulous as cold as it’s been to have a moment like this in December. Unrush my darling. Moments are waiting for attention.

peony

Peonies in December.