Hiding His words in our Hearts--March 2010

 Wow....it's been a whole month already.  Time is flying by, yet again, this year is proving to be no different than any of the others.  Once you get old, the clock seems to be traveling at warp speed and it laps me, constantly.  I pray you had a wonderful month of love, and that you can all readily recite your verse from February....it was easy, peasy, but so worth remembering. So worth hiding in your heart.

I hope you will find the same to be true for this month as well.  Yesterday was my middle son's birthday.  It snowed in the morning hours. We drove in to school and it was like a mini-southern style, rainy blizzard.  The rain would hit the windshield and as I would swipe the wipers across we could see the snowflakes that were coming at us at record speed.  Of course they didn't stick, mixed with the rain, once they hit the car it was more of an icy slush splatter.   But anyway, my point is, it snowed yesterday.  In the deep south.  It was March 2nd. I don't think it's ever snowed on my boys' birthday.  Why?  Because usually we are heading into spring.....maybe slowly, but it is March and we don't live above the Mason-Dixon line so why does it still feel like the dead of winter around here? 

Am I the only one who is FAR MORE THAN READY for spring to SPRING?  I think not.  But you can let me know in the comments section if you're also ready for the sun to stay out more than 12.5 minutes per day.  As usual, I had in my head what I thought this month's verse would be weeks ahead, and then I was shown a verse yesterday that summed up these feelings of impatience I've been having, and I realized that was what the Lord wanted me to share with all of you. 

Our verse for March 2010:

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." ~~Ecclesiastes 3:1

Isn't that true on so many levels?  We hear it often, but do you really stop to think about it?  It applies to alot more than the 4 temperate climates we experience during the course of a year. Sure, here I am being so impatient that the nice spring weather hasn't began as I felt it should.....seriously?  Do I really think the Lord has forgotten that spring comes after winter and does he realize that it's March and we are waiting, although not so patiently, for Him to send the sun kissed afternoons back into our land, instead of playing one more round of scrabble with the apostles?  

Take the time to read on in Ecclesiastes when you look up this verse in your bible.....verses 1-8 sum up our lives in just a few short words.  All of our life experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly, fit neatly in those 8 verses.  Nothing, my friends, is by accident, or coincidence.  The Lord still reigns each and every day.  Yes, we are earthly beings who are here making choices every step of the way, but He still has his eye and hand on every move.  Yes, there is a time for and there is a reason behind "every activity":

• The miscarriage you experienced.
• That neighbor that moved in beside you that doesn't know the Lord.
• The problem at work that seems to be taking you under, will actually make you stronger, through the Lord's purposes, in the end.
• The wall you built around you because of the hurts you've experienced in the past.
• The rewarding feeling when the wall you built around you is torn down when you allow others to embrace you again, when you allow trust back in your life, even a little smidge at a time.
• The moments that aren't really worth fighting over.  The silly arguments that begin small and turn into something much larger, and are so mind boggling in the end that they even were the cause of a dispute.  Yes, it's true, there is a time to speak and a time to just shut up. Although we aren't supposed to say shut up in our house, so don't tell my kids I wrote that!! :)
• The letting go of a child who's growing up. (Swallow hard, I've got a teenager coming this month.)
• The sadness that follows a relationship that's been broken, somehow, in some way, with a spouse, a friend, a sister or brother, a daughter or son, a church member, a co-worker, etc.
• The gladness that follows when that relationship is allowed to heal and be mended again. It may take hours, days, months, years....but a true heart mending can come about, even if only on your end, as long as you seek the Lord's will and timing.

All of these times and so many more I haven't mentioned.  They are all a part of the "there's a right time for everything" in God's plan.  We just need to take those moments daily, by spending time studying His words, to check ourselves that we are following His plan. The plan that will be created, approved, and implemented in His time. Yes, it's hard. Yes, I am often impatient with these moments, these feelings, this plan for my life, for my husband's life, for my children, for our church, for our schools, for our government,  and yes, even for the correct SEASON to arrive, because I am sick of the cold.   But that's just it, God has us in these seasons for a purpose.  And it's not to get mad at the climate. I'm speaking of the seasons of our heart. Don't let your heart stay cold with an icy slush coating it.  Open it to the words of wisdom, courage, forgiveness, love, patience, grace, guidance, praise, worship, joy, peace, humility, that can be found in these verses we study each month.  These verses that can empower us through the One who has the real power.

I know you don't like the problems that keep surfacing in the workplace.  I know you might scream if your child tests your patience just one more time. I know you want your friends to understand what's going on, but can't seem to bring yourself to be cracked open to share with them because, oh my, they might see that the hurts are really deep, and you aren't as strong as you seem.  I know you wish your babies would stay babies forever, because the thought of them trekking off to college, or a job, or just leaving your wing are more than you can bear. I know you dislike the decisions being made by those "in charge", because quite simply, they are wrong. 

Impatience...a great deceiver.  Can you imagine if God practiced such impatience?  He would have long given up on us.  Even if our friends and family can't go through another dry season with us, they can't take another step in the cold darkness we create, you know who can? God's patience with us is unfathomable. 

Remember:
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

(look, grey mare, another short verse! :)  See, I'm looking out for you!)