“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ” Psalm 37:4 ESV
I should be studying. Let me tell you that upfront. I have 10 chapters to read and a Discussion Post to write. Granted these are personal goals, not necessarily the school’s goal. Classes start tomorrow and I don’t have anything officially due until next Saturday. However, because it is ALL new to me, it is taking me twice as long to get the work done. I have to learn the system as well as do the work. It’s exhausting to say the least.’
So here I sit, writing a blog when I should be studying. It’s such a good one though I just had to share.
I’ve been dealing with some pretty difficult heart issues over the last couple of months. God has really been doing work in me as I work through it. I’ve never felt closer to Him than I do now. It literally is overwhelming. In order for Him to do this work in me though, I’ve had to be very intentional about keeping my eyes on Him. There has been so much going on around me to distract me. It’s very easy to lose focus.
This morning as I was getting ready for church, the Lord reminded me of when He first taught me this lesson. I was somewhere in my early 20’s. I had flunked out of school twice in Pennsylvania. My family was giving me one last shot before they were done with me. I moved to Virginia. Lived with my brother and enrolled in school here. Third charm wasn’t the charm for me, but I did manage to finally graduate. Eventually!
I worked at a local hotel to support my efforts at school. I met a guy there and fell madly in love. MADLY! Took me years to get over him when it was all said and done. What I thought was going on between us and what he thought was going on between us were two totally different things. My heart was broken. I found out he was in love with one of the other girls. A friend of mine I worked with as well. AND we still had to work together. I needed the job. It was how I was getting health benefits at the time.
It was then, God taught me to not worry about what is in your peripheral vision. Only worry about what is in front of you. You don’t need to know everything. Every time my mind wandered into thoughts of what they were doing, I’d remind myself. “They’re not in front you. God isn’t asking you to deal with them. It’s none of your business.”
I preached that too myself for years. I’m still preaching it to myself. I’ve gotten a lot better at it after 25 plus years of practicing.
Yesterday, I drove a friend around Williamsburg, sharing my life there with her. Even introduced her to Cody. The hotel where I learned this lesson, it happened to be the first thing I told her about yesterday. I learned a lot working there! I’m still using it!
