"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain."
To begin with, I must tell you - joy & thankfulness usually come pretty easily for me. Waiting patiently...not so much.
I have had several times this week that I have seen first hand - all three of these in my life.
I am thankful for a daughter who went with me to Chemo yesterday and waited patiently while they filled her mother with chemo drugs and Benadryl, for getting me my request for lunch, for driving me home & letting me, with the little strength I had left - go immediately to the bedroom to sleep off the effects of the Benadryl and while I was sleeping - washed my dishes and cleaned my kitchen. And the joy I felt when I finally woke up & walked into a kitchen that had been cleaned, while I slept.
I am thankful for a Doctor, that in his wisdom, had me wait (wait patiently?) for an extra week to do my next round of Chemo - sure that my white count would go up & the joy I felt when miraculously, it did and I was able to take my treatment yesterday.
I am thankful and hopeful that I am half way through with treatment. He thinks that 4 more will be enough. So I wait patiently to find out if that is true and will be full of joy, if it is.
I am thankful for mechanics who know what they are doing. Steve's truck was in the shop all last week, while we waited patiently for them to fix it and find out the cost of the repairs. Thankful that we have 2 vehicles & that he could drive mine to work. And joyful when we found out that instead of $1000.00 + like we thought it would cost (mechanic's first estimate) - it was only $500.00. A big chunk of medical bills can be paid with an extra $500.00.
On a Biblical note: On the morning that Steve called to tell me that the bill on the truck would be $1000.00 +, in my quiet time a little later that morning - this was one of the scriptures for the day ( Jesus Calling - Aug 5th)
"Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act." Psalm 37:7
I thought - what would I be waiting for? What plan could God have for this day - for this problem?? Then a few hours later, Steve called back & said they found out the problem wasn't what they first thought and the bill would be around $500.00 instead of $1000.00. Wait Patiently? Hummmm... There was joy in that moment...
I'm thankful for the rain this week - even though our electricity went off twice for 2 1/2 hours each time. Sitting in the dark, in the silence of no fans, no a/c, no electrical appliances turning on & off, no TV or radio, you wait patiently, with just your thoughts. And then the joy when things come back on & you have your "old life" back again.
Several weeks ago, a friend gave me a book called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I've really just started reading it, but in it, the author talks about joy & thankfulness and how our joy & thankfulness in life are tied into our salvation.
Here are the lines that struck me: "Our salvation in Christ is real, yet the completeness of that salvation is not fully realized in a life, until the life realizes the need to give thanks. In everything? I would never experience the fullness of my salvation until I experience the fullness of my thanks every day, and thankfulness is elemental to living the saved life."
I am learning that our joy is not in getting all the things done on our "bucket list" before we are gone, but in every day things that God gives us. The joy of a sunny day or a rainy day, the joy of a clean kitchen, cleaned with love, the joy of being able to take a treatment that will make me whole again, the joy of having a mechanic you trust.
And with that joy comes thankfulness for each new day, for good things & bad, for learning experiences, for being able to live a fuller life of thankfulness and joy and learning to wait patiently for all these things to happen in God's time, in His plan.
Waiting patiently is not my best quality, not my strong suit, but I am learning, if I just let go, God will take care of it all, of everything I am concerned with, with all my trials, all my problems.
Joy & Thankfulness ... check
Waiting Patiently ... lesson (almost) learned.
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