More change of plans, more opportunity to practice praise, and choosing to look for the good in it all

Instead of heading to the airport to pick up Audrey's friend, we're going to head over to my parents' house in a bit to eat the dinner that Emma has prepared with her Gran. Steaks--her favorite--and some special dessert that's a secret.

(Emma, my sweet girl who cleaned the ENTIRE house this morning while I was on my Skype call with Christy. I tell you what, my girl loves to serve. What an example she is to me of serving with joy. How I see Christ being formed in her!)

Poor Audrey. Her friend isn't coming after all. Plans keep changing and she's had a hard time keeping up these past couple of days. It has been such a crazy roller coaster of emotions for her and she's exhausted. But she's expressing her feelings, asking questions (ones I'm having a hard time answering), and wrestling with it all. I'm so proud of her.

Isn't that the way some lessons are? Even though we think we've got it down, we get repeated opportunity to put them into practice. If repetition is one of the ways we learn, I suppose it makes sense.

I was chatting with a friend this afternoon and we were talking about actively looking for good in the midst of the hard things of life. Looking for good each and every day. God promises to work things for good for those who love him. Sometimes it's clearly obvious; other times we have to look for it.

Case in point: Audrey spent the afternoon with a friend (my friend's daughter) who was only available this afternoon because she got hurt on Halloween. Carving a pumpkin, she cut her hand badly (like hours in the ER and going to have surgery next week badly) and couldn't participate in the middle school service project today. So she came home early.

Did God allow her to get hurt just for Audrey? No, I don't think so. But somehow he knew that Audrey would need a friend this afternoon, knew that this friend would need a friend when all of her school friends were off doing a project together for school that she couldn't do, and matched the two of them together for each of their goods. 

Throw in wandering the mall and getting a cute haircut and window shopping together for the afternoon and there you have it--good. Yes, heartache and disappointment and questions are still there. We don't have to deny them to see the good. But in the midst of feeling sad and blue and hurt, we also get to be grateful for the good God works out.

Comments

[katie]

i love this post. i think about stuff like this all the time. thanks for putting words to my thoughts (as you've done many times before...).

[Krysten]

God is showing this to me over and over. I was in a serious car accident a year ago. God has put people and opportunities in my path throgh this journey. Prehaps the best thing has been how it strenghted my marriage.
P.S. I found your blog through Marla. I'm glad you homeschool. I'm strongly considering it for my eventual children. I work at a school and am often disturbed by what I see and hear.

[Kim Feth]

Still lifting up prayers. Hopefully, she journals and can look back one day and see God's hand all over the plans - the little and the big - the easy and the hard.
Peace,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC