Chaos Reigns

By Charlotte Riegel –

There is a new hole in a wall opposite my kitchen. The spare bedroom furniture occupies the living room amidst the normal living room furniture, making that room unusable for its intended purpose. Most of one wall is gone in the spare bedroom. Plastic sheeting hangs at various doorways in an attempt to contain dust. It also serves to slow normal mobility in my small house. We are now into month 15 of house renovations, first in a house being sold and now in the older house we bought. Ugh.

My stress levels often run high while hammers bang and dust seems to collect everywhere. I know ‘this too shall pass’ but sometimes find it difficult to keep my focus on the positives that await at the end of these renovation projects. I’m grateful for summer weather so I can spend significant time outside, away from the interior chaos.

It occurred to me I sometimes avoid upgrading my spiritual life because it too creates upheaval and chaos. I’d rather stay comfortably uncomfortable in a state of deteriorating walls of prayer and neglected time studying God’s Word. Yes, I know I should be more diligent in my spiritual maintenance and life improvement. I often turn a blind eye, thereby allowing the debris of life to cause more chaos and upheaval long term than if I’d taken the time and effort to be proactive and preventative.

Renovations on our houses or in our personal lives are all too easy to ignore, but I am reminded that personal life renovations are very worth the end result. Paying more attention to my food intake and being more diligent about getting onto an activity routine may help get me off the high blood pressure medications. It will mean some renovating of my schedule and changing old habits for a while, but I know the end result will be worth it. “Focus. Focus on the end result,” I tell myself over and over when I just don’t feel like complying with the messy changes any more.

And now, off to find my neglected prayer journal.

“Speak, LORD. I am your servant, and I am listening” (1 Samuel 3:9 NIV).

“The first step in renovation is to identify and correct conditions that caused the problem.” Tom Samples

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

By Charlotte Riegel –

“It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring…”

I was reminded of this cute little ditty we often sang as children, but the old man (my husband) was not snoring, and it was not raining/pouring moisture from the sky. His message box was being flooded with the financial woes from our adult children and he needed my oar to help navigate the rising waters.

It was already late in the day when we began rowing together and decided the best option was to rest on the information before making any responses other than acknowledging that their cries for help were being heard. Fortunately neither of the two families were asking for a handout, though they have received some in the past. Ah, a sign of maturing.

One expressed gratitude for the constant encouragement received and simply indicated where things were, which was dismal indeed. The other son assured us he was not asking for a bailout, but rather for some wisdom and insight, knowing we had splashed in these same waters while he was growing up.

He saw us go under from many career disappointments and a business failure, then resurface in a new location. As a child, he could not have known the significant impact all of this had on our lives. Our mentally, emotionally, and financially battered and bruised bodies were often well covered in bandages while we healed. The true punctures were not visible to others. He may not remember the many times our five children begged us to eat at McDonald’s but received, “I can feed all seven of us at home for the amount of money it would cost to feed one at McD’s,” as my response.

We swam around in grey waters for several years until we found new flippers and began to swim with increasing strength until we reached calmer, clearer waters of life. Perhaps it is time to dig out my journals and remind not only myself about the journey, but also to share it in detail with my children so they can stand on the principles we used for survival.

My first words of encouragement to them comes from Romans 12:12 (NIV):
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Deuteronomy 11:1-21 has much to say about our children not being aware of what God has taught us and how we must be diligent in teaching them.

Now to hunt for my journals for even I have forgotten all that God has done for me during our times of trial.

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19 NIV).

Grouch

By Charlotte Riegel –

I had it coming to me. It was not a wise choice to stay up so late reading. Weariness knocked on my door at the usual go-to-bed time but I refused it entrance and kept pushing myself past tired, somewhat like athletes do when they push themselves ‘to the wall’ and then break through it.

It started innocently enough. I thought reading before turning off the light would help me fall asleep faster. It had the opposite effect this time because I was already past the ‘wall’, on the other side of sleep, happily heading into an all-nighter though at the time I did not realize this fact.

At 2:30 a.m., knowing I needed some sleep, I put away the book I was reading, turned off the light, and began tossing and turning. My mind continued to race through what I had just read in an attempt to process and mentally file all the information. Brace yourself, it was not a romance thriller, or an intense Bible Study book. No, it was the 2012 – 2013 Academic Calendar for Rosebud School of the Arts.

I delighted to see the various course options available, pondering if I should take any. The instructor profiles fascinated. And then, the ‘Who’s Who’ section introduced me to various people, beyond staff, that made this organization function.

What? My name is among the ‘who’s who’ of RSA? Well, yes, I had volunteered to become the ‘volunteer coordinator’ for the Art Gallery but never dreamed my name would be included in their publicity!

And the wheels turned, both in my mind and in the clock. Morning came and although I did not feel particularly tired I felt frustrated and grouchy because I knew I should have slept and hadn’t.

As I pulled back the curtains, bright sunshine greeted me. A story I read recently flashed to mind, about personalized license plate messages. Two cars randomly stopped side by side at a red light. One said, ‘SUNZOUT’. The other, ‘GROUCH’.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for a sunny day. I will work at not being grouchy.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

Rabbit on a Swim Team

By Charlotte Riegel –

Years ago I read a story about forest animals deciding to begin a school for animals to attend. It was determined that all the animals would take all the courses. It reminded me of our public schools.

In this story the rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming. The eagle was a problem child and severely disciplined for being a nonconformist when insisting on getting to the top of the tree his way, flying instead of climbing. The duck was excellent in swimming and very poor in running. The squirrel encountered constant frustration in flying because he was forced to start from the ground up instead of from the tree top down.

I did not excel in foreign language studies, saw little use for studying history, and enjoyed English studies as long as I was allowed to do it ‘my way’, i.e. read and write stories, but became frustrated and discouraged when I was forced to interpret poetry according to the instructor’s protocol.

As my children wound their way through the school system it became obvious that each had their own ‘bent’ and excelled when taught and guided in their areas of natural proficiency. One of my boys was, and still is, a gifted musician, however most of his schooling offered little instruction in music. He took private lessons but was unable to spend much time practicing because his regular schooling and homework took up so much of his time. I feared he would quite high school before graduating because of his boredom and frustrations. Thankfully he didn’t.

Now as I watch grandchildren fighting their way through that same system it is apparent we are still a long way from understanding the uniqueness with which we are all created. David reminds us in Psalm 139:13 how God created each of us from the inside out before we ever took our first breath of oxygen.

In Ephesians 2:10 Paul encourages us to recognize that we are God’s handiwork. Pastor Tony Evans encourages us to recognize that we are ‘custom-made’, not manufactured on an assembly line.

Prayer: “God, help me to recognize the uniqueness of others and grant me the grace to avoid attempting to make them fill a mold they were never created to fit.”

Quote: “When you or someone you know doesn’t fit society’s mold, it’s okay to make a new one” (Fairchild, Lori. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hooked on Hockey/What Hockey Taught Us).

Poor Me

By Charlotte Riegel –

I love to read, for myself, not just to engage a two year old. I love to relax with my crafts, alone, but am often interrupted by a youngster pleading for my help with a puzzle. By the time the children are settled for the night and the house is tidied for the morrow I’m too tired to read for personal pleasure or to do much of anything but go to bed. I know ‘this too shall pass’…something I have drummed into my children as they whine or complain about challenges facing them. Ah yes, now I must prove to myself and others these words apply to me as well as to those I challenge to buck up, dig in, and persevere all the while looking for anything that resembles the positive.

I had eagerly offered to help a family wrestling with health issues when anticipating a few weeks away from my regular routines. Then complications set in. Weeks beyond what had been originally considered for recovery time I slog on, remain positive and encouraging in the presence of others, yet fight to overcome feelings of ‘poor me’. I long for some ‘me’ time.

My thoughts often drift to thinking of Jesus coming to earth. He left so much behind, yet we are told he took no thought of Himself. He willingly ministered to others and taught about the Kingdom of God even when fatigued. Sometimes He snuck away to rest and to spend time with His Father and even then the crowds and His followers often found Him. When they did, He put aside His needs and desires, lifted up the fallen, healed the sick, and taught those who clung on His every word. I wonder if He got homesick for heaven and His Father? Did He ever long for more ‘me’ time away from the crowds? Did He ever feel exasperated by the disciples’ lack of understanding even after He lived what He taught and explained the Kingdom over and over and over? Yet He did not grumble or complain.

Prayer: Father God, I long to please You in all that I do. Forgive me for being selfish when others need my help. I desire to shine Your light of grace and mercy to the world I live in. Thank you for all the examples Jesus gave while living among us.

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:14-16 NIV).

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