Monday, February 27, 2012

keeping a quiet heart

Does anyone else think February has 
come and gone in the blink of an eye? 
I can't believe it, just days left. 
Jonny and I have both been extremely busy it seems.
There is something every night of the week for me.
Except on the weekends, which I cherish. 
And even those seem to go by so quickly...
kinda like February.
Sunday morning I woke up very sad thinking it was Monday already.
I think I cried. Maybe it was more like a whimper.
Don't get me wrong, I like weekdays. 
Weekends are just better, surely we all agree on this?

Anyways, time flies, yadda, yadda, yadda.
In less than 3 months 
Jonny and I will have been married for a year. 

(Sidenote.)
That is really weird to think about. A year of marriage! 
Yesterday, I found myself looking at him thinking,
"How did this happen?" (In a good way!)
Seriously though, God is gracious, 
and sovereign, and loving 
and knew that Jonny was the right one for me. 
His perfect provision for me.
That is the only explanation there is for bringing 
a guy from Bangor, N. Ireland 
and a gal from Pulaskifield, Missouri together.
And now here we are, doing life together
in Louisville, Kentucky.

(and now back to my point.)
In the midst of our busy schedules, 
Jonny can always brighten up my day 
Today it was with a fancy-schmancy iced coffee drink.

But even more than my loving husband, 
I am lifted up when I remember that this is what God has alloted me as my portion. 
This busy schedule, these dirty dishes, and this 
mountain-pile of laundry.
Unfortunately, I'm not always quick to remind myself
of this biblical truth. 
My circumstance is God's means of shaping me, sanctifying me, fashioning me more and more to his likeness everyday.
Romans 8:29 says that Christians are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. Makes sense, right? Christians.
This is done in the nitty-gritty of our daily lives.
[Yep, the dishes, the laundry, the meetings, the recipe flops, the library overdue notices, the bills, the bank statements.]
Do we trust that God is doing a good work in us?
I'll be honest, I don't always see things this way.

A friend of mine loaned me Elisabeth Elliot's 
'Keep a Quiet Heart' devotional and it's been kicking my tail, helping me to reframe my thinking.
She writes, 
"A quiet heart is content with what God gives. It is enough. 
All is grace...
Our enemy delights in disquieting us.
Our Savior and Helper delights in quieting us. 
It depends on our willingness to see everything in God, receive all from his hand, accept with gratitude just the portion and the cup He offers. Shall I charge Him with a mistake in His measurements or with misjudging the sphere in which I can best learn to trust Him? 
Has he misplaced me? Is He ignorant of things or people which, in my view, hinder my doing His will?
God came down and lived in this same world as a man. He showed us how to live in this world, subject to its vicissitudes and necessities, that we might be changed-not into an angel or a storybook princess, not wafted into another world, but changed into saints in this world.
The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances."

Psalm 33:20-22 
Our Soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.





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