The Bigger Picture

So, we have been visiting churches.  A total of two or three so far since moving here and I’m already feeling daunted.  So many choices, flavors and kinds are available.  Expectations are certainly overrated, too.  People are just people.  And so I are, too.  The search continues.  Either way, the journey with God never ends.  

And we’ve been at home a lot due to the second car being on its last leg.  My husband spent every spare moment to try to fix it and now it’s been figured out that it can’t be salvaged.  Oh, well.  Eight people, several directions, one car...no problem.  We’ll figure it out.  We can’t really afford a car payment right now and it will be okay, right?  And we live so far out and away from everything, everyone and the job site.  Being home constantly has its draw backs and I am still trying to find the blessings, they are here somewhere most definitely.  There are many I am sure but being caged up for weeks and days makes us all crazy, especially me and the teenagers.  I need people.  I need to be out doing, being, living somewhere else some of the time.  Or?  I’ll actually get something done around here for once and have dinner on the table proper some nights and not be running like a hamster.  That about sums it up, well, maybe if your thinking is short sighted or one sided, which mine can be too much of the time.  I’m good at creating black and white scenarios where grey prevails.  I gotta’ stop that.  

Well, we were sitting here conflicted Sunday morning.  Do we try and visit another church?  Do we go and have a family fun day, the last day before we are without a car for a week?  Indecision seems like such a problem, feeling listless and disappointed with the choices we make after they are made.  We finally decided to head out to the little church that some relatives attend and then visit my husband’s mother nearby.  At church we saw some family and prayed together for another family member who is dealing with cancer...again.  It was worth making it to church to corporately pray together for others, the sharing of burdens, hopefully lightening the load for others.  It was helpful and refreshing and needful.  

We headed over to Mimi’s house and found her doing not so well with horrible pack pain.  She was in bed resting and having a hard time fulfilling her basic needs.  It felt great to step in and help her.  So much of our lives are spent trying to meet our own family’s needs and desires and that is just life, but it does make you feel good when you can help others, too.  The miniature horse got out of the fence and needed to be corralled, the fence needed mending, the flowers needed to be watered and all the animals fed, the pool needed some help, the house needed a little tlc and we were there.  Who knew?  She doesn’t like for anyone to know that she’s feeling unwell.  We had no idea.  We asked if we could come over and she said come on.  Going there began to open our eyes to the needs of others and what to do with our day suddenly became clear for all of us.  And this is church, too, fulfilling the needs of others.  Sometimes we are so busy that we miss this point, busy being bored, busy thinking about self or our own family much of the time, busy trying to find a place, a church that will make us happy that we don’t see the big picture of serving and helping others.  We live this way.  Not always but much of the time.  It’d do us well to reroute.   

  

There will always be time to feel disgruntled about our situations and equally as much time to be available to take focus off self because there will always be someone needing help, a heavy burden to lift and making an offering of self to others on any level, financial, emotional, spiritual.  The moment we feel empty or discontent is probably the best time to step in and help someone else.  I’m learning, I’m learning.  

And in this process of trying to see more than self, we stumbled on a car that we asked to buy from a family member, a pay as we can, take the car home now experience.  An answer to prayer on this journey we travel.  Indecision leads to decisions that leads to a need met.  Coincidence?  Maybe not.