Stalling and Other Things

God taught me a funny lesson in faithfulness this week. This whole thing started Thursday before last when I started a new book about putting God in the center of your home and cleaning. I was super excited to start this book! I have been making some strides in the housekeeping department (if I don't say so myself ;-) and I knew that the only way I was going to get completely to where I wanted to be was by asking God to be the main part of this endeavor, front and center. So I came across this book and dove in. I was reading and doing all the things it asked me to until I got to the part about the prayer walking. It asked you to prayer walk around your house and pray over each room, thank the Lord for who He is and the blessings He has given you, and ask for His guidance in this room for cleaning and organizing. I was super stoked because I had been wanting to do this anyway! But it recommended that I wait until it was quiet, until a time I would not be interrupted. So, I decided to wait until after the kids went to sleep...and then I was tired. So I was ready to do it the next night...and then I was busy....and then I was watching Arrested Development...and then I was blogging. Basically, I stalled and was not doing something that was recommended to me, and something I felt in my heart God was calling me to do. So fast forward to this Thursday at Moms of the Movement where the lovely Katie McGinty spoke about God breathed scripture and what it is useful for. One of her points was that you shouldn't be waiting to turn to the Lord after trying everything on your own first, and failing. It should be your first thought, an immediate response to turn to the Lord and His word. So, even that powerful word was not enough to remind me to do the prayer walk. So God gave me another reminder. He used something that I devoted way too much of my attention to. That morning I had put my phone down and could not for the life of me remember the last place I used it, what time I used it, or where it might be. So I searched all day for my phone, which is more of my lifeline than it should be. I repeatedly asked Tucker where he put it (you should know that he has hidden many phones in his time. Including, but not limited to in the trash, in the freezer, in the refrigerator, in his room, and many, many more!). He swore up and down he did not hide it. When Jimmy got home, he looked for it for 2 hours. We turned off every light in the house and were silent to try to hear the phone vibrate or see it light up. Nothing worked. We headed off to Life Group and had a fabulous time as always, and then started the search again. Cars, trash, drawers, you name it, we searched it. And then I came across my God-in-your-house-cleaning book. The moment I saw it I realized what God wanted me to do. He wanted me to be faithful to Him. To depend on Him for knowledge. To care more about searching for Him than about searching for the phone. I stopped Jimmy and we walked through our home together, praying for every room, thanking God for giving us a home we enjoy being in, for providing for us. Every little perk about the home was highlighted with a spotlight from the Lord. This totally changed the way I looked at our home. It was a wonderful experience! When we were finished, I half expected to turn around and find my phone on the couch. But I didn't. I stayed up studying the book and reading scripture. I went to sleep and woke up in the morning with a desire to search every box in the playroom. So I did. And guess what? Buried in the play clothes, all the way at the bottom was my phone. Face down and muffled between the carpet and a policeman's outfit. I don't know how it got there. I could have thrown it in while picking up. Or a certain 2 foot tall little bandit could have tossed it in. Either way, I know why the Lord wanted this to happen. The Lord wanted my attention, and He got it. My faithfulness is in the Lord, not a phone, not my mind, not anything else.
My inspiration for today is 2 Corinthians 5:7: "We live by faith, not by sight." I can't always see what's going on, see what I am looking for, or see all the facts (whether it be something physical or Spiritual). But I have faith that the Lord will show me whatever it is I need to know/find/believe, it's just a matter of me obeying and following that leading of the Spirit. I urge you to learn from my lesson and turn to Him the first time, not after you try to do everything on your own and it doesn't work. Have a blessed day :-)