No excuses

It's been longer than I'd planned, but life gets in the way sometimes. Tonight is also later than I wanted to be awake--so I went to bed (last night at about midnight).

Today is a new day--one that God has given to me--so let's see what the day brings.

"Choose a life that gives you more time to do what you love, friends who share your interests, and peace of mind for your future." I saw this on one of the many blogs I try to read regularly (it was unattributed there, too), and I have to say, it sounds idyllic: a life where the present and the future are to my liking . . . but that's not what God has called us to, is it? We are called to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever." He has promised us that all we go through will be for our Good and His glory. So there are things in our lives that are not fun or even interesting, but they are necessary for our Good (our sanctification IS our Good).

Take last week, for example: I had the flu and missed three days of work, still had to plan my classes (and in much more detail than I would normally need, so that my sub could follow along and get my students what they needed), and then had to do all the normal grading and prepping to be ready for this week. If the "choose a life" were true, I could have spent last week healthy, with loads of energy, and even had time to make new cards and spend time with friends . . .

I don't pretend to understand why some things are allowed into my life (the random virus, the *difficult* student, etc.), but they are all there because God is using (or will use) them to grow me in grace and in my dependence on Him. Do I *like* all these things? Not really. Am I always happy and willing to endure them? Not exactly. Do I trust that God will use them for good? Absolutely. Even the horrific things and the wonderful things will be used for His glory and my Good.

Take my lupus, for example: I was diagnosed in 1990--the docs said my prognosis was seven to ten years. They were obviously a bit off on that one! But God has used the limitations it imposes on me to bring people into my life that have been huge blessings to me. Because I have rather limited amounts of energy, I have to ask for help in many things (not exactly in my normal personality: I like to help, not BE helped). Asking for help is hard, but letting someone else get the joy of being helpful--priceless. :) Having to budget my energy and my time (and be careful about germs and such) has made me be more open with friends and colleagues--and allowed them to be more open with me in return. So we all build community, and that's a huge step in the direction of Unity.

I definitely don't have it all figured out. I'm still growing and working toward maturity in Christ (and a lot of other things). I have joy in the journey, though, and that's a lot to be thankful for. :)