Yellow Car Boy and I have been battling some HVAC issues this summer. It's a really long story, but if you have spray foam insulation, keep an eye on the humidity in your house. If you have questions, PLEASE ask because I would adore helping to prevent anyone from being where we are.
And when I say where we are, currently we are without air conditioning, and y'all, it's hot. Actually, it's not that hot right now. I can sing my Creator's praises because just a second ago, I looked at my husband and said, "As crazy as this sounds, I'm actually kind of chilly." But tomorrow, at noon, this humble abode of ours might be feeling a little toasty. Yellow Car Boy and I were discussing the happenings of this summer, and, well, I got emotional. Financial stuff makes me right nervous. I feel it is so important to be good stewards of what God has given us, and this situation isn't cheap. We've had to adult a lot since this happened, and we clearly want to make the best decisions. We've called several people, had multiple opinions, had many strangers (who were precious) in our home, emailed, called, etc. Tonight, when our AC went out, my female brain went in high gear. I was reflecting on everything, and I was wallowing in self-pity while remembering that most of the world doesn't even have air conditioning, we could be homeless, we could have zero savings, I've been out of school and able to schedule, call, and such, so that's a lot more convenient, and the list goes on. I basically felt like the scene from Tangled where Rapunzel is deciding whether or not to return to the tower. (Actually, I've been in that state a lot with all of the HVAC decision-making going on.) Then the thought crossed my mind, 'I wonder what God is teaching us.' So, of course, I asked Yellow Car Boy. We started discussing various possibilities, and then God reminded me of something. Sometimes, being a Christian is uncomfortable. (There were lots of conversations between that lead to that, but that's where I'm starting with you guys.) Sometimes, being a Christian is uncomfortable. I think many people have the idea that being a child of God means our lives will be easy. And to an extent, this is true. Walking with God beside you sure makes the challenging parts of life much more pleasant, but it doesn't mean we won't face hardships. Yellow Car Boy and I have been talking about adoption, fostering, and/or having children in general. Some of the things that come along with that slightly terrify me. But, if God calls us to it, taking His call is imperative. That is a small example, but this is something I feel I see more and more. The idea of a "wealth and prosperity religion" is quite false. Is your life better with God? ABSOLUTELY. But He is NOT a genie in a bottle. He is NOT at your command. He is HOLY. He is OMNIPOTENT. He is OMNISCIENT. He is GOD. We will go through things in life that do not make sense to us. We will go through things that are hurtful. We will experience death, sickness, and pain. The earth God created was a perfect earth, but because of sin, blood had to be shed. Before Adam and Eve sinned, nothing had to die. Their sin even brought forth thorns (wooh I could tell you about a rose thorn that I thought for sure was going to rot my arm off- ok, maybe not rot, but it for real hurt and looked gross-, but maybe another day). It was a perfect world. But because of sin, death had to happen. People often ask why God allowed them to sin. God is a God of relationships. Imagine having a spouse, child, friend, whoever, and forcing them to love you. That wouldn't be love. That would be forced, undesired emotions. (Stick with me here, please.) And we might not be able to wrap our brains around it, and you know what - that's ok. If we understood EVERYTHING, we would be equal to God, and then He wouldn't be God. (I'm not saying we should be ignorant or uneducated. Read that for what I meant it to be. We do not know the future, but God does. He knows how the things we experience will affect others and ultimately His Kingdom.) Another beautiful thought to go along with this is that without Adam and Eve's sin, we would've never gotten to experience the grace of God, and His grace is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL thing. Ok, I got a little side tracked. Back to that whole "Christianity is sometimes uncomfortable" thought. Can we just take a minute and take a look at the life of Job? Job probably experienced more heartache than almost anyone else in history. His workers were killed. All of his herds died or were stolen. All of his children died. He became very sick and covered in sores. His wife and friends were no help. Job actually wished he'd never been born, but he never got angry at God. Instead, he continued to love and worship God! God allowed Satan to throw these troubles at Job because God knew that He could trust Job to remain faithful to Him. God explained to Job (and us) that man does not understand everything God does, but even so, we should trust Him. God blessed Job with more than he had before and he lived to be a righteous, old man. Look at Paul's life! Paul was persecuted. He was thrown in jail, stoned, beaten, shipwrecked multiple times, bitten by a snake, and had some persistent, proverbial or literal thorn in his flesh, Despite all this, Paul was one of the most effective missionaries in history. Just take a look at this link: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1-300/whatever-happened-to-the-twelve-apostles-11629558.html 2 Timothy 3:12 - Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. John 15:18 - If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you. Matthew 5:44 - But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; We can expect people to reject the Gospel we share. We can expect to face trials and tribulations. We can also expect to experience the peace of God that passes all understanding. We can expect to have brothers and sisters in Him to lift us up. His precious and Holy Word is an amazing gift He has given us for difficult times like a broken HVAC unit, the loss of a loved one, and everything between. I'm not saying that in difficult times it's easy to remain faithful to God. I'm not even saying it's always easy to not question Him. BUT God is still God. And even when we are unfaithful to Him, He remains faithful to us. He wills that none perish, but that we all have a personal relationship with Him and spend eternity in Heaven with Him. That's our choice. Sometimes, our choices lead us to being uncomfortable. Sometimes, the choices of others lead us to being uncomfortable. Sometimes, being uncomfortable molds us. Sometimes, being uncomfortable.and persevering leads someone to the saving grace of Jesus. Christianity might not always be comfortable. You might lose friends, positions, jobs, and favor. You might not live out the dreams you set for yourself, but the thing is, our eternity lies in a thrice-Holy God. And while moments on this earth might be uncomfortable, what a day it will be when our Jesus we shall see and look upon His face, and He'll take us by the hand and lead us to the Promised Land- WHAT A DAY that will be! (Disclaimer: if people are unkind to you as a result of you being ugly to them, that doesn't mean they're persecuting you. You can't be ugly to someone in the Name of Jesus. Accountability and church discipline are real, Biblical things, but there is also a Biblical way to go about them, and they involve love. God chastises us in love. Anyway, don't be hateful and claim it in the Name of Jesus then get upset if someone is unkind. This disclaimer probably doesn't cover all scenarios. There are times we should firmly stand for God and be passionate, but that doesn't mean it's ok to be mean. If that makes sense? Anyway, God tells us to love our enemies. That's HARD, because we're not God. But with His Som as our Savior, He will trump our flesh.)
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