God is Good


Well, life is full of ups and downs. I've been focusing a lot on James 1 lately which talks about trials. A specific part has just been jumping off the page, verses 16 and 17, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

I think that the "do not be deceived" is in there because we can so easily doubt the goodness of God when our circumstances are so difficult. But, for your entertainment, I'm going to share more of the trivial, daily things that had me saying to myself, "do not be deceived...every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." 

A couple weeks ago we moved. Moving can be stressful in and of itself but tack on the emotional trauma that I wasn't expecting, and I was pretty much a mess. I didn't expect (maybe because most of my things have been in storage for a year) to find so many painful memories in box after box. At one time these were items that brought a smile and now bring a tear. Whether a coffee mug, picture, or book, I seemed to have pain heaped on top of pain.

Then, with the move, we have about a 20 minute drive to school/work instead of a 5 minute drive. This has been fine most of the time, but it has turned into utter chaos when something is forgotten. I'm sure we're not alone in having to plan for bringing everything needed for after school sports and events that keep us away from home from 6:30 am to 9 pm fairly often. So, on one recent morning my son made a trip to school, back home, and back to school while my mom made a trip (to help us out) to our house, the school, and back to our house all before school even began. And before this was all going on, I had asked the question, "Do you have everything you need for volleyball, cross country, school, etc.?" Then, to have my daughter with her head down meander to my office at 9 am that same day to inform me that she forgot her volleyball shorts - sigh. Tell me I'm not alone in having days like this.

Or, why were my spoons missing? With the move, I had my forks and knifes, but I couldn't find my spoons. This really was not that big of a deal, but I made into one. "Where are my spoons?"

So last Friday, I was at my end. Still feeling overwhelmed with the move. Still having so much yet to unpack. Feeling overwhelmed at work. Thinking I needed to keep it together, but I wasn't doing it. So, I started to cry, right there at my desk. 

My amazing friends must have heard and seen my pathetic state. They came in full force to help. I had already had an amazing crew help on moving day when the furniture and majority of my things were moved. I had my amazing small group gals come last Wednesday night to help with things. And, I'd had a friend help before the move with cleaning the house. My sister and her husband had helped too. Church friends, work friends, family - good grief I am blessed!

Two friends from work came last Friday evening to help with unpacking, made a list of repairs and odd jobs that needed completed, and even brought us food. Then, more work friends came the next day and just took over while the kids and I went to visit my oldest at college. The school maintenance man even came and started tackling the jobs around the house. Earlier, a friend had fixed a shower issue I had. Blessed. Thankful. Overwhelmed with gratitude yet grief too. 

We had a great weekend! I came home to an amazingly put together house! There's still more to do, but my gas stove was fixed. A torn screen in the porch was replaced. A new ceiling fan that had been gifted to me was installed. And the list goes on and on.

Before I left to go out of town, my basement flooded. This continued, and I had to call for the experts to come in upon returning in town. In trying to fix the problem (thankfully the couch and other items had been moved) brown sludgy stuff started to fill the basement floor. Wondering if I should even ask, "What is that stuff?"

"Poop." That was the one word answer I got. Instead of heading back to work the next day, I purchased 4 containers of bleach along with other cleaning supplies and cleaned poop for hours. Well, my basement floor is super duper clean now. 

Despite all of this and more, I am here to testify that God is good. This is His nature. Sometimes I think to myself, God is good just not good to me. But, that is a lie. He is good to me. He showed His goodness to me and you on the cross. He shows His goodness through others. So, do not be deceived...whether you are literally or figuratively dealing with a pile of poop, God wants you to trust Him and know that He is good.

Here are a few pictures of my new house... I truly am thankful!









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