March 21, 2007
Path of Disappointment
Grandma said, “Count your blessings to sweeten your dreams”. When I was a little girl that would make me giggle. I knew what counting was and blessings were good things like the present you wanted for your birthday. Sweeten translated as sugar to me and dreams happen when you sleep. It sounded pretty silly … was I suppose to put sugar on my pillow? Giggle, giggle, giggle! My Grandma went home to be with the Lord when I was in high school. Both my sister Jeane and I to this day draw strength from the godly wisdom she bestowed upon us so many years ago. When I was a young woman, a teenager, life was such a struggle that I had difficulty identifying blessings in my life. My parents loved me for goodness sake; I was just overwhelmed by their personal problems and their lack of ability to handle them in a Christ like manner. My Grandmother’s saying that had delighted me as a child puzzled me as a girl. My dream was to escape to safety. My life inexperience defined safety as being loved by a husband who would never hurt me, and have children that I could love and protect always. I know …. it’s enough to gag a rhinoceros but when we’re young it is all about our own happiness. I know for others they dream of great achievement so one day they will be noticed by a busy world. June Carter Cash often said, “I’m just trying to matter”. How apropos her quote is to youthful dreaming. It wasn’t until I had been on the path of disappointment (the stops in life that turn you towards Jesus) that I fully realized the meaning of my Grandmother’s saying.
Remember in Acts 16:6 when Paul was on a mission for the Lord and tried to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let him? God turned Paul in the direction He wanted Paul to go. God does that for us too. We’re just doing our best, trying to matter, moving forward with our plans not realizing that the disappointments along the way are God turning each one of us to keep us on track to His appointment. Sometimes the disappointments are irritating, causing bad words to form at the base of our brain. In that distraction we can fail to see the Lord. Other times disappointments hurt deeply, emotionally breaking our hearts. Hearts in pain can fail to see the Lord too. If tragedy befalls any of us it can be so overwhelming that in the burden of great sorrow we can fail to see the Lord. It is so important to realize we must let go of our irritations, grieve our heart breaks or tragedies but not focus on our pain or suffering for there is no healing there. With our eyes upon Jesus we can glean much from the stops in life. Gaining God’s prospective on our path of disappointment reveals a view of how His hand and His turns have put us in a place that fulfills His appointment for us. Rarely do our dreams turn out exactly as we dreamed them unless they were guided by the Lord in the first place.
When I write I’m guided by the Holy Spirit and life happening around me. Today was influenced by my perception of our oldest grandson’s dream. TC, as a quarterback, wanted to stand in the gap and finish out his Dad’s senior year at CU. His Dad died of cancer in his senior year. Many things had to come to pass through high school in order for TC to realize his dream. When they did not happen Grandma’s heart ached. What looked like disappointments were actually God turning TC the direction He planned all along. This week end, on a recruiting trip to LSU, TC knew he was where he belonged. Interesting that the Head Coach of the LSU Tigers is Les Miles. He played for Coach Wonderful at Michigan, came with him and coached with him at CU and recruited TC’s Dad, Sal Aunese to CU in the mid 80’s. When TC walked through our door Saturday night grandma’s heart was at peace. His countenance revealed his joy. “On a scale of 1 to 10”?, I asked. “That would be a 10 grandma,” came his reply. Color me happy. It’s like enjoying a glass full of delicious nectar. The glass may tip over a time or two but if you pick it up and hold it upside down just looking at the bottom – shoot – all the good stuff is going to fall out. Turn your glass over and see how God is loving you.
A Pearl to String: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11
Counting my blessings and sweetening my dreams, :D Thanks Gram,
Lyndi
Do... en the Tiger Happy Dance . Geaux TC
No comments:
Post a Comment