Last Monday was my birthday and I have been meaning to write up a recap of the week. I do not know what it is about birthdays. Mine was just one rotten thing after another with a few sprinkles of pleasantness throughout. Because much of the pleasure in life depends upon what parts we choose to emphasize over others and how we look at things in general, I have decided against writing about the rottenness of the week in favor of positivity. I want to be happy, not miserable. Therefore, I choose to practice happiness (vs. chase after it -- an elusive endeavor which generally yields dissatisfaction).
I think the very best part of my whole week was Saturday afternoon, although I will say that my children's loving birthday gifts to me took a very close second. (My friend's invitation to the Bucks-Knicks game came in third place but we did not actually go.) Lowest points of the week, in case you are wondering, were:
1. There was gunfire at my friend's grandson's school (same friend as invited me to the basketball game),
2. A married 34 year-old man asked my 17 year-old daughter for her cell number "so they can talk" at the same time as he asked if I screen her calls (It turns out he is aware of Anne's "dead-beat-dad," counsels teens through his church, and believes all parents should screen their children's calls), and
3. My neighbor up at the project house reiterated his view that my husband's adultery and un-Biblical divorce are "not so bad" because other people "have it worse." He also told me again how pretty I am and how "interested" he is in "dating" me. (Umm... No.)
So back to the positive. It was Saturday afternoon and before I left my project house's driveway I actually remembered to pull out Garmin and plug in the location of the restaurant where I planned to eat lunch on my trip home. Usually, I forget to pull out Garmin until I am already on the road, so I have never before taken its "most direct" route. As it turns out, the most direct route -- at least, according to my un-updated Garmin, is different from the way I normally go.
Trying out the new directions, I wound up driving several miles on residential streets and a County road to get to the same main drag I usually take. What a lovely, new route for me to drive! The day was warm and sunny, and my drive bordered the tranquil waters of Green Bay for several miles. As I drove, I could see through people's back yards or across unimproved land to the water and a feeling of joy took hold of my heart. I reflected on how very good God is to His children who love, trust and wait on Him. A fragment of Isaiah 30:18 came to mind: Blessed are all who wait on the Lord.
Then I thought of my prodigal husband and a wave of pity washed through me (albeit briefly) that he is so far separated from Grace right now. How unhappy he must be to be so far removed from the source of all joy. I mused that I could not imagine intentionally choosing to divide myself from JOY (How lost my prodigal must feel!) in order to make myself "happy." (Talk about a contradiction in terms!) And to need to swallow my pride to return to a state of Grace that I CHOSE to leave would be very difficult indeed. What a hard road to journey. I feel for prodigals. Truly, God must have something very special planned for those who return home via the tough road.
At that point, another wave of emotion washed through me: Gratitude. A smile spread across my face as realization hit me. I have had a lot of very hard circumstances in my life that have been difficult to overcome, but I have never needed to achieve anything outside of Grace. The smile stayed on my lips for the rest of my hours-long drive back to my parents' house. That realization, beside the miraculously living metaphor of calm water on a warm and sunny drive home, was the absolute highest point of my birth-week.
I think the very best part of my whole week was Saturday afternoon, although I will say that my children's loving birthday gifts to me took a very close second. (My friend's invitation to the Bucks-Knicks game came in third place but we did not actually go.) Lowest points of the week, in case you are wondering, were:
1. There was gunfire at my friend's grandson's school (same friend as invited me to the basketball game),
2. A married 34 year-old man asked my 17 year-old daughter for her cell number "so they can talk" at the same time as he asked if I screen her calls (It turns out he is aware of Anne's "dead-beat-dad," counsels teens through his church, and believes all parents should screen their children's calls), and
3. My neighbor up at the project house reiterated his view that my husband's adultery and un-Biblical divorce are "not so bad" because other people "have it worse." He also told me again how pretty I am and how "interested" he is in "dating" me. (Umm... No.)
So back to the positive. It was Saturday afternoon and before I left my project house's driveway I actually remembered to pull out Garmin and plug in the location of the restaurant where I planned to eat lunch on my trip home. Usually, I forget to pull out Garmin until I am already on the road, so I have never before taken its "most direct" route. As it turns out, the most direct route -- at least, according to my un-updated Garmin, is different from the way I normally go.
Trying out the new directions, I wound up driving several miles on residential streets and a County road to get to the same main drag I usually take. What a lovely, new route for me to drive! The day was warm and sunny, and my drive bordered the tranquil waters of Green Bay for several miles. As I drove, I could see through people's back yards or across unimproved land to the water and a feeling of joy took hold of my heart. I reflected on how very good God is to His children who love, trust and wait on Him. A fragment of Isaiah 30:18 came to mind: Blessed are all who wait on the Lord.
Then I thought of my prodigal husband and a wave of pity washed through me (albeit briefly) that he is so far separated from Grace right now. How unhappy he must be to be so far removed from the source of all joy. I mused that I could not imagine intentionally choosing to divide myself from JOY (How lost my prodigal must feel!) in order to make myself "happy." (Talk about a contradiction in terms!) And to need to swallow my pride to return to a state of Grace that I CHOSE to leave would be very difficult indeed. What a hard road to journey. I feel for prodigals. Truly, God must have something very special planned for those who return home via the tough road.
At that point, another wave of emotion washed through me: Gratitude. A smile spread across my face as realization hit me. I have had a lot of very hard circumstances in my life that have been difficult to overcome, but I have never needed to achieve anything outside of Grace. The smile stayed on my lips for the rest of my hours-long drive back to my parents' house. That realization, beside the miraculously living metaphor of calm water on a warm and sunny drive home, was the absolute highest point of my birth-week.
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