Be Still

My family has been in the process of moving from the apartment that we have lived in for the last 12 years, to a new apartment.  So far, this process has taken two and one half months.  We started packing in the middle of July.  We boxed up everything that we wouldn't be needing for the next month, but that we would eventually need.  We all cleaned as we packed, patching nail holes and washing everything from walls to knick-knacks.

Another part of this job was to throw out anything that we couldn't use, because this new apartment is about half the size of our old place, and we just wouldn't have room for everything.  I had to do a lot of serous thinking and planning and when all of that failed, I guessed what we would need in each new room.  I painted the furniture from each room in a different color.  In my room, I decided that we would need two night stands, two dressers, and some shelves.  I painted those things black with gray drawers and then I splashed a little pink, green and yellow across the gray for a bit of bright color.  In the kitchen I decided on light green for a closet and a little table and I added dark green ivy.  And for the living room I picked a bright blue, for a basket that would double as a seat and a big book shelf.  I threw away so much junk that we had accumulated, furniture, books and clothes and so much more.

When we finally got into our new apartment, I started unpacking and found that all of that planning and guessing was not as much of a help as I thought it would be.  We ended up throwing away a lot of stuff that I was sure we would need and kept things that I thought might end up in the dumpster.  How could I have known.  There I was playing fortune teller, and getting it all wrong.

The second night in our new place, I put our son Elijah in charge and we all listened as he told us where to put each thing and what would end up in the trash.

Elijah did a good job, but what the heck was I doing?  Why didn't I just ask God?  Why didn't I stop and listen, I would have been better off.  I was getting very sick of this whole process.  And I can't tell you when things were this bad.  Not only should I have prayed for God's guidance, I should have been still to here God's voice, I could have saved a lot of time and trouble.  I thought I had learned this lesson already, but there I was in the middle of a mess, and trying to solve these problems myself.

Not only did I mess up when it came to what was staying and what was going, I was messing up other things.  An example; we needed internet, cable TV and a working phone.  I called the cable company and I got an appointment for service.  They said that I needed a phone number, that they could get a hold of me when they arrive, I didn't have one (That was what I was trying to get)  So they said that they couldn't come out.  I gave them my moms number, they didn't show up.  I borrowed a phone and I made three more appointments, all failed, they never showed up.

Another example; My son Michael needed to start school, I had filled out all the paper work for him to attend a school program called access.  Everything was fine before the move, but after the move, I could not get a hold of anyone.  There was an answering machine each time I would call and I didn't have a phone for them to call me back!  I left many messages, but they did no good.

After struggling for two and a half months with these problems, I decided that I needed a refresher course.  I looked up Psalm 46, it starts out, "God is our refuge and strength an ever present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear though the earth give way."

Now this scripture talks about some heavy duty problems, like mountains falling into the sea, and nations being in an uproar.  God can certainly take care of my puny problems, if He can end wars and lift mountains.

Psalm 46:10 goes on to say, "Be still and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:11 ends with, "The Lord almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress."

What peace there is in that powerful scripture!  And all I have to do is ask, be still and listen.  Then the biggest thing is to let go of these problems and let God do His work.  Seems so easy, and it could be, but it does take practice.

We have been in our new place for a while now and we are still struggling, the difference being, I don't have to worry about it anymore, I put it in God's hands!