Sunday, December 23, 2007
Out of Control
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As I sit down to write this, I am in the process of recovering from surgery. The surgery was not that big of a deal but I must admit the recovery process has been a bit of a hassle. What is the problem you might ask? The problem I am having is not being in control. Ever since Shelly drove me home I have not been able to do much on my own. I have to rely on her to bring me something to eat, to help me get out of bed, to make sure I am alright. Now I face another five weeks of not being able to pick anything up that weighs over 15 pounds. IF you haven’t noticed, anything that moves at my house is over 15 pounds!!!!! I could not drive for a week. The list goes on and on of things I am not able to do that I take for granted every day. It has been a real struggle for me to not be in control. However, it has made me very thankful for many things.
The most obvious person I am thankful for is Shelly. She has been fantastic. We were able to have our open house for the holidays because of her hard work. Not to mention her taking care of the kids and me while I have been down. She is truly a blessing to me. I am also thankful for so many wonderful friends who have called to check on me, sent me get well cards, and who have taken care of Cameron and Easton when we needed help. In times like this you realize how blessed we are to have the staff we have at First Baptist. Everyone on staff has picked up the slack for me over the past week and I so appreciate them. Not for a minute have I worried about things being taken care of. It is still difficult for me to not be around to make sure everything is done the way it needs to be. Thanks to all of you for being in control, when I cannot!
But speaking of being out of control, I was reminded that is exactly the way God wants us to be. We are so guilty of wanting to be in control of everything in our lives. This has been a good reminder to me that when we give our lives to Christ it is precisely what we are to do. GIVE OUR LIVES TO HIM! Translated that means we should no longer be in control! Just as my surgery has been an inconvenience at times, when we are obedient to Christ it means there will be times of inconvenience and lack of understanding in the things God will call us to do. The rubber meets the road as we decide how we will respond when God calls us out of our comfort zone. Will we whine and complain or will we willing be obedient to His call with an attitude of thanksgiving? I do know this…I would much rather put my life in the hands of the Creator of the world than in the hands of any doctor. We put our lives in the hands of human physicians on a daily basis. Why not put our lives in the hands of the Creator daily as well?
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Don’t forget . . . in January we will begin our new service format with our traditional service at 8:30 am and the contemporary service at 11:00 am. Hope to see you then! ¶ 7:53 PM
As I sit down to write this, I am in the process of recovering from surgery. The surgery was not that big of a deal but I must admit the recovery process has been a bit of a hassle. What is the problem you might ask? The problem I am having is not being in control. Ever since Shelly drove me home I have not been able to do much on my own. I have to rely on her to bring me something to eat, to help me get out of bed, to make sure I am alright. Now I face another five weeks of not being able to pick anything up that weighs over 15 pounds. IF you haven’t noticed, anything that moves at my house is over 15 pounds!!!!! I could not drive for a week. The list goes on and on of things I am not able to do that I take for granted every day. It has been a real struggle for me to not be in control. However, it has made me very thankful for many things.
The most obvious person I am thankful for is Shelly. She has been fantastic. We were able to have our open house for the holidays because of her hard work. Not to mention her taking care of the kids and me while I have been down. She is truly a blessing to me. I am also thankful for so many wonderful friends who have called to check on me, sent me get well cards, and who have taken care of Cameron and Easton when we needed help. In times like this you realize how blessed we are to have the staff we have at First Baptist. Everyone on staff has picked up the slack for me over the past week and I so appreciate them. Not for a minute have I worried about things being taken care of. It is still difficult for me to not be around to make sure everything is done the way it needs to be. Thanks to all of you for being in control, when I cannot!
But speaking of being out of control, I was reminded that is exactly the way God wants us to be. We are so guilty of wanting to be in control of everything in our lives. This has been a good reminder to me that when we give our lives to Christ it is precisely what we are to do. GIVE OUR LIVES TO HIM! Translated that means we should no longer be in control! Just as my surgery has been an inconvenience at times, when we are obedient to Christ it means there will be times of inconvenience and lack of understanding in the things God will call us to do. The rubber meets the road as we decide how we will respond when God calls us out of our comfort zone. Will we whine and complain or will we willing be obedient to His call with an attitude of thanksgiving? I do know this…I would much rather put my life in the hands of the Creator of the world than in the hands of any doctor. We put our lives in the hands of human physicians on a daily basis. Why not put our lives in the hands of the Creator daily as well?
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Don’t forget . . . in January we will begin our new service format with our traditional service at 8:30 am and the contemporary service at 11:00 am. Hope to see you then! ¶ 7:53 PM
