I don’t understand how it happened. It was one of those “Mondays” disguised as a Tuesday. I was in the middle of my typical morning rush to get ready for work when all of a sudden, I saw black smoke rising in front of me. Instead of putting my eyeshadow compact back into my makeup basket, I had somehow dropped it into the 3-wick candle that was burning behind it. All I could think was that I needed to quickly put the decent sized flame out as fast as possible. In my moment of panic, I tipped the candle upside down so that the compact would fall into the sink. I wasn’t even thinking about all the melted wax until I realized it was spilling into the sink…and down the drain as the compact fell! How could I have done that?! I frantically wiped what I could out of the sink and then ran to the other room to grab a bottle of Drano. I poured the drain opener into the sink and waited for over 20 minutes, but it did not go down the drain. I boiled hot water and poured it into the sink as well. Steam rose into the air, but so did the liquid in the sink. I finally had to say a prayer, draw a line to mark the level in the sink, shut the bathroom door and ask my daughter to check on it later to see if the level of Drano and water was falling. I left for work thinking that this would be the last straw; my husband would surely kill me over this one. My daughter later texted me that the sink had finally drained, and I truly meant my reply of “Praise the Lord!!!” I still had some wax in the sink to wipe out when I got home, but the sink was functioning properly. What a relief!
Yesterday morning, I was rushing to leave for church and got there just as worship was starting. I started singing along, “Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art.” Then, the worship team led me into one of my favorites, “God, I run into your arms, unashamed because of mercy. I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You…. You are Beautiful… You are Wonderful… You are Glorious… Oh God, there is no one more Beautiful…” The words of every song that morning spoke truth into my soul, and tears trickled down my face as I sang along.
I hadn’t realized all the trivial things that had caused me stress and annoyance over the past week or so. I had been caught in a rush with too much to do. I was trying to organize 2 major events that involved coordinating multiple families with too many busy schedules as well trying to tie up several loose ends both in the office and at home so I could take a break over the upcoming holiday. I had been praying and thinking over the weekend before about a difficult decision I needed to make. Monday morning, I burned my arm really bad on a hot iron. (It’s still oozing!) A couple of hours later, I had to finalize my decision I’d been praying about, and though I had finally reached peace in it all, it was a very difficult decision nonetheless. That evening, I found out that someone very dear to my heart was undergoing testing for some serious health issues. Tuesday was the “flaming eye shadow/wax down the drain” incident. (That’s quite enough stress for one day!) Wednesday, I battled a wasp nest in my doorway (Ok. The wasp issue really wasn’t that dreadful, but let’s throw it in.) That was also the day that my temporary crown fell out which meant that Thursday, I had to take time out to go back to the dentist for another temporary crown. I was thankful that the dentist squeezed me in, but “ain’t nobody got time for that” when their to do list is already way too long. Friday, I found out that the test results for the sweet young lady I’d been praying for weren’t what we had hoped. It was also a day of arguments caused by misunderstandings and exhausted people and a tense schedule.
Now, none of those things were really that bad. However, when a woman is intent on staying on task, running at a very fast pace, cramming too much in and shrugging off the physical rest that the Good Lord is calling her to, she may not even realize what’s happening inside. I knew I needed more time in prayer that week. I knew I needed more time in God’s word. I knew I needed more rest. Yet, I stayed in turbo mode whispering those little “breath prayers,” reading a minimal amount of Scripture and getting by on little sleep. So, by Sunday, my soul was desperately longing for rest and the peace that can only come through Jesus.
My heart resonated with the words on the screen during worship. God is so great! He is so beautiful, wonderful and glorious! I ran into His arms, unashamed because of mercy, and I was overwhelmed by Him. I thought about the past week and a half. I had known that something wasn’t right, but I kept chugging along. Meanwhile, there were burdens on my heart that I hadn’t even realized were there. My soul was longing for time at His feet, but I kept ignoring my need and running around, a woman on a mission. However, it was the wrong mission. I drowned out the longing more and more while the busyness of life stole more and more of my peace with God. Shifting my focus back solely on how great God is changed everything, and peace washed through my entire being just like the Drano and hot water washing through the stopped-up drain.
I know that I can’t let the busyness of life get in the way, but that is exactly what occurred. And again, “I don’t understand how it happened.” I am thankful though, for a God I can run to, unashamed because of his mercy, his grace and his love. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who guides me back where I need to be. I am thankful for the peace that washes over me because of the blood of Jesus. And I am thankful that Drano and hot water cut through the solidified wax in my drain….
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’
‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” ~Luke 10:38-42 NIV
Determined to continue choosing what is better. Thankful for mercy when I fall.