wyhr.orgWendy’s World

“You know, I think as children we are taught that courage is John Wayne courage. It is loud and it is brash and it wears boots.

But that’s not courage.

Courage is being diagnosed with Parkinson’s and writing chainsaw-juggling jokes about it.

And Richard’s discussion of his diagnosis is, at least to me, a reminder that while life may be unpredictable and unfair, its greatest beauty is in the capacity of the individual to stare into the face of that difficulty and smile.

And make chainsaw jokes.”

~Stephan Pastis, Pearls Before Swine creator

So in my last post I wondered what God was up to. Well I’m starting to figure a few things out, as best a human like me can.

Here is what stands out to me:
1- God is developing my patience. I am SO not a patient person. In high school I bought a poster because it said: “Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.” Trust me, that was my motto. I even mentioned it to my mom when we were talking about my current job situation. She reminded me that God provided her with the right car at the right time (hers had broken down unexpectedly & she was without a car for a 1-2 months). My retort was, “But you have patience!” That’s when it hit me – God is developing my patience. He’s asking me not to jump at the first (job) opportunity, to not cross bridges until I come to them (worry about future scenarios that may not take place) and to trust that He has the best plan in mind for me. I don’t have to do it all on my own. I’m not alone.

2- God is also reminding me of His past fulfillment. God has always provided for me. When my dad was out of work in the winter (he was a plumber who worked in new housing developments that weren’t as plentiful in the winter), we always had food on the table and a roof over our heads. It may not have been ideal, but He always provided for our needs. But, like the Israellites, I easily forget all that God has done for me and worry about the future. [Exodus 14]

3- I need to rely and trust in Him. When the going gets tough, I don’t always turn to God. I often turn to idols, what I put in place of God. I put my self-reliance in the place of God and pretend I can make this all happen on my own. I put money on the throne of my life and pretend that all the money in the world will give keep me safe. The thing is — none of these things are certain, only God is. [Psst, if you think they are read the story of Job or check out Ecclesiastes]

To be honest, this has become a daily battle. I struggle with remembering what I’ve learned.

This was a question that was recently asked on my journey through the book, The Sacred Romance.

I mean what is He thinking?

For those of you who don’t know, the group of 30+ people that I am part of will cease to exist on July 31. Until then, they’re trying to place us in new jobs within the company but there are no guarantees. Talk about a surprise. Talk about shaking things up.

It was during a conversation about my job situation that I realized that I am on an adventure. I mean a real-life, full-fledged, action-packed adventure. It’s what I thought I wanted. Turns out – adventures are scary! I mean I don’t know what’s next. I’m not sure if I’ll have a job in six weeks. Ack! God! What are you doing?!

Funny, huh?

I thought I wanted an adventure. I thought I was pretty wild my self. Turns out I like the simple life. I like the comforts of a paycheck and sitting on my couch. I like the merry-go-round.

Who knew?

So here I stand in the midst of an adventure. God has shaken things up for me. I have the opportunity to take His hand and go on a journey, an adventure with my God.

I’m going to do it.

Stay tuned for the next chapter in my adventure.

Recently I came across this profound statement in my Real Simple magazine.

“What’s the one thing you would have done differently as a mom? (Answer) Recently I had this conversation with someone I had considered one of the best mothers I know―the kind who never missed a kid’s concert or a PTA conference. Her children are grown now, and they are neither independent nor particularly grateful. ‘I should have let them fail,’ she told me. ‘When my daughter forgot to do her homework, I shouldn’t have done it for her. When the other one got caught shoplifting, I should have let her spend a night in jail.’ For better or worse, your mother has probably given this subject a good deal of thought.”

I agree with this mom. We are not perfect and it’s all too easy to be obsessed with perfection and order and playing the right part. Resist – make mistakes!

About two years ago we decided to upgrade our 1973 wood windows to save on energy and open more windows (we were missing a lot of screens). We had Home Depot and Morris Windows & Siding come for a sales call. Both had a fancy light that they aimed at the window to demonstrate the energy savings. Both had pretty pictures. Home Depot cost half of what Morris Windows did, but large companies aren’t always terrific to work with (hello automated telephone system). Morris Windows was local and had been in the business for 20+ years. The customer service (i.e. the fact that I could talk to the person who was installing my windows about any issues I had) was what sold me and why we went with Morris Windows.

Turns out, they weren’t so great. First, Dave & I had to stay home (thank goodness for working from home and SDO’s) for three days. One day was for the workmen to come by and measure (since they didn’t trust the measurements the sales guy took when he was at our house), the second day was for installation of the windows, and the third day was for them to replace a non-functioning window and to clean up the mess they made. What do I mean by mess? They totally scraped the molding around the window and messed up our paint job on the walls underneath. Plus they did a crappy caulking job on the holes they put in the window molding (buncha jerks!).

That brings me to today and why I’m writing. We already had to stay home three days and we weren’t totally impressed with their performance so when we noticed one of our windows wouldn’t stay up when we opened it, we ignored it. Fast forward two years – I go to call Morris Windows & Siding and get an operator saying, “This line has been disconnected”. Uh-oh. I go on-line to search for their number because maybe it changed, nope! When typing in morriswindows.com, I keep getting routed to Roeland Home Improvement. I read a few message board posts about Morris Windows going out of business. Not so good. I call Roeland and yes, Morris Windows & Siding is out of business. I guess 20+ years of business doesn’t guarantee they’ll be around forever. Oh and by the way, I’ve called Roeland twice to help with this window and they’ve yet to call me back (taking after the other jerks).

Dilbert’s Sunday strip reminded me of this event in our lives: