Friday, April 29, 2016

Disappointments. Bleh.


"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. "  ... from Isaiah 40


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Eegads.

So there I was Wednesday on the edge of my Prayer Garden, sitting upon our wicker chair, reading in the sunshine after two grey, cold days. Ahh. Finally, what I wait for all winter.

Then a dog began barking. And barking. Now, when you have a drummer daughter, you develop great blocking-out skills, so those worked awhile. But soon the trash sanitation workers drove up and it's a rare week where you can throw extra junk away, so it was roar-bang-rumble-crash! roar-bang-rumble-crash! for a long time. Cars idled behind them (cough, cough), a neighbor started up his lawn mower and of course, the dog barked more wildly at the parade out there.

Good grief. Probably downtown New York City was quieter.

So I grabbed my book and stepped back into the house where, oh dear, the kitchen looked like the cupboards had thrown up. Naomi's wet laundry sat in bags waiting to be taken to the laundromat, mixing bowls dripped beside the sink and Naomi stood at the blender whirling coffee (whriiiiing) while the electric ice cream maker was going screech-pop! screech-pop! And when I told her what's making it pop, she said,"I already know that now." (Later she apologized for snapping.)

You remember how Kevin in Home Alone giddily jumped on his parents' bed squealing, "I'm free! I'm free!"? Usually that's me during Tom's business trips. You know, in a playful, don't-have-to-make-dinner-or-get-up-early way.

Well, lately it's not been like that. 

And it's not really that Naomi's here--she's in and out or away most of each day/night. But the weather? Yeah, the April grey and cold are bad. And remember how Tom and I could barely communicate while he was in Toronto due to technical problems? Well, shockingly--even though my computer's fixed and he's in the same Country--it's been worse. 

I'll spare you the details, but really, I don't think it's too ridiculous of me to expect a 3 or 4 minute phone call each day, no matter how busy Tom may be. (You may want to pray for ol' Tom, that I don't snap at him when he arrives late tomorrow night). :)

The Disappointment Test! Gah. That's my least favorite one of all. You expect one not-even-unrealistic thing and get a bunch of rotten stuff, instead. And then you're expected to rise above it, calmly, because God is greater than all disappointments and He is in you.

Yet if you remember it's a test? And you do your best to be all, like, 'water off a duck's back'? And you ask God to help you remain calm and not smack anyone? Or hurt their feelings because yours are hurt? Then you grow. You die to self a little more and become stronger. And respond better the next time.

But only if we desire God's ways more than our own. Only if we want to become more like Him rather than doing our own thing.




 Early morning sunshine. How sweet it is.



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"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”'   ...Psalm 91:2


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The wild thing?  Wednesday night's episode of The Middle was about neighborhood noise in ones own backyard. It was almost like God saying, "See? You're not the only one. Lighten up."

An earlier episode, called Survey Says, was awesome, as well. Tom and I watched it twice and both times I cried. I totally got the parental angst and deep sentimentality of Mike and Frankie while they were reminiscing in Axl's RV.

 Both episodes were terrific.


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I so enjoyed this book!





Highly recommended.


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Were you able to watch (on DIY) Nicole's new episodes of Rehab Addict where she totally, lovingly overhauled her grandparents' old home? My, my, my. Each episode was a delight. My favorites of all previous seasons.

And speaking of Nicole, there's a local house for sale, just the type she would restore, and for just $85,000. If only Tom and I were 20 years younger!












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6 comments:

Judy said...

Oh, the morning sunlight picture! LOVE it!
Um. I had the blue striped awning disappointment. One of those times when I wanted to scream "Don't you even know me?!" I THOUGHT it, but I did not SAY it. Progress.., right? Progress is good. Not that I'm known for screaming anyway.
And noise? I just cannot DO noise. Ugh.

Pam said...

Oh Debra, I could just picture you out in your yard, trying to enjoy the lovely sunshine--right before everything and everybody (including neighborhood dogs) went nuts. Sometimes when you long for peace, it's nowhere to be found. Our precious daughter is living with us, too, so I understand walking into your kitchen (or any room), and wondering if this is the "new normal" for our lives. One thing for sure, every day is a brand new opportunity to lean on our Lord. I just keep casting my cares on Him because He cares for us. Some days I pout awhile before I cast, but He's the most reliable one in my life. On a sour note: why in the world with all this technology, is it so difficult to make contact? I'm sure you and Tom are tired of it. I finally broke down and bought a "better" cell phone, and its battery doesn't even last 24 hours!! I don't get it.

Betsy said...

I can SO relate to this post. Only my place with no quiet is our camper at the lake. On weekends with all of the people there, Hubby and I often remark to each other that it's much quieter in the backyard at home! The highway noise doesn't help either, on weekends it's awful. But we have such good friends there. We all drive in to church on Sunday mornings and then back out in the afternoon. When most people leave to go home Sunday afternoon we all just go, "Ahhhhh, the quiet." Our husbands all make the drive back and forth when we're there during the week.
Our son is visiting from Japan for three weeks and although I am absolutely LOVING every minute of it, I had forgotten what having another person in the house with us is like. And they revert to childhood with laundry, etc. :-)
I hope your day is going better. Oh, and we like Nichole's rehab's too.
Blessings
Betsy

Deborah Raney said...

Another great, relatable post! So, so could see myself in those same shoes, and maybe not handling it quite as well as you did. ;) And I agree: that sunshine pic is so lovely. You have a real gift of arranging ordinary things in a way that makes them ART!

terricheney said...

Oh a rueful chuckle here. Last night we realized that in three weeks our son's family is moving in with him here, as the company requires they be out of their house in a set time for this transfer. Our dog nd theirs had seemed to have a peace of sorts but got into a fight yesterday evening and this morning? I think he fully meant to kill my dog...Which means their dog is now going to be given back to the shelter they adopted him from and I spent all morning long apologizing to said killer dog and my poor injured dog and sobbing because of my dil's sobs...I've come a ways but goodness these tests are difficult! p.s. Each time one of my children moves back home, and it's not a chronic ongoing thing but a truly needful thing at time, it's a HUGE adjustment of all sorts...This time I started out in prayer. How on earth should I ever do this otherwise?

Debra said...

Thank-you, Everyone! I soo enjoyed reading your thoughts and I'm happy this post was relevant for you (and that I'm not the only one bothered by noise!). And thanks to those of you who liked my morning sunlight photos!And Terri--I hope you're feeling better this week and that things have straightened themselves out as best they can in this season for you. Oh my! Those were some serious tests...

I always appreciate your comments so much. Everyone! Blessings, Debra