It Could Happen!

I have a dream. No, it is nothing like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's dream. My dream is quite selfish! I dream of a week when I will not have to call a repairman, when everything in my house works and is not broken or leaking or in need of any kind of repair or maintenance. These past few weeks, I have had my ceiling fan worked on five times. It still makes noises and after an hour has an electrical burn smell. Yesterday, I had an outlet and a plug replaced. The outlet is not usable. I refuse to force a plug into it because I don't want to break a plug off of something I use. It rained last night. I felt a drip drip on my foot. My roof is leaking through the ceiling and onto my bed. I had my motorcycle serviced and when I picked it up, the speedometer wasn't working. I took cloth to the seamstress who took my measurements and told me when to pick up my clothes. They weren't ready on the specified day. When they were ready, they didn't fit. I had to have them altered. My toilet tank takes 4-5 hours to refill drop by drop. (Maybe I should put it under the leak in the bedroom.) And, the air conditioner...don't get me started on that! I have had someone here at least six times to work on it. Yesterday, I had someone new. He found the problem. So, maybe today it will get fixed. I don't know. I do have two electricians and a plumber who are supposed to be coming today. I have a called a carpenter. When people will actually come, I don't know.

These are the things that make me weary. Make me tired. Make me want to get lost in a god book. I know things break. I know things wear out. I know things aren't perfect and need repaired or replaced. I know getting things repaired here is a challenge. There are only a couple of people who are plumbers or electricians. (There are a few more carpenters.) The Dagaare language does not have a word for maintenance. And, sometimes, it is just easier replacing the item instead of getting it fixed. (That is, if the item is available in the community in which you live.) But, for now, I am holding onto that dream...

I have a dream....there will be one week in which I will not have to call a repairman and nothing will break or leak or fall apart. It could happen! Just like the refreshing rains could come...it could happen!

brave...?

It has been awhile since I have used a Bible study book. Usually, I use Scripture and glean from what I read. Since I am in the land "flowing with Christian books and studies," I decided to see what was available. My first stop was in Chambersburg, at the Lifeway store. I was with friends of mine and they blessed me with books to take back to Ghana with me. Next, I stopped at my church to see what they had leftover from studies held there. I found this study, brave, honest questions women ask. And, I knew I found a study to work on during the remainder of my time here in the States.

 

The first lesson really described me. the question was, "Lord, do You know I am worn out...again?" That has been my life since I touched down in Pittsburgh on September 4. Worn out. Always on the road. Always packing and unpacking. Always speaking about my mission work in Lawra, Ghana. Always preparing for class  Always getting ready for the next thing. Always tired. Always exhausted. Always weary.

 

Since I am always doing the above, there is the opposite, too. Never sleeping in the same bed more than a few nights in a row. Never feeling settled. Never feeling finished with what has to be done. never saying, "no, I can't come and speak." Never finished with class. Never totally refreshed and renewed.

 

Enter brave. God knows I am weary. God knows this is a season of fund raising and speaking engagements. God also is my strength in my weariness. He says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and I will give you REST." Matthew 11:28 My rest is in Him.

 

Another point brought out in the study is that Jesus did not heal everyone who was sick, He did not minister to everyone who came to Him. He only did what the Father told Him to do. It's a lesson for me. It is perfectly acceptable to respond, "I'll pray about it." And, if God is showing me that I need to take a Sunday off to worship Him, then so be it! Being in His presence restores my soul, it restores me. That is the purpose of the Sabbath rest, isn't it?

 

So, for now, I will be open to what God has for me...His strength and His rest.