From Bad to Worse
As Jason and I drove toward our house after the lovely ladies' retreat last week, we were surprised to see freshly painted white lines on our street. As I mentioned in a recent post, our quiet little road had been under construction, and it looked like the workers had finally finished up Stage One, leaving behind a gravelly, dusty mess. Gazing out the car window, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. The road was still rough and gravelly, and the freshly painted lines seemed to mock me as we bumped along. Evidently, Stage Two (the painting of the lines) was also the completion of the project.
"Honestly," I muttered to Jason, "I think the road was better before they started all this construction. What was the point?"
Jason just chuckled and patted my hand. "Sometimes, Dana, things have to get worse before they can get better."
Falling for Jesus
Yesterday, while out walking my furry companion, Tess, I found myself in a bit of a pickle. One minute, I was strolling along, deep in prayer, and the next, I was sprawled out on the pavement like a clumsy giraffe on roller skates. I have no idea what happened—one second, I was vertical, and the next, I was horizontal.
As I sat there in the middle of the road, nursing my wounded pride and trying to figure out if anything was broken, I couldn't help but laugh and cry at the absurdity of it all. I mean, really? Out of all the things that could've happened, I managed to take a tumble while praying. Talk about irony!
From Gravel to Grace
Road construction can be a real pain! Over the past week, there's been a whole crew working on the street right in front of my house. It started off with them just patching up some of the rougher spots and potholes. Jackhammers going off at the crack of dawn, dump trucks rumbling by every five minutes. It was chaos!
The next thing I knew, they were reworking the entire road surface, leaving a bed of loose gravel in their wake. Suddenly, our once-decent road became this rocky, uneven mess. Driving on it is like navigating an off-road course, and our poor car is taking a beating.
Ripple Effects
King Josiah. Now, here was a man of unwavering faith and determination. He was a true leader, always striving to align himself with God’s will and to guide his people in the right direction. He fearlessly dismantled the false idols and restored the temple to its rightful state. And you know what? For a time, the nation was rejuvenated. The people returned to the worship of the one true God, and it seemed like Josiah’s reign was a turning point for the land.
But then, as often happens in life, things took a turn for the worse. After Josiah's death, the people returned to their old ways, worshipping false gods and ignoring the commands of the Lord. It's enough to make a person feel like all their hard work was for nothing.
Do the Next Thing
Have you ever felt like you're drowning in a sea of to-do lists and responsibilities? Like the waves of tasks keep crashing over you, and you can barely keep your head above water? I know I have. There are days when I look at everything I need to get done, and it feels completely overwhelming.
My mind starts racing with questions like, "How am I going to get all this done? What if I don't have enough time or energy? What if I disappoint someone by not meeting a deadline?" Before I know it, I'm caught in a whirlpool of anxiety and stress.
But then I remember a quote by Elisabeth Elliot that has become a lifeline for me in those moments. She said, "Sometimes life is so hard you can only do the next thing. Whatever that is, just do the next thing. God will meet you there."