Wanna Trade?

 

I have been thinking about how I often trade what is best for what is bad.

Teresa just asked me if I would like some cereal for breakfast, but I know there is some blueberry coffee cake in the kitchen. I told her that I can have cereal anytime, but blueberry coffee cake, that's special, I want cake.
So why am I telling you this? I think I/we trade the best of God's plan for us for something that is banal. We trade the feast for garbage. This is a picture of the dinner table we were invited to in Italy.

I think about work, because I like my work, more than I think about God. As men, we are supposed to work and provide for our families, but at what cost?

I went into work this morning before Teresa got up to drop off some papers and sign some docs and it is a little slow right now. Some of the guys are discouraged by not being buried in work. Previous to this event I would be getting anxious, but now I believe and can say to them, "If God can raise Grant from the dead, He can certainly fill up the schedule at PG". God is working on my faith in areas I didn't really want work on, but He knows best. He is changing my heart.

I don't want to trade anything for what is best anymore.

Many have said to me that they are sorry for what we are going through. I appreciate their sincerity but I am not sorry for this time. Most of the time I really didn't know what to say when others were in a situation similar to this, so this is helping me to be more compassionate to others and to really think about what is the right thing to say.

God has our family in this situation and He will get the glory. I am not sure if this is more to work on my spiritual heart or Grant's physical heart. Maybe this is so others will read the blog and look at their own hearts to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling".

God has a plan for every single detail in our lives and I don't want to be upset when those details are not the ones I would have planned. I generally want to have everything planned out and then don't mess up the schedule. I have a long way to go in this area.

Phil. 2:13It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

When we do what God wants us to do, we look much different than the world does. We just need to continue to ask God to give us the desire to change.

Grant went "golfing" yesterday with the GA golf team. He just putted and chipped his way around the course. It was cold and rainy, normal golf weather here, so he was ready to be done. It is really strange and sweet to see him doing so well.

All the kids go in for an appointment with the cardiologist tomorrow.

Having a good time with the boys,
Chuck

Click here to read the next part, "Christ in You"