Well, now that I’ve let the cat out of the bag about Miss Mouse … Ok, that was funny! I typed it before I even realized how it might sound. I’m cracking myself up. I know, I know. Easily entertained. It’s a contagious condition I got from my boys. Everyone knows that boys are easily entertained. Passing gas entertains them. Need I say more.
Anyway, I digress. I did not get on the blog to write about entertainment or passing gas. So let’s start again.
Now that everyone knows I got a pet mouse for Christmas, I should probably tell the rest of the story about what I did NOT get for Christmas. And, to do that, I actually have to backtrack all the way to Christmas 2010.
We had only been in our new house for a few months. And, since we are surrounded by live oak trees, the ONLY gift I wanted for Christmas was a chain saw. Now I’ve got all of you laughing, too. I know it makes quite a mental picture, but I am all about getting stuff done, and sometimes my sweet husband just doesn’t get things checked off of the to do list near as fast as I think he needs to. So, when that happens, I always think I just need to take matters into my own hands. Simple enough. Ask for a chain saw.
So, ask I did. Actually, beg, plead, bargain, manipulate, plot, and flat out pout about it would be more like it. I told Brad plain and simple. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A CHAINSAW! I told the boys, “Do NOT let your daddy buy me anything for Christmas but a chainsaw.”
By now, you’ve all guessed it. No chainsaw for me under the 2010 Christmas tree. Brad said he absolutely would NOT buy me a chainsaw for fear I’d sever a limb… and not one on a tree.
More begging and pleading.
Valentines’ Day. No chain saw.
More begging, pleading and pouting.
Mothers’ Day. No chain saw. However, to be fair to Brad, I should note here that I did get a Stihl gas powered blower for Mothers’ Day, and it did make me very happy. Not as happy as a chain saw, but happy nonetheless.
Bypassing begging and pleading, I settled for threatening.
23rd Anniversary on May 27. No chain saw.
Believe it or not, I was losing steam and running out of gift-giving holidays. So I took a brief reprieve.
Christmas 2011. Back in full force with all manner of negotiating and manipulating. I told the boys again, “I mean it! Do NOT let your daddy buy me anything for Christmas but a chainsaw.”
You would’ve thought by this point, Brad would have given in if for no reason but to shut me up, but let me just say this. Brad Kendrick can be all kinds of stubborn!
So, you guessed it again, no chainsaw under the tree for me. I got Miss Mouse and my iHome dock, but no chainsaw.
And, I was ALL OUT of patience. And, when I’m all out of patience, I always do the same thing. I take matters into my OWN HANDS!
The day after Christmas I went promptly to Landscape Supply, marched right in the door, and bought myself the chainsaw of my dreams. Happy indeed.
I went right home, loaded up my chainsaw in the Gator, and headed out to trim trees. I’ll show him!
I will confess here. Sometimes I like that, “I’ll show him!” feeling just a little too much. Ok, maybe just a lot too much.
Believe it or not, all Brad did when he saw the chainsaw was shake his head at me and say, “Do you want me to show you how to use that thing so you don’t cut your pretty little arm off?”
And, of course, I did.
I had the chainsaw back out this weekend. I have finished trimming the last of the live oaks in the high fenced area. Can I just say… it’s looking good. And, I feel good for having accomplished the hard work.
But, my tree trimming on Sunday also got me to thinking…
I do God a lot like I do Brad. When I don’t think He’s responding to my prayer requests fast enough, I just take matters into my own hands. I get impatient and just cocky enough to think I know more than He does. That my time line is better than His. That my wants and needs are more important than His plan. That I understand better than He does.
I can’t count the times I’ve rushed ahead of God. I also can’t count the times I’ve messed up or missed out because I took matters into my own hands. Oh that I could wait. That I would wait as Psalm 130:5 reminds me, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.”
And, I have to pay attention to what “wait” means. In the Hebrew, wait is qavah… to look for, hope, expect. Wait doesn’t mean tap my pen, pace the floor, or pout. It means to look for how God is working in my life because He always is, to place my hope in His unfailing promises, and to expect that He will answer my prayers.
And so I’m working on waiting… looking for, hoping, expecting… however long it takes.
Brad only got two Christmases, one Valentines, one Mothers’ Day, and one anniversary before I took matters into my own hands, but…
I’m working on giving God all the time He needs.