It seems like strawberry season comes up so fast. Winter drags on and on here in PA, and then all of a sudden, one day, it’s almost summer. I feel like we skip spring altogether. But right in the middle there, between the end of winter and the almost beginning of summer is one of my favorite times of year–strawberry-picking season. If you blink, you miss it. In fact, for several years, we did miss it. For us, strawberry picking season comes right in the middle of finishing off homeschool and getting ready to leave on vacation.
Window of Opportunity
We finally figured out, we usually get a window of about a week between when the strawberries are ready to pick at our favorite orchard and when we have to leave on vacation. So as soon as we get the notification that the strawberries are ready, we plan the trip to our favorite orchard in Lancaster to pick them. Every year, I don’t think we’re going to have the time to fit it in, but we make it work somehow. And I’m always so glad that we do
Life happens in so many seasons and stages. Sometimes, we don’t have to move for a long time, years in fact. Other times, it’s like strawberry picking season. You have to be ready to move when it’s time. God prompts your heart, and you realize the time is now and you have to make a move.
Paul’s Example
I wonder if sometimes we miss out on opportunities God has for us simply because we aren’t ready and willing to move when the opportunity comes. I read yesterday in my morning time about Paul being willing to move at a moment’s notice.
That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” Sowe decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.
Acts 16:9,10 NLT
As soon as Paul got the notice, he moved. He got right to it. He never wasted time when God was leading him. He got right to the work God had for him, even if that meant traveling for a little while.
Self-Reflection
Do I move when God leads? Am I ready to move when he wants me too? Do I obey even in the small ways, so when it’s time, God can lead me in a big way?
Strawberry season reminds me to be ready and watching and waiting for what God has next so I don’t miss out!
In other news, my latest book under my pen name, A. J. Manney, released today. The Flirty Forward, a hockey romance, is available in paperback and ebook if you’re looking for a fun, flirty, clean read for the weekend!
We were on our way to church a few weeks ago. Everybody had done a good job getting ready on time and getting the house picked up, so we had time to stop at our Sunday morning favorite place—Wawa. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Wawa, it’s a glorified gas station with food screens to be able to order pretty much anything your heart desires. So we came out armed with breakfast sandwiches for the kids and coffee for Matt and I. It was a rainy day, but we were making the best of it.
Our Accident
We were less than ten minutes away from the church, driving and talking, when we saw a car come around the corner ahead of us and lose control of the vehicle. Matt tried to get out of its way, but it came into our lane and crashed into us. The airbags went off, coffee cups exploded, tossing coffee all over the front of the car and the windshield, breakfast sandwiches got smashed. All in all, it was a mess. Everybody was stunned but okay. Matt helped get the kids out of the car. My door was hit and unable to open, so I crawled out Matt’s door. Then we stood in the rain for the next hour or so while we waited for emergency crews to get there, the police to take our statement, and finally get a ride to church.
A Rough Morning
It went from being a really great morning to being a wreck…literally. Matt and I were soaking wet by the time we got to church. My hair was dripping water down my coffee-soaked and rain-soaked shirt. Needless to say, it was a rough morning. That morning came after a series of months of struggles—nothing serious but just things that were taking our time and attention. We’ve been trying for five months to get our kids insurance reinstated; it’s been a ridiculous process. The county has lost at least three of our applications, we’ve been given insurance and then had it pulled weeks later, due to negligence on their part. As a family with a daughter with major medical needs (our eight-year-old has Type 1 Diabetes), it’s been a stressful few months. We’ve spent hours and hours on the phone trying to get things straightened out. There have been some other pressures and things we’ve been dealing with the last few months as well.
God’s Protection
And yet, I can’t complain because God’s been good. The same weekend we had our accident, a family we know of also had an accident. They didn’t fare nearly as well. The mom died at the scene of the accident, and the sixteen-year-old daughter died a few days later. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. So when I compare, we have nothing to complain about; I am so thankful. And yet, life just keeps happening.
Have you ever been there? Nothing is truly, terribly wrong, so you feel like you shouldn’t complain. But the stressors and pressures just seem to be piling up.
Losing Control
I pulled back recently after feeling discouraged and honestly depressed. I struggle this time of year—when it feels like summer will never come in PA. We’ve had literally hundreds of days of rain and overcast skies, and that eventually wears you down. I’ve wondered what’s going on? Why do I feel like this?
And then in our small group on Tuesday night, Matt asked each of us to tell the group what it seems God is doing in our lives right now. I thought about it, and while I waited for my turn, I considered everything from these past few months…and it sort of hit me suddenly. I figured it out. God has been wrestling me for control, and I’ve been wrestling right back.
In my scheduled, planned out, homeschooled, writing world, control is everything for me. When I don’t have control, I spiral out of control. As I waited for my turn, I thought about how I’ve spent the last several months trying to control things that are absolutely out of my control. I feel like the accident was the icing on the cake of control…or lack thereof.
Wrestling for Control
So when it was my turn to share, I told everybody, “I think God is trying to take control, and I’m not letting him. I’m fighting him for control.” The group, who knows I’ve been losing my mind fighting for insurance the last several months understood exactly what I was talking about. This isn’t something new for me; fighting for control is something I’ve struggled with my entire life. And yet, I know that when I surrender those things that are out of my control to God, I have so much more peace. I know that; I just forget it sometimes. Tuesday night, I needed to be reminded of that.
So, I’m choosing, in the midst of my circumstances, to release the death grip I have on my life, my plans, my schedule…and letting God have control. I’ll still struggle and fight him for control, but He will graciously remind me that I don’t have any control. He’ll continue to shake up my life when things are starting to settle. He’ll get my attention. How do I know that? Because he’s done it time and time and time again in the past.
Finding Peace
If you’re in the same boat as me, wrestling God for control, or the thought of control because we don’t actually have control, find encouragement today in the fact that you can release your death grip on that control. You can allow God control and release that pressure you feel. I promise He will carry you and give you that peace you are longing for and work on your behalf along the way.
Did you know that you are the most productive you’re ever going to be right after you wake up? Your best hours are first thing in the morning. Matt read that in a book recently, and it totally makes sense. When else are you more productive than after you’ve just had a good night’s sleep? I know, of course, there’s a case for night owls and those who get a lot accomplished at night. I get it. Sometimes, I feel that way too. But there really is no better time, when your brain is awake and active to get things done…well, maybe after that first cup of coffee.
Your Best Hours
There are so many reasons that make it hard to get out of bed in the morning. I get it. I really do, but I also know that if I don’t get up early and tap into those quiet morning hours before the kids get up, my day is going to be shot. Your best working hours are those first few hours after you wake up. So that begs the question–what are you giving those hours to?
What’s the first thing you focus on in the morning? What gets your attention first thing? What are you giving your best hours to? There’s an argument to be made that whatever you spend your first attention on in the morning is where your priorities and focus are. Our focus should be on getting out of bed and starting our morning time routine, but life happens. Things take our focus, first thing in the morning. If we don’t make our morning time with God a priority, the day will be over before we realize it. We have to choose to make God a priority first thing in the morning.
Our Focus
I remember a lady came up to Matt after he taught on morning time and told him that he shouldn’t drink coffee for his morning time. She told him that he should focus on God first and not coffee. To that, he responded, “You do you.” Seriously though, we each have to do what works for us. For some of you, you might have to get up and nurse a baby first thing. Others may have to see a husband off to work right away. Life is messy, so it’s not going to look perfect. The goal is simply to do your best to focus on God first thing in the morning. That’s going to look different for each of us, but God knows our hearts.
Here’s a few quick tips to get your mornings back on track:
Go to bed at a good time the night before, so you can get up early.
We had an amazing opportunity to visit Assateague Island yesterday. Assateague Island is a thirty-seven mile island that runs the coast of Maryland and Virginia. It’s a beautiful beach with a national park. But the most amazing thing about this island is its inhabitants. Wild horses roam freely on the island. When we heard about it, we knew we had to visit it for our horse lovers in the family.
Visiting the Island
Macey, our youngest, has been begging for us to make the trip. We were waiting for nicer weather, and yesterday was finally our chance. We drove there yesterday, unsure what to expect. The island boasts of somewhere between seventy to eighty wild horses, but we weren’t sure if we’d be able to see any. But we did, and it was incredible! We counted a total of about thirteen horses that we saw. It’s crazy because they just wander around. You can find them on the beach, in the parking lot, in the campsite, and everywhere and anywhere. We even got to see one of the two foals on the island! It was an amazing experience, and our kids are already asking when we can go back.
Adapting to Life on Storm Island
One of the things that stood out to me when we were at the visitor center and then later on the island is that these animals have adjusted to life on the island over time. This island is an island that’s seen a lot of storms. Malachi said that he read that it’s called storm island. Because of that, the horses have had to adapt. Their bodies are slightly different than that of the average horse. I am definitely no horse expert, but I read about how these horses have stockier bodies and shorter legs. Macey and I read that they’re fatter than normal horses as well because the grass they eat is salty from being near the ocean, so it makes them drink double of what a normal horse drinks. We also read that they have smaller ears because of the blowing sand all the time.
What’s amazing to me is that the storms that have impacted this island over the years haven’t driven the horses off. Instead, they’ve changed and adapted to their surroundings, making them stronger and able to endure the storms that come their way.
Adapting and Becoming Stronger
It reminds me so much of our lives as Christians. We can either let the storms of life drive us away from what God has for us, or we can adapt and become stronger. We read in the Old Testament how Joseph’s trials made him stronger. The writer of Psalms says this about Joseph:
Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
Psalm 105:17-19
The King James says it this way:
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.
Psalm 105:17-19
That phrase laid in iron from commentaries literally means that iron came into his soul. His trials made him stronger, turning him into the leader God needed him to be to save an entire people group from starvation in the coming famine. Had Joseph refused to become stronger through his trials, if he had given up, God couldn’t have used him in the way he did.
Growing Stronger and Adapting
What trials are you going through right now? How is God developing you and growing you and putting iron in your soul?
Rather than trying to dodge the trial, recognize it as as opportunity for growth. God is refining you, fortifying you. Embrace the process; it’s preparing you for what lies ahead.
The best way to grow through the trial is to spend time with God and allow him to work in your life. Adapt to how he’s working and choose to get stronger. Only then will we able to withstand the storms and ultimately be usable to God for what he has in store for us.
