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| Still on the ListDear Friends, When I arrived home after a three week absence, I discovered a list and a pen on my bedside table. The list included several last-minute things I was trying to accomplish before I left. I studied the list with interest. "Change the sheets" was crossed off. "Take the dog for a walk" was crossed off. "Help Christina find Haley's address" was crossed off. In fact, there was only one item that was NOT crossed off. I laughed when I read it. It said, "ironing." Ironing is ALWAYS last on my list! Why was I thinking I would get it done this time? I had good intentions. Several items of clothing were stacked on a chair, awaiting a chance to become wrinkle free. But when I arrived home after two weeks traveling the rough, narrow, and winding roads of Guatemala, and had literally only few hours to pack, pay the essential bills, and depart again for the family gathering on Catalina Island, I gave up. The clothes went into my bag (and my daughters' bags) wrinkled, and that's the way I wore them. Now that I'm home from BOTH my journeys, I can really see the futility of putting "ironing" on the list. There are so many people I want to catch up with, so many projects to check in on, and so many immediate crises to solve (just for example, my car insurance policy was discontinued while I was gone!!) that I feel destined to wear wrinkled clothes forever. I guess it's my little lesson in letting go. We can't always accomplish everything on our list, especially in a limited time frame. We left Guatemala with things not finished: at the clinic, the wall tiles were done, but not the ceilings. At the children's center, the painting was done, but at the church we were building, neither the flooring nor the electricity were completed. Furthermore, when we came home, our suitcases got left behind because the truck that was carrying them broke down on the way to the airport. The good news is that the work continues on, even though we have departed. Some of our bags have now caught up with us, and we hope that we will yet regain the others! I take great comfort and reassurance in the passage found in Philippians 1:6, which says:
Good work certainly continued at PB UMC while I was gone. The youth room (stage) floor was refinished. The new and old rose bushes are blooming profusely. A new directory was published. I heard good reports of the worship services and Wednesday night ministry and youth days at the beach. So, like all of you, I plan to keep doing what I can, trusting God to keep the good things going, and praying for wisdom regarding the things that are STILL on my list. "Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Pastor April |
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