Back to the great book, "Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting" by Holly Whitcomb. The sixth gift of waiting is humility. She opens this chapter with "sometimes we wait because we can't do anything else. We recognize we are powerless". We learn to lean on God during this time and experience grace because we can't "do" anything about our situation.
Once we stop trying to "do" something, we may have more time to see who we actually are and evaluate what is important to us. We see that the times we have "done" something are not as important as the times that we have loved someone. The author says that the despair of waiting can bring us low...and that change in perspective helps us see others around us who are struggling, too. We learn to value people more and honor the human journey more.
She ends with the thought that humility allows us to see our weaknesses and our flaws. But, it also allows us to see our strengths and our potential. As we wait, we need to acknowledge what good things the wait brings out of us as well as work on the not-so-good qualities we see in ourselves.
It makes me feel like while waiting, God hands you a great big mirror like the kind you find in dressing rooms. The lighting brings out all your flaws and wrinkles. What do you see in there? Do you still have a happy glow about you or is it all slumped shoulders and frowns? Do you look for the good qualities or only the bad? What can we learn from this mirror?
Here's looking at you, fellow waiters! Hope you see lots of good stuff in your mirrors!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Birthday Blessings
Didn't get a chance to post last week. We've got our house for sale and have had some stuff going on with that. We also packed up Friday and went on a camping trip to the mountains. That was very refreshing!
Today is my birthday and I'm counting my blessings. Between the house and the adoption, my world is full of unknowns and anxiety. I constantly remind myself that I am waiting for all good things to happen. I have my faith, good health, a terrific hubby, sweet daughter and lots of family and friends. We have a nice house, two reliable vehicles, lots of "stuff" and lots of fun. All the worries, though major life changing things, are small potatoes compared to what many families deal with every day. I am blessed.
So, if you need me, I will be sitting in my unsold house, with a big smile on my face holding a big spoon above an even bigger piece of ice cream cake! Happy Monday!
Today is my birthday and I'm counting my blessings. Between the house and the adoption, my world is full of unknowns and anxiety. I constantly remind myself that I am waiting for all good things to happen. I have my faith, good health, a terrific hubby, sweet daughter and lots of family and friends. We have a nice house, two reliable vehicles, lots of "stuff" and lots of fun. All the worries, though major life changing things, are small potatoes compared to what many families deal with every day. I am blessed.
So, if you need me, I will be sitting in my unsold house, with a big smile on my face holding a big spoon above an even bigger piece of ice cream cake! Happy Monday!
Friday, August 8, 2008
It's Friday...I'm Fasting
I've been on a self-imposed fast from all adoption related internet groups, boards, blogs, etc. I am only checking my email and anything unrelated to adoption. At this for about 4 days now and I'm finding it quite refreshing!
I actually got a little bit of hopeful news relating to adoption in my email inbox during the last couple of days. I'm thinking this fasting thing is working out! Not sure how long I can do this, but I'm going to try it for awhile.
I have Google reader set up, though and I can see that some of my fave bloggers have updated recently. It's hard not to peek and see what's going on in their world, but I just think good thoughts for them and move on! I'll check in eventually.
I think it is possible that an adoption internet fast is harder for me than food. Well, maybe not, but it's a close race. Hope your bellies are full of nutritious meals, your spirits are full of peace and your inboxes overflow with good news.
Happy Friday!
PS: For a fun-raising Friday idea, I suggest watching the Olympics opening ceremony and eating foods from around the world. I'm letting my little one stay up late for some multi-cultural TV time!
I actually got a little bit of hopeful news relating to adoption in my email inbox during the last couple of days. I'm thinking this fasting thing is working out! Not sure how long I can do this, but I'm going to try it for awhile.
I have Google reader set up, though and I can see that some of my fave bloggers have updated recently. It's hard not to peek and see what's going on in their world, but I just think good thoughts for them and move on! I'll check in eventually.
I think it is possible that an adoption internet fast is harder for me than food. Well, maybe not, but it's a close race. Hope your bellies are full of nutritious meals, your spirits are full of peace and your inboxes overflow with good news.
Happy Friday!
PS: For a fun-raising Friday idea, I suggest watching the Olympics opening ceremony and eating foods from around the world. I'm letting my little one stay up late for some multi-cultural TV time!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
#5 Gratitude
We're onto the fifth gift of waiting from the book "Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting." I especially liked this chapter on gratitude. I think most of the time, I find it pretty easy to be grateful for the many wonderful things in my life. I can always find someone in a worse situation and see that I have it pretty good. But, I do fall into the "woe is me" trap occasionally.
One of the author's ideas in this chapter is to look at what might be a depressing situation and try to "reframe" it. She uses the Biblical beatitudes as example. She also talks about how she has these ordinary items they picked up while traveling put in fancy frames in her house. The frame turns the ordinary into a beautiful piece of art. So, how we can we "reframe" the wait and see the beauty in it?
She also talks about gratitude vs. entitlement. Feelings of entitlement defeat feelings of gratitude. Her last point is that waiting opens our hearts, makes us vulnerable and allows us to see the blessings of small things we might have missed otherwise.
Let's have a little Thanksgiving in August. It's incredibly hot here in the South. I've been dreaming of a crisp, fall day! I'm going to try and spend the day being grateful. I may have to substitute turkey lunch meat for my Thanksgiving meal! Frankly, I've been a little blue this week. My head knows all the reasons why I should be grateful and content. But, in the words of Billy Ray, I've got an Achy Breaky Heart! No matter, though, because I continue to wait expectantly with hope and gratitude even on the hard days. Hope you are waiting well, too!
One of the author's ideas in this chapter is to look at what might be a depressing situation and try to "reframe" it. She uses the Biblical beatitudes as example. She also talks about how she has these ordinary items they picked up while traveling put in fancy frames in her house. The frame turns the ordinary into a beautiful piece of art. So, how we can we "reframe" the wait and see the beauty in it?
She also talks about gratitude vs. entitlement. Feelings of entitlement defeat feelings of gratitude. Her last point is that waiting opens our hearts, makes us vulnerable and allows us to see the blessings of small things we might have missed otherwise.
Let's have a little Thanksgiving in August. It's incredibly hot here in the South. I've been dreaming of a crisp, fall day! I'm going to try and spend the day being grateful. I may have to substitute turkey lunch meat for my Thanksgiving meal! Frankly, I've been a little blue this week. My head knows all the reasons why I should be grateful and content. But, in the words of Billy Ray, I've got an Achy Breaky Heart! No matter, though, because I continue to wait expectantly with hope and gratitude even on the hard days. Hope you are waiting well, too!
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