Was the half-hour wasted?

2:10 p.m. Today's project was to hop up at 5:30 again, in order to get our student guest over to the University of California Riverside by 8 a.m. If that sounds like too much time, it had to include being showered, dressed, with devotions done, breakfast eaten, her lunch packed).  Steve was in the best of hands for the morning by 6:30 with Carlos, so no need to break his routine.

The difference between this morning and yesterday was that I had had a good night's sleep, after lots of fun with my kids and son-in-law catching a brown recluse spider, "Baby" Steven's idea of course. Always up for an adventure, that one is! We also enjoyed the dogs' much-improved manners during their play date. Steven's girlfriend Kathy was with us also. We all took Jung out to dinner and then to see the lights at the Mission Inn downtown. Kathy and Steven drove back up to Fresno.

The morning went very well, with my devotional for 2012, Spurgeon's Morning and Evening; reading Esther Chapter 2; writing in my Mary Kay prayer journal and my "everything about my life" prayer journal; and posting Psalm 12:6 on Facebook:

The words of the LORD are pure words
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.

I got Jung's lunch packed, adding an extra persimmon cookie since she really liked them, and got my second batch of mushroom culture soaking overnight.

Around 7:30 she came down and said, "I only have to be there 9:00, 8:00 is for new people today." I replied, "Oh, okay!" and she went back upstairs to finish getting ready. Sheesh! Looks like I didn't "read the fine print!" Or would I have figured out the schedule even if I had???

So the question is, was that extra half-hour a waste of time? I went to bed at 9:30 for once, so I had 8 hours of sleep at least. And today has been another productive day business-wise, with a new facial booking and a party in the offing;  some gardening, getting the new workbook for next week's Women's Study start-up while enjoying a pleasant drive to church with Steve on this lovely day.  I picked up a package of products from my younger daughter and purchased ten books from Tate Publishing for my next book signing February 11th. We are having a peaceful and enjoyable day, I'm not even tired, and Jung and I are both looking forward to taking her to our fun Mary Kay meeting tonight.

My opinion is that nothing is wasted in God's economy, whether our oversights and poor decisions, or genetic defects  and tragedies we could not have prevented. How are we to learn the great mercy, miraculous keeping power, and love of our Jesus if nothing bad ever happens, or we have flawless judgment and make no mistakes? How would we hear the whispered guidance of the Holy Spirit if we had no need of it?

Why did Jesus have to go to the cross if we humans were doing so great at knowing and doing His will?

For believers who love and serve Christ to the best of our flawed ability, who pray to see His purposes accomplished through us in any way He chooses, anywhere in the world, Romans 8:26-28 rings so true, no matter how many times we hear it:

  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Thank You, Lord!!