Straightening up around here

                                 
4:16 p.m. Today's project was to straighten up my business supplies, binder, sales slips and inventory from yesterday's boutique event at my home.

Steve and I came home from a good church service with a message on Christian hospitality from I Peter 4, and enjoyed lots of fellowship with those putting it into practice!  He had waited nicely while a friend picked up her perfume from me, while receiving warm greetings from the guys he used to attend Men's Bible study with. I was able to give the wife of our home fellowship leader an update on my husband, and let her know that from now on, it would just be me attending, because Steve is utterly struggling with basic functions of life, like walking, sitting, staying seated and eating his food. He also has no idea who anyone is now. I hope people understand...

My wanting to enjoy a fun evening of fellowship with everyone reminds me of Proverbs 14:13 (NLT):

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.

I'm glad God invented laughter, an activity we can all enjoy and benefit from!

Steve didn't know our daughter Heidi's name today, despite the fact that we see and talk to her once a week at church with her husband and when she stops by during the week. That became apparent after church service. She had given me her school [teacher] picture before church started. I showed it to Steve once before the service and tucked it into the sleeve of his Bible cover.

On the way home, I had him hold the portrait and asked him, "Say, Steve, who is she?" more or less out of curiosity. He smiled happily, but spent most of the ride home, about 15 minutes, trying to think of her name. (Or forgot the question). When we parked at the bank to make my deposit from yesterday, he finally said, "She's the one..." and the sentence drifted off. I told him her name, and then asked, just for clarification/ assessment purposes for our next doctor visit, "Does she live with us?" He said, "Yes." (Heidi has been married to Pavel for almost a year. And he comes with her to the house of course, both obviously visitors, as recently as Easter Sunday).

We had our respective lunches, and he went out in the backyard with our labrador retriever Jada. I started straightening and updating my Mary Kay binder, with fresh customers and leads moving to the front of older ones that needed to be filed for later contact. I put unsold inventory items into my rolling cart while placing an order for items I sold yesterday or needed to get for other customers. Then I began to tackle the cute decorated cello gift bags I put orders in, sorting them by small, medium and large for next week's deliveries. This activity caused me to chuckle out loud, because I know the bag section will become a rat's nest once again, as soon as my first new order needs to be packaged!

I'm reminded of when our daughter Heidi was born and our son Kriss was just 18 months old, and my mother-in-law came to stay with us for a week to help out. (Very much needed)!  Precious Ruby Kruckenberg straightened out and completely orgranized all of our dresser drawers and linen closet, bless her heart. It was wonderful for this "toss it in and shut the drawer/ door" style mom! Details are not my specialty. As my mother always said, "Dana, your head is in the clouds!"

Within a week of Steve's mom leaving, my drawers and linen closet shelves were not perfect any more, but I did have a basic pattern I would follow from time to time when things got to costing me precious minutes looking for items.

We who follow Christ know that He not only clears out and cleans our difficult struggles and clarifies our decisions--Jesus really does "straighten things up!" He knows we need 24/7 help, and is only a prayer away. Psalm 103:14, one of my favorite verses, says:

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

Another passage to memorize and claim when perplexed, unsure, or after re-tangling the Holy Spirit's perfect de-tangling of a situation, is Hebrews 4:14-16:

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

See you there, friend, at the throne of grace!