Yokemates

Passing by a neighborhood church, I quickly read their sign. This time the message caused me to pause and absorb its truth. It said “Waiting on God is Never Wasted Time!” Wow! I needed those wise words of counsel. I don’t usually have an issue waiting in a doctor’s office, waiting in the Wal-Mart checkout line or waiting on hold for endless minutes (“You are the next in queue.”). However, there have been moments in life when the challenge I was facing seemed endless, and the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel was very dim.   Why don’t I mind waiting on the phone or at the doctor’s office. Well, for one thing I come prepared with paperwork to do. When I make a phone call that I know will require more than five minutes on hold, I’ll prepare myself by finding something to do – folding laundry, doing dishes, or organizing piles of magazines, bills and papers. When I go to a doctor’s office, I bring note cards, office work or a book to...

When I shared the 12 Days of Christmas list at our Women’s Christmas party this year at church, the hope was that some of the ladies – if not all – would be challenged to stretch themselves and spread a bit of extra Christmas joy and hope during the days leading up to Christmas. What I didn’t expect was the ripple effect of that simple challenge. Without originally intending to ‘copycat’ and reuse the 12 Days of Christ list (see December 11th's post below), I found myself incorporating it into a Sunday School lesson for my middle schoolers the following week. It was a good exercise in faith for them and brought some interesting reactions. One gal wasn’t challenged at all with the ‘pay it forward’ option (paying for someone behind you in line) as she said “We always do that!” This same gal remarked on the suggestion of gifting your mail carrier or bank teller with a token of appreciation - with the same comment. In fact, she was confused as to why these actions were even on the l...