Journal Entry #9 - Details, Details, Details

Life: an adventure, a journey with Jesus!

Details, details, details

You’ve read this paragraph before. It’s still true. The Lord remains faithful to us and we try to remain faithful to Him. We want to share some everyday life facts with you that have recently become overwhelming.

Details, details, details. What’s most important? Lists of things to do, places to go, people to contact, events to attend, and so on. Things including legal, financial, medical, family, community, church and personal all need attention. Sorting, packing, mailing, storing, selling, and giving things away are necessary. Dusting, washing, scrubbing, and cleaning things. Accepting invitations to breakfasts, lunches, dinners, coffees, for visiting, sharing and caring. Daily life continues with the addition of all these details, details, details. Scheduling becomes a nightmare. What’s most important? How does one accomplish all this?

What is the focus after all? The purpose seems clear. All this preparation is required before we can move onto the next leg of the journey. The focus is obedience. Hearing what the Lord has set forth for us to do as in Ephesians 2:10, feeling the tug on our hearts to do those things He has planned for us in Peru. All this takes time to accomplish and it begins at home in Duluth. After 30 years of marriage and accumulating tangible memorabilia, it comes down to a few suitcases and storage of a bedroom suite and some keepsakes. Why? Because as the old hymn says, “this world is not my (our) home, I’m (we’re) just a passin’ through and my (our) treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.” So all the details that are falling into place may be overwhelming, but they are part of the plan and have an ultimate reason. Being obedient in this portion of the journey, being well prepared, doing the job well, assures that we are will be ready for the next part of the trip.

Whoa! Wait a minute! Hold on! Stop! No! Those are the words that describe the feelings when one more detail is added to the many already facing us. In the midst of the rush to get it all done, some verses of scripture come to mind. “Be still and know that I am God” from Psalms and another one “Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him”, and “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” Without looking at these in context as we should do, we claim them as reminders of how to face the details, details, details.

There is absolutely no way, humanly speaking, that one can do all the hundreds of things, literally, that are required under the circumstances we are experiencing, without losing it at one time or another. It is only with the Lord’s help that we can remain sane, controlled, excited, and positive! You see, it’s all part of His plan. (You will read that phrase, time and again, as we know that all things work together to those who love Him……..and we also know that He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper…….

All the details exist because we are responsible adults. But do we handle them as we should? Do we continue to honor the Lord in all that we do and say? Is our task oriented mindset pleasing to Him? Do our deeds indicate we belong to Him? Good people we know do good things and are responsible people. What makes us different?

We need to be still. Be quiet. Settle down. Remain calm. Enjoy silence. Why? So we can know Him and hear Him as He is there for us. At the end of the day, after scurrying about, doing, accomplishing and completing, there is a time for rest and relaxation, to contemplate and ponder, to be still. Throughout the last six months of planning and preparations, the details have far outweighed what we anticipated. In the midst of it all, the quiet times have also been more abundant that ever. The quietness of the night has provided assurance time and again as we recognize how He has walked with us and talked with us and He reminds us we are His own; or when the day starts earlier than usual, because He has awakened us from a sleep, while the dew is still on the roses. (The old hymns so often come back to our mind.)

Without changing your location or vocation, let me encourage you to put aside the details and to be still, wait patiently, and know Him. Spend some time just being quiet. Deal with the details necessary in preparation for what He will have you do next.