“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
It’s the middle of July we have had rain more than usual. The grass in our yard was so tall that that it looked like a farm field, well almost. Needless to say, our yard was in desperate need to be trimmed and mowed. To make matters worse, the rain would come everyday and wet ground. This makes for a sticky and mound forming grass clipping time during mowing process. My husband said it was time to get the monstrous lawn and make it look presentable to the neighborhood. God forbid that some might knock at my door and let me know the obvious.
We delegated the jobs out as a family. He would take the trimming, I would take the mowing and my daughter had the trash and limb cleanup. Off we went. I was in the shed and rolled the lawn mower out only to knock down the shovels, racks and other tools. I bent down to pick them up and intense pain formed in foot. I took off running not really aware of what was going on around me only to pause about 10 foot away and realize a yellow jacket was stinging my foot through my sock. In no time flat, I had my shoe and sock off with the yellow jacket off my foot. I looked back and there was a swarm of yellow jackets at the front of the shed and around the lawn mower. I was planning my revenge…
I darted to the shop to get wasp spray only to find none. I grabbed the pump sprayer and let them yellow jackets have it. If it flew, it was dead! Finally, I could get back to what I started…the lawn mowing. It was a beautiful sight as a glanced back level at the freshly cut yard. I moved slowly, like turtle speed, mowing the jungle until the stirring went out on the lawn mower. I knew where to look because the tie rod had broke before and my husband fixed it by welding it. Guess what, it broke again like he said it might.
My first thought was fix it with zip ties. Quick, available and easy to install on the tie rod. Get it done and back mowing the jungle. Yep, only fixed it for about 5 minutes. Next solution, ummm my brain was turning like a well oiled machine through a list of possible solutions. Did I say, I am from the south and basic items can fix anything. Wire, lots of wire I remembered from my childhood on a diary farm. Found some in the shop and wrapped it continuously about 5 times in different directions. Maybe just maybe I prayed this will work and it will keep the rods together.
The temporary fix will not be so temporary since the mower made it through our front/back and neighbor’s yard mowing. Our lawn is now presentable to the neighborhood but now I need to deal with the yellow jacket sting that I ignored. Chewing tobacco came to mind. It is said that it draws out the pain of the sting. I just know a man that dips and had him doctor it for me.
In the matter of 3 hours in an evening: I got stung, southern engineered a tie rod and got spit on to doctor the sting
In 3 hours time, my life went from being a chilled out afternoon and moving right along to being completely nonstop adventures.
Trust me, I understand asking God for instant fixes and convenience, but I’ve seen that often leads me to complacency. Once God solves my problem, I move on and forget to look for lessons I need to learn from what I faced.
But looking to God for purpose and perspective forces me to learn crucial lessons in perseverance and wisdom. Then I can understand the meaning of Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). This does not mean that everything that happens to us will be good, but that God will work in and through every situation to bring good from it.
These solutions to the situations allowed me to help out my elderly neighbors and get doctored from a dear elderly man.
Dear Lord, I thank You for the purpose You place in everything. Give me Your perspective today as I struggle with some things that may not be going “right.” I know You have a greater plan through it all.
