ON HOLD

There’s nothing like being on hold with a business call that causes one to either practice patience or build up irritation. I’m on hold because of a ridiculous mistake I made yesterday, which is unnecessary to mention or dwell on.

Today I choose to let the process of waiting produce patience, but I’m not sure I’m doing very well. Anxiety seems to build as I wait. So maybe it’s more than practicing patience. Maybe it’s practicing laying down my fears, too. I’m not even sure why my body feels the fear.  Am I not trusting God has the current situation under control? 

Elizabeth Elliot put it plainly: 

Fear arrises when we imagine everything depends on us. 

Perhaps I imagine, even subconsciously,  I have to fix this on my own.  I’m forgetting I’m not alone in this, even though I made a mistake. I am bonded to Christ, and he carries me through everything. He is in the business of restoration through his gift of grace. He knows I am just dust.

Whatever I must face, I need not press ahead without him; instead, I walk yoked to him in safety and peace. He does the work with me. Even as I write this, I feel my body relax. He is showing me as I set my thoughts on his purposes for me. 

I think there is a tendency to believe that God doesn’t care about the daily grind, the details of business, or even daily mundane household tasks. To be surrendered wholly means to allow Him in every detail. But I forget. Do you? I can get so wrapped up in the work I forget I’m not in charge. I do get to make choices, but I forget to be WITH HIM in those decisions.

So here I am, still on hold, listening to (what feels like) the insanity of repeated musical phrases. But as I take the opportunity to rethink the situation by writing this, I’ve had a quiet peace settle in, and I’m at rest.  Thankfully, the Lord never puts us on hold. We may be placed in waiting periods, but he always works within us while waiting. He’s pretty miraculous like that. 

What do you think?  Am I the only one whose mind stresses in places it should not?  Do you forget God is with you in what may appear so very trivial? All humanity makes dumb mistakes that need correction. Do you experience His grace even when you make dumb mistakes?

P.S. I was on hold for 30 minutes, then the call was dropped.  I was then on hold for another hour.  Finally, the situation was resolved, and my mistake wasn’t the catastrophe I imagined. Do you worry about mistakes that seem important at the time, but you find out later wasn’t as big a deal as you made it? I sure do! I’m always a work in progress.

Eve