June 29, 2021 Tuesday evening
Busyness. In Luke 10:40 Jesus addresses busyness. "But Martha was ·busy [worried; distracted] with ·all the work to be done." Her sister Mary had sat right down at Jesus' feet to listen, Martha was doing good things preparing a meal for The Lord, but, Jesus clearly says that Mary had chosen better. As a week has gone by without Steve, I find myself in the busyness of changing the name and addresses on bills, phone calls and emails to the emergency room in South Carolina, insurance of all kind and wondering if I brought something with me or is that something wrapped up on pallets in deep storage. These things wake me up, the to do lists, the uh oh's where is that, and I better remember such and such tomorrow. Busyness. The things I am doing are all necessary and really can't be given to another to take care of. They need to be done, but where is the peace. Am I putting Jesus first? Well, the answer is obviously no. Peace lies in sitting at the feet of Jesus.
I was vacuuming (otherwise known as avoiding what I was supposed to be doing) and I noticed on the top of my little stick vac, there was a button that said, "clean filter monthly". Well, we have had this stick vacuum for almost two years and it was the first time I had notice it! I had dutifully emptied the dust cup, cleaned the hair off the roller and always made sure nothing was stuck that would lessen the suction. So, I carefully opened it and black dust went everywhere! There was a large sponge thing and then filters underneath and the directions were to wash them monthly, dry and put them back OR the vacuum would lose suction. As I read that amidst the gross black dust, I got a feeling that The Lord wanted me to explore that a bit.
The "things" I had been focused on before Steve got sick was a lot of work. I loved all of my jobs, but it was too much. I had no time with my family nor The Lord, and I was very dry and distant from Him when Steve got sick. Through Steve's hospitalization, I pressed into The Lord and his word and worship. I surrounded myself AS I was doing what needed to be done. I wasn't doing what needed to be done and fitting The Lord in. I noticed in the past few days, I have been doing it backwards yet again. Even after the last 7 weeks of being hemmed in by The Lord, held, cared for, filled with peace, protected and provided for. I forgot. I stepped away. Busyness. How could it possibly be after all he has done for me, for my family that I could get it all mixed up. I have said many times that through this, His word is often my breath, I have been at such a place of total reliance on Him, I couldn't breathe without Him, I relied very heavily on listening to scripture and the pauses between scriptures was like holding my breath.
I have been running around "vacuuming", bills, unpacking boxes, funeral arrangements, time with my girls, getting loved on by friends and family. We are so blessed, these are all good and necessary! The problem is that I was running around DOING and I wasn't sitting at Jesus' feet first. My filter got clogged getting my to do's done and my "suction" wasn't 100%. I was fitting Jesus in instead of breathing in synch with Him like I had been doing while Steve was hospitalized. Then, I was vacuuming Jesus, my suction (my absorption and understanding and peace) was at 100%, I needed nothing. Jehovah Jireh. He is enough. I need to live in that blessed place of total reliance, filling myself with His word and worship through my day as the air I breathe and all the other things that need done, will fall into place without striving, stress, fear or weariness.
I cleaned out those filters, the dirty stuff of the world came out in the water. I knelt at His feet and confessed, He already knew. He washed me clean and picked me back up again. He also sent me an extraordinary exhorter later that day. An exhorter is like an encourager, but SO much better! An encourager makes you feel great, but an exhorter, does that and kicks you in the pants propelling you forward. It sometimes stings a little bit, but deep inside in your spirit, you know they are saying exactly what you already know. Exhorter, you need to have one in your life. I am so blessed.
A lot of this busyness is avoidance. I am really good at that. Plunge myself in and get it done. I don't want to avoid. The other day, Riley was so precious, she stopped at a big store and found a devotion that caught her eye. There were two, so she bought them thinking we could do them together every night. As we did the first night, she said that we needed a third for when Kaiti goes to school so we can continue. I told her that I would order Kaiti one before then and we all went to bed. The next morning, a sweet friend of Kaiti's came bearing gifts from Kaiti's coworkers. The first thing Kaiti saw was that very same devotion! I'm going to cry, again. The Lord hears us, knows us, loves us. That was a huge God wink. Riley had just said it the night before, and it appeared the next morning. When I am in a place of busyness and avoidance, I miss those beautiful touches from The Lord. I am so thankful that all three of us witnessed it together. He loves us so much and is grieving right along with us and at the same time rejoicing in Steve's homecoming. I don't want to miss anything He is doing. I don't want any of you to miss what He is doing. Stop, ask The Lord to turn your heart and breath to Him. Ask to be like Mary at Jesus' feet, vacuuming up EVERYTHING he has for you with a clean filter so you have 100% suction and absorb everything He has for you!
Here is a link to Steve's obituary, I will also post on facebook. I want you to know that family vacation was SO important to him. Please do not cancel family vacations! Family is everything, minister and love on your families. If you can't make it to the Virginia service, it will be live-streamed, we can gather at another time. We want to celebrate a life well-lived in The Lord. He very much disliked suits and ties. He loved his jeep, Life is Good T-shirts, sports shirts and hats and his vacation fedora. Please feel free to dress accordingly. 😊 Love you all, have a blessed week this week. I'll update as The Lord tells me.
https://www.hallfh.com/obituaries/Stephen-Steve-Anthony-Ruments?obId=21553903#/obituaryInfo
Comments
- Jeannine Santo ZupoI continue to be so inspired by you and thank you for this beautiful message that I needed and shared with Francesca. She has agreed to do Unbound here in Chicago too! Please know the God winks you share, become God winks for us as well. God is so amazing and knows exactly what we all need. Thank you for being obedient and sending messages of faith and hope to all of us. It’s God’s way of perpetuating peace and hope and love. My continued prayers as you celebrate Steve’s life in Virginia on the day Debbie went to be with the Lord. No coincidence. Love you.7/1/21
- Webb MelanieI just love you so much! ❤️ ❤️😘6/30/21
- Patrice SmithSo beautifuly written Heather. Your words encourage and exhort!6/30/21
- Niki MattsonHeather - thank you for this - I can relate! The Lord often brings Matthew 6:33 to me when I have a lot on my mind and plate: "But first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." The Mattson and Mosaic Virginia families continue to pray for you and your girls - we love you. ❤️6/30/21
- Sheila EmbreyThank you for sharing that Word today, I needed it! God bless you, dear, I love your writing. What a gift from the Lord! Praying for you all during this season... for His peace that surpasses all understanding and His provision for all your needs. He is faithful! ❤6/30/21
- Nicole HorschKeep writing❤️ The obituary is perfect❤️6/30/21
- Victoria MizerakI love you Heather! Thank you for your writings. They are so full of wonderful teaching.❤️🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽6/30/21
- Jacquelynn SutphinYou continue to inspire and amaze me. I pray for you and the girls daily and hope you know how much we care. I am surely surprised that my middle name is not Martha! I am pretty good at vacuuming the time away. Even though Jesus is not the bottom of the list (reserved for diet, exercise and cleaning) he is not the top either and I am convicted each time I read that passage. Lifting you up and ready to get busy whenever you need help😄❤❤❤6/29/21
- Sandy SteinLove this. I feel it has exhorted me. Thanks for sharing.❤️🙏6/29/21
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