Rocky Roads and Smooth Ascents

Currently, the Tuesday morning Women's Bible study is studying the To Live is Christ: The Life and Ministry of Paul. Talk about rocky and perilous roads. I wonder if Saul had known what God had in store for Him, if he would have gone asking for papers to go to Damascus. The man was seriously blind-sided. This year began with a bang for me. I wasn't going to Damascus, I just went to get that knot on my neck checked. I got blind-sided with a medical journey that I was brass enough to tell God I didn't have time for. God left Saul without physical sight for 3 days. I got knocked on my butt for a whole lot longer, trying to figure out how to get myself out of this situation and back to my own agenda. Nothing happening. When did I forget that God really is in control and will complete what He sets out to do? I couldn't figure out why I was being nailed...oh, I forgot Jesus did that already, too. Okay I stumbled around in the dark until God sent a message by one of His servants (my mom) to let me in on the reason for my detainment.
See, Mom has this little booklet about eagles and what we can learn from them on our spiritual journey. One of the last entries has to do with middle-aged eagles. Eagles can live to be over 70 years old. However, to do that, they must go through a mid-life crisis. The middle-aged eagle has a sharp beak that has begun to curve into his/her chest. The talons (food-gathering tool) are becoming useless, and the feathers have become old and heavy. The eagle has two choices:die, or go through a painful process for 150 days. The eagle finds a nest high up on the cliff or mountain wall. There it begins to beat  its beak against the wall until the beak breaks off. After the new beak grows in, it is used to pull out the talons for new and better ones to grow in their place. Then for the feathers. They get plucked out - all of the wing feathers have to go so that new ones can grow in. Now get this, the majestic eagle so accustomed to soaring freely, must stay in that nest for 150 days straight to complete the renewal process. Once completed,  the eagle again soars to live another 30 years!
Well, I guess I'd better be still and know that the Lord He is God. I've already beat my head against the wall long enough, that beak must be gone by now. I'll let the Holy Spirit pull those talons and wing feathers. I'm a little too chicken to do it myself. Besides, Ephesians 2:10 says
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." I learned awhile back that the word workmanship is also translated masterpiece. Yahoo! I'm a masterpiece in process.
 Philippians 1:6
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
So I choose to take the rocky road, and wait for the day that I soar again. Sitting still has never been easy for me. I think the grand ascent will be worth the wait.

From A to Z

Lately my mind has been aflutter with all kinds of lists, thoughts, and ideas bouncing off each other like so much alphabet soup. Ben's teacher has a bulletin board like that. She put up all kinds of things that people read, but they were thrown up there really random. I think the kids were supposed to write the items  down in alphabetical order. For those with questionable executive functioning, that assignment could cause vertigo. I see why Ben didn't get it done. He is my kid and I can't think in clutter. I guess the board is kind of a cute idea. Not if you only have a few minutes to do it. Life is like that board and the aforementioned soup. Things get all scrambled up and we can't sort it all out properly, especially not in a hurry.
I am so glad that First Peter 5:6 tells us to cast all of our cares on Him (Jesus) for He cares for us.
Cast: verb (1) : to throw off or away <the horse cast a shoe> (2) : to get rid of : discard
If I would just remember that Jesus cares very much for me, I wouldn't get intellectual or spiritual vertigo. 
Psalm 46:10 says to be still and know that I AM God.
So I need to stop running around trying to put all of the pieces together alone. The Lord promised a Helper, and a Helper He did send to remind me of all that the Lord has and is teaching me. I think too much sometimes. I need to be more like Mary and sit still at the Master's feet to listen and know that He is God. Some things may be a cute  idea for a bulletin board, but they are not helpful nor effective in helping us to know that HE is God, from beginning to end.