Muffins, Neighbors & Moving Forward

We’ve lived in our house almost 25 years!! Our children were in high school when we first moved in. Our son dyed his hair blue, wore a black leather duster (like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix) and our daughters were googly-eyed over J.T. Thomas and the Backstreet Boys.

I’ll never forget the day when my hubby and I were sitting in Cici’s watching our daughters walk up with their new hubbies. Two godly young men who had demonstrated a love for the LORD. We looked at each other and gave a sigh of relief.

We made it!!!!!

Anybody remember the movie Fiddler on the Roof and the wedding song? “…now they must learn from one another day by day.” I can’t even write the words without singing it. Ha!!!

That’s exactly what we do.

A new family unit is formed. Together we face the future, build a family and learn from each other day by day. As we all know, this is nothing to sneeze at. It takes a lot of effort and hard work.

When the going gets hard (and it does) it is so easy to think somebody made a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe we missed God’s will? Maybe we read the signs wrong? Maybe deep down we’re thinking… if I’m in God’s will, it shouldn’t be so hard?!! Life should be a piece of cake.

Right?!!!

We can think that way about lots of things. If I’m following God’s will, life should be easy.

Right?!!!

How often I remind myself of the saints of old who walked with God, like Moses, David and Paul. All faced hardships!! Not to mention the LORD Jesus, Himself. Just talk to anyone who’s walked with the LORD for a few decades, and they will tell you that the sweetest times, oftentimes were the hardest times.

Difficulty pushes us beyond our comfort zone into new areas of growth.

This morning, I brought some apricot muffins over to my neighbors. Over the years, we’ve chatted about the neighborhood, family, God, and what we think is right and wrong about the world.

Normally, the conversations go pretty well. The last conversation did not.

What went wrong? What could I have done better? And for the next few weeks it was on my heart and continually on the altar.

As I pondered what to do next, I knew it needed to begin at “the bush.”

I needed to encounter God and get His perspective. As I reflected on the story of Moses, I find it interesting that he does not stay at the bush. After his encounter with God, he moves forward. How easy it would be to revel in the burning bush, to warm oneself by the fire, maybe build an altar, sing a hymn or two, and cry over past sins…

Never moving forward!!!

I love the part in the story where God says to Moses, why are you standing here? Get going and move the sons of Israel forward!!!!

Enough sniffling about the past. There comes a time to move forward.

So, I did.

I made some muffins, brought them over to my neighbors and we had the sweetest conversation. We talked about God and His word. They asked me questions about my faith, and I listened as they shared theirs. We ended our conversation with thoughts on the love of God, the blood of the Passover Lamb and the authority of God’s word.

It was good to move forward and see God at work.

No parting of the Red Sea, just a simple getting up from my knees, wiping my tears and moving forward!!