Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 133
January 23, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: January 22, 2013
Because we were out of hot water, because he lingered too long in the shower, because I needed well-being restored, I told him to sit on the stool while I did the dinner dishes. Showing him the full dishwasher, I pointed to the sink still filled with dishes, explained how I couldn’t clean them without hot water, asked him what I should do. He shrugged. I smiled.
If I lived in the Middle Ages, I would walk to a frozen creek and chip a hole in the ice. If the creek was too far and the Black Death was upon us, I would settle for the ash-stained snow outside our door. I would fill my leaky handmade bucket, haul it into my one-room home, place the icy contents in my black kettle, swing the kettle over the fire, and wait for water to boil. Then, I would pour it into the basin with my dishes and my best lye soap.
Thankful my reality is in this century, I pulled my Dutch oven from the cupboard and filled it with tap water. I placed it on the stove and turned it on high.
“Bring your stool over here and watch the water until it boils,” I said.
With a mixture of slight reluctance and idle curiosity, he did.
“Is it boiling yet?”
“No.”
“How about now?”
“Not yet.”
I leaned over the edge of the pot.
“Boil!” I yelled to the water.
Nothing.
“Boil!” I demanded.
Still still.
“You know, you were like this water today.”
He nodded.
“You had a hard time starting your day.”
He nodded again.
“But, it didn’t work when I told you to get started. It was like telling this water to boil when it wasn’t warm enough.”
His eyebrows creased in thought.
“So, I waited for you to start ‘boiling.’ But, I didn’t just sit and watch. I did what I could, just like we are doing now without hot water. I figured out what I could do and did it while I waited for you.”
I told him to go get a book and read while he waited for the water. He read and watched. Soon bubbles began to pop to the surface.
“Here’s the tricky part,” I said. “I want the water to boil, but not too much. I don’t want to burn my hands or have the pot overflow. This water has just enough heat to help me do my job.
That’s the tricky part with you, too. You need just enough energy and willingness to work without getting frustrating. I need just enough patience to wait without getting frustrated, too.”
I poured the water into the sink and washed the dishes while he waited for the rinsing water to heat. Then we dried the dishes, put them away, wiped down the counters.
“Can I play the Xbox now?”
Because he promised tomorrow would be better, because I promised the same, because the sink was empty, because the day’s lessons were fulfilled, I nodded.
January 21, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: January 21, 2013
“My best at any given moment in any specific situation is all I have.” Joan C. Webb
One Good Thing Every Day: January 20, 2013
“Brotherly love,” said my middle son, our avid football fan after the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens clinched their conference titles. As the Harbaugh brothers prepare to face each other from opposite sidelines, I do not envy their familial spectators.
I know the competitive spirit of boys all too well! I have done my best to encourage separate interests to avoid opposite sidelines. When two of my boys chose bowling as their main sports, I was thankful they were on the same school team. But, if their Saturday leagues match up, watch out! It is hard for one to distinguish an encouragement from a criticism, while the other tries to shrug off his bantering taunts. No wonder my third son studies karate!
Yet, there is a fierce protectiveness between my three as well. They are quick to defend when someone else offends. One eye may be focused on their tasks, but the other keeps peripheral watch. The desire to prevail is as keen as the pride when the others succeed.
No doubt the Harbaugh brothers will face the same quandary. But, with brotherly love, a win-win is a given.
January 20, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: January 19, 2013
I savored steaming chili, surrounded by my husband and boys, and listened to the wind whistle our dinner music.
January 19, 2013
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January 18, 2013
January 17, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: January 17, 2013
Before I opened my eyes this morning, God had already wrapped up this day. He revealed it like a box-within-a-box. When worry threatened, He prompted me to trust. Whenever I wondered if all had been done, He held out the fruit of my labors for me to see. Whenever the plan seemed confusing and frustrating, He showed me a hopeful glimmer and a future glimpse. I end this day as I began it: rejoicing with wonder-widened eyes at His transcending unfathomable peace.
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which t ranscends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
January 16, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: January 16, 2013
Matthew 11:28-30 appeared in two of my devotional readings this morning.
This is the second morning this year that Matthew 11:28-30 has greeted me. On that morning, I came across these lines from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.
Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am.
Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,
Looks down, is erect, bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest,
Looks with its sidecurved head, curious what will come next,
Both in and out of the game, and watching and wondering at it.
Of course, I cannot know for certain what inspired Whitman’s words. But, as I read them, I cannot not separate Jesus’ words from them. Because even as I try to appear in control my day-to-day tasks, I know I do not reign over the reins. That “sidecurved head, curious what will come next,/Both in and out of the game, and watching and wondering at it” is mine in the yoke of the only One who can lead me through the “pulling and hauling” of my burdens. At the end of the day is the rest He promises, in the pasture of His grace.
One Good Thing Every Day: January 15, 2013
From Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence
“I am always beside you, helping you face today’s waves.”
