Day 3: Evelyn Anderson
Nehemiah 8:10
"... the joy of the Lord is your strength & stronghold." (The amplified Bible)
~
We have been building a home in FL for the past 3 years. It has been a very frustrating project, to say the least.
After we got our CO this year in mid-December (thinking the process would now go smoothly), I scheduled a trip to FL to have carpets, box springs & TVs installed. Everything went very well until I was left waiting 14 hours for TVs that never showed up. I spent about 4 hours on the phone with people from Guatemala, Minnesota, etc., trying to figure out if the delivery was actually going to take place that day or not. They also unsuccessfully tried to contact the delivery people to find out if they were on their way. I was told that they only had a part of the order & would reschedule me for the following week. This was not an option since I was leaving FL by the end of the week.
Needless to say, I was exhausted from unpacking furniture all day long and now spending so much time on the phone trying to locate these items. I was feeling physically & emotionally whipped.
That night on the phone with my husband Tom, I told him that I would not be robbed of my joy! I would fight hard to get this resolved before I returned to NJ, but I was choosing to remain in the joy of the Lord, no matter what. He encouraged me to go in-person to the store the next day & find out the status of my order. I agreed, gave it to the Lord, then went to bed.
The next day things became even more frustrating. I spent an hour on the phone only to get recordings that informed me they had no record of my order. UGH! I finally spoke to a person from Georgia, but they also had no record of my order. I was given the email of the store manager. I emailed him, but got no reply. Though I had strong resolve and determination to secure these items, yet with no resolution in sight, I was still set in my mind to live in the joy of the Lord and not allow this earthly situation to deter me.
As I read the Word and prayed that day, I had peace from the Lord and was convinced that this day would bring resolve. And God did bless me with resolve that day.
The carpets were installed without a hitch. I went in-person to the store about those missing TVs. God went before me as I immediately was paired with a wonderful salesperson who located the items in his warehouse. Although he could not explain the events that happened up to this point, he assured me that they would have them delivered by Friday before I had to leave Florida.
I left the store elated, yet still quite tired from all of the stress and happenings. I had a lovely meal, took my first, long, hot shower in our new home, read the Word and prayed…filled with a peace and joy that consumed me; totally content. I even slept for 9 restorative hours! And the store honored their word. Everything arrived and was taken care of before I had to leave for New Jersey.
My prayer below really captures the lesson to be learned- everyday earthly things can make us feel so defeated. But we must remember to stay tuned in to God’s Word, keep in the presence of the Holy Spirit and set His joy as the foundation beneath us in and through all things!
~
Heavenly Father, You meet us at our every need. When frustrations so often rob us of our joy, you tell us to choose joy, as an act of our will, no matter what. Thank you for teaching me such a concrete lesson and rewarding me with your peace and inexpressible joy that is beyond circumstances, in spite of the emotional roller coaster I found myself on. Your ways are so much higher and better than our ways. Thank you that you stretch us to desire your higher life and enable us to eventually land there, if we put ourselves in a place to receive from You. We love you with every fiber of our being and delight to be called children of the living God. In your holy and precious name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
"... the joy of the Lord is your strength & stronghold." (The amplified Bible)
~
We have been building a home in FL for the past 3 years. It has been a very frustrating project, to say the least.
After we got our CO this year in mid-December (thinking the process would now go smoothly), I scheduled a trip to FL to have carpets, box springs & TVs installed. Everything went very well until I was left waiting 14 hours for TVs that never showed up. I spent about 4 hours on the phone with people from Guatemala, Minnesota, etc., trying to figure out if the delivery was actually going to take place that day or not. They also unsuccessfully tried to contact the delivery people to find out if they were on their way. I was told that they only had a part of the order & would reschedule me for the following week. This was not an option since I was leaving FL by the end of the week.
Needless to say, I was exhausted from unpacking furniture all day long and now spending so much time on the phone trying to locate these items. I was feeling physically & emotionally whipped.
That night on the phone with my husband Tom, I told him that I would not be robbed of my joy! I would fight hard to get this resolved before I returned to NJ, but I was choosing to remain in the joy of the Lord, no matter what. He encouraged me to go in-person to the store the next day & find out the status of my order. I agreed, gave it to the Lord, then went to bed.
The next day things became even more frustrating. I spent an hour on the phone only to get recordings that informed me they had no record of my order. UGH! I finally spoke to a person from Georgia, but they also had no record of my order. I was given the email of the store manager. I emailed him, but got no reply. Though I had strong resolve and determination to secure these items, yet with no resolution in sight, I was still set in my mind to live in the joy of the Lord and not allow this earthly situation to deter me.
As I read the Word and prayed that day, I had peace from the Lord and was convinced that this day would bring resolve. And God did bless me with resolve that day.
The carpets were installed without a hitch. I went in-person to the store about those missing TVs. God went before me as I immediately was paired with a wonderful salesperson who located the items in his warehouse. Although he could not explain the events that happened up to this point, he assured me that they would have them delivered by Friday before I had to leave Florida.
I left the store elated, yet still quite tired from all of the stress and happenings. I had a lovely meal, took my first, long, hot shower in our new home, read the Word and prayed…filled with a peace and joy that consumed me; totally content. I even slept for 9 restorative hours! And the store honored their word. Everything arrived and was taken care of before I had to leave for New Jersey.
My prayer below really captures the lesson to be learned- everyday earthly things can make us feel so defeated. But we must remember to stay tuned in to God’s Word, keep in the presence of the Holy Spirit and set His joy as the foundation beneath us in and through all things!
~
Heavenly Father, You meet us at our every need. When frustrations so often rob us of our joy, you tell us to choose joy, as an act of our will, no matter what. Thank you for teaching me such a concrete lesson and rewarding me with your peace and inexpressible joy that is beyond circumstances, in spite of the emotional roller coaster I found myself on. Your ways are so much higher and better than our ways. Thank you that you stretch us to desire your higher life and enable us to eventually land there, if we put ourselves in a place to receive from You. We love you with every fiber of our being and delight to be called children of the living God. In your holy and precious name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Posted in Boast in the Lord \'24
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