We had a busy holiday week. We had a frustrating holiday week. We started our week with Lou's computer having problems. Next our van died on me when I tried to get to my Ladies Bible Study. Both have been with "mechanics" for a week. Isn't it funny when we have these life frustrations, we tend to get frustrated with one another? As the week continued, we ended up having words with one another -- OK, in all honesty, a fight. On Thursday, I started to catch a cold. All of this heading into Easter weekend!
Easter weekend is my favorite weekend of the year! Actually Holy Week is my favorite time of the year. I enjoy Christmas, I LOVE Easter. So, heading into our first Easter in Germany, I was upset that the week had not gone as I would like.
Lou & I tend to talk and reflect during this week about what Christ did for us through His death and His resurrection. We try to think about why we love Jesus and meditate on our gratefulness to Him. But, this year, we were arguing over selfish things, frustrated that we didn't have his computer so I could finish our taxes and mad that we had to borrow a car. Time to reflect...no way!
Yet, God is so good, so patient, so kind! Thursday afternoon, while we were complaining about the week, the Holy Spirit reminded us that we have an opportunity to "practice what we preach". See, Lou has been teaching from Philippians and we are learning to have joy in all situations, especially during trials and tribulation. We were going through nothing, compared to what Paul was walking through when he wrote that book. God grabbed a hold of our hearts and we decided to PRAY!!
Through our prayers, God began to remind us that He is with us. He revealed to us that the enemy was pressing in and trying to discourage us. We were humbled - and embarrassed - that we had allowed these little issues to get us to lose our focus for the week. What a difference a few minutes can make by taking time with our Heavenly Father!
My cold was still lingering, our car and computer were still broken, we were anticipating a busy holiday weekend, but our spirits had been refreshed! The joy of Easter was in our sights again. We had a great weekend, we had a joyful weekend. We experienced God's power and touch in a personal way. God is good!
