Obedience




Obedience.  This word keeps popping up.  Everywhere.  First it was my right foot.  Two years ago, and mind you, I may have mentioned this in a prior post and if I did, it’s okay, just hop on and you’ll catch up, I was showing my husband this cool move my trainer had showed me.  Now before you start thinking “Great, she has a personal trainer”…I don’t.   I did, for about two months.  And it was a love/hate relationship.  Probably the MOST love/hate relationship ever.  It was the most dreaded ten minute drive ever but when you had paid what I thought was exorbitant, which it was a great deal but still a lot to me, you want to make sure you get your hours’ worth.  Anyone want to say AMEN to that?   I really wanted some accountability about my exercises and I needed it.  And I did enjoy it when I finished working out.  Before, I was all over the place with the way I was exercising, the length of time and I was justifying everything I was doing and just feeling fine about it.  Anyway, I’m showing off the air thing where I jump in the air and then land on one knee, sort of.  There, you have the picture.  Well, did I mention that we have stained concrete?  Yes, we have rugs.  Not carpet that goes to wall but rugs.  And I landed on the concrete.  Concrete doesn’t give.  No bounce.  No rebound.  No space.  Nada.  Nyet.  None.  Get it?  Almost negative bounce, if there was such a thing.  So, did I tell you before this that I had plantar fasciitis?  And I traveled before and I would look through the SkyMall magazine just like y’all have and have looked at that word too and have looked at those blue thing-a-ma-bobs too and thought “those poor people who have to model those must really be embarrassed, not to mention the poor people who actually order those blue thing-a-ma-bobs and wraps them around and up and down and between your feet and heels with all the tabs.”  Well, I got it.  From all the years of walking, jogging, my arches fell.  How does this happen?  Seriously.  How do your arches know to fall?  Why does gravity need to occur?  Come to think of it, I don’t like gravity at all!!  That word is so harsh.  I’m a gentle person, loving…and at a time in my life where I want to smell the roses, I’m exercising up, up, up to keep gravity from grabbing everything and taking it down, down, down…and gravity is WINNING!!  What is up with that?  Before I get to obedience… Okay, so my right foot lands on the concrete and I hear it.  Pop!  Now ya did it!  I’m one of those people that when I do something, I do it good.  I don’t go halfway…just take it on home.  Well, I go back to the doctor and I tell him what I did and we schedule the surgery.  He is a great doctor and having worked at the surgery center, I knew of the surgery and was comfortable with it.  Small snip in the tendon, a bump for a while, good as new…wait, did I hear that right?  Six weeks off work?  What?  I didn’t hear that right.  Not me.  I’ve had over eleven surgeries and I didn’t have that much time in the bank at work.  Only four days.  I can do it because I just sit at my desk and go to meetings sometime.  Yes, I work in the basement and have stairs but no biggie…right?

Fast forward…here we sit, two years later…I went for my fourth steroid shot last week, in my right foot.  Hurts to type it.  Right to the bone.  I guess it’s a constant reminder of my DISobedience.  The bump is still there, although it has gone down.  If I overdo walking or jogging, I can hardly walk or put weight on that foot.  Then a few weeks go by and I’m hobbling into the doctor and it’s so inflamed, he has to give me a shot.  Bottom line, I should have been obedient.  That is but a small slice of an example of how disobedient I’ve been in my life when I’ve thought I KNOW BETTER.
How often do I think I know better only to be disappointed, more hurt, angry, wrong, and financially astray or chastened in some other way?  I’m learning pretty often.  I’m learning to sit and listen for direction instead of thinking I know better.  In the above example, I know I couldn’t have taken six weeks but could I have put off the surgery for a few more months or taken four weeks off?  Probably.   I could tell you other stories too and probably have in earlier posts and will in future posts but suffice to say the Holy Spirit has definitely been nudging me more and more regarding this O word.   I have been obedient about many things in my life.  But there are other control things that I should have handed over to God instead of tackling alone.  Why do we think we can do something better than our Maker?  Why would I ever think that?  As I hit 40 over a decade ago, that thought hit me one day…square in the face.  Who do I think I am?   And mind you, this could be something small…or big.  Doesn’t matter.  But in those moments when I truly hand it over to Him, Life is sure a lot easier and less stressful.  Yes, my foot wouldn’t hurt now if I would have been obedient than.  Yes, that situation would look different now if I would have been obedient than.  

Romans 1:5 NIV
Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

John 15:14 NIV
You are my friends if you do what I command.

2 John 1:6 NIV
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

Lately, I have realized I am less of a fighter and more of one who loves.  We all have experiences who make us who we are right now, today the very moment you are reading this.  What is important is that we let go of the bitterness, forgive and do not judge.  What if Jesus were to come right now?  Are you winning by holding onto that? 
 
Luke 6:37 NIV
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Holding onto these things doesn’t make me feel better or resolve any situation.  It keeps me from Loving God and Love, simple.  That verse in Luke makes it very clear.  Now, I’ll tell you something.  I’ve read the Bible three times through, front to back (yes, even Numbers) and I finally got those simple concepts.  I know there is Hope for me.  (Smile)  So, back to obedience…to wrap this up, I pray that I’m more Obedient in every area in my life, in my marriage, at church and anywhere God leads me.   I hope that this brightens your day and provides encouragement and witness for our Savior Jesus Christ.

Share with another if it does!
Blessings!
Lisa

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