Evil Instruction Booklets!!

I’m a “Thing Doer”

I’ve been struggling with this blog for a couple of days now.  Adding this and tweaking that.  It’s very frustrating when technology gets the better of us, don’t you think?  I used to be the one who people came to when they couldn’t figure out how to hook up or install stuff.  Why was I so good at that?  I READ DIRECTIONS!!!!  And…..I used to understand all of it.  Now, I feel like I’m 100 years old.  And….I’m not as fluent in “techno-babble” as I used to be.

Just when I think I’ve got this blog system mastered, I find out that something crucial is missing and then I have to go back to square one.  I hate that square.  It’s lonely when you’re stuck inside it.  I ask questions of my husband and he just shrugs.  (He’s not a “direction” reader. What can I say?  He’s a guy!)

When did instruction booklets become so difficult?

I don’t mind reading directions.  In  fact, I’ve been a “direction reader” since I was in Junior High School.  (That’s right!  It used to be called Junior High, not Middle School.)   I use patterns when I sew.  I use recipes when I cook.  I read instructions when we buy gadgets of all kinds.  Why then do the creators of these gadgets write their instructions in Swahili?  Or Pig Latin?  Or, heaven forbid, Klingon? I guess my patience is not what it used to be.  (Go figure.)

Sometimes, I wish there was a list of directions on how to live my life.  Maybe a manual of sorts that when something happens you go to the index and look up Situation A or B and it will refer you to page 9,382,275.381 that says “This is what you do when” raising your kids, making decisions, crossing the line.  Wouldn’t that be great?  Wouldn’t you be willing to pay a lot of money for a guidebook like that.

The Ultimate Manual!

Oh wait!  We do have a guidebook like that.  It’s called the Bible!  God’s love letter and manual to us.  It may not give instructions on how to program a remote, hang a ceiling fan, or instruct your children not to put Dawn dish washing liquid in the soap dispenser in the dishwasher (that is an adventure you’ll have to ask my daughters about).  It will tell you how to live your life, give you guidance from day-to-day, instructions on how to raise your kids,  how to handle money, not break the law, and much, much more. It will also tell you wonderful true stories including the greatest story ever told, about how God gave his only son to die on the cross for our sins so that we might be reconciled to Him.

When life hammers us, like it quite often does, we can draw to God through His Word to us.  We can climb up into His lap and rest, take time to read and absorb His wisdom.  Sometimes, that’s where the dreaded “square one”—when it comes to life.  If that’s the case, I’m ready to climb into His lap and wait as long as it takes at “square one.”  I’ll draw close to Him through his word knowing that He’ll show me the way or what I should do in His time, even if that means walking by faith like Abraham into unknown territory.

Are you walking in unknown territory?  If so, though you may not see anyone else there, you are not alone.  God is always with you.  If you wait on Him, He will show you the way in His time and it will be so much better than you could ever imagine.  Stay in the Manual.  It is truth and will prepare you for the curves that life can sometimes throw you.

In the meantime, back to assembling and hanging the ceiling fan.  God bless and keep you all.