THE PERFECT PICTURE
October 30th, 2008Like the commercial says, life comes at you fast. Well, not always. Through a series of unexpected events several years ago, my life went from ‘coming at you fast’ (which pretty much would have described business as usual in our lives) to a season of ‘hurry up and wait’. And wait. And wait.
It all began when my husband’s employer sent him on an out-of-town work assignment that ended up being a month-long internal job interview. The company sang his praises and hinted that the job was his – we just needed to wait a little while. I had already been waiting a month, but you do what you have to do. So we waited.
While we were waiting, my husband, Ben, contracted a virus that attacked his heart, a condition the doctor said was life threatening. (For you medical folks, he contracted both myocarditis and pericarditis.) Because medical science had not yet found an effective method of treatment, Ben was medicated and sent home to let his body rest as much as possible, and wait. We would have several months to wait before the doctor could even determine whether his heart was improving, or if he was going to need a heart transplant. So we waited. And waited.
Sadly, the recovery process extended the job wait that much longer. We were discouraged to learn that the illusive position was being filled in his absence. However, he was promised a promotion and a transfer as soon as he was able to return to work. So we settled in to wait again.
After several months, an echocardiogram revealed that Ben’s heart was indeed improving, and he would survive the virus attack. God’s favor was surely on our lives. As soon as the doctor released him, Ben informed his manager that he was able to return to work. Anticipating our transfer, we hurried to get our house on the market before leaving town for the holidays. Upon our return, Ben was told once again he would have to wait.
When our house sold almost immediately, we inquired as to how long a wait we would have. Ben was told this job too had already been filled and he would have to wait for the next opening. Meanwhile, since the company needed to find something to keep him busy, Ben was offered a temporary assignment (traveling) while he waited. Apparently my stress bucket was also full, because I too contracted a virus that left me sick for a long while.
Picking up the pieces of our hurry-up-and-wait existence, we sold our house, sold or gave away most of our furniture, and rented a tiny apartment. Ben began his temporary assignment, leaving town every Monday morning and returning Friday night, while I waited at home. And waited.
This wait lasted for almost a year until one Wednesday afternoon, Ben’s company contacted him on the road and offered him his promotion and transfer. You guessed it: he needed to report for his new position the following Monday. Talk about hurry! We barely had time to celebrate between his rushing home and rushing out again. I settled in at home for a three-month wait, while our townhouse at the new location was being built. Living in that tiny apartment was soon going to pay off because we could afford to buy new furniture and decorations.
After nearly two years, our wait was finally over. Words cannot describe my delight as I finally rejoined my husband and we embarked on our new adventure. Life was sweet indeed as we shopped for new furnishings, and we began setting up our new home. After all this trouble, we were going to make sure every piece of furniture and every accessory was perfect for our long-awaited new start.
That is how we came to need the “perfect” picture. As we decorated and arranged pieces, we found that one wall in our living room was in need of just the right picture. I knew exactly what I wanted. It had to be a refreshing scene to balance the pictures on either side. It had to have a hunter green mat to match the other accessories. It needed to be the perfect size to fit the wall and have a dark wood frame to match the table below it. After spending an entire weekend tromping through too many stores to count, Ben was exasperated and we gave up the search. He was certain my parameters were much too narrow and I would never find my perfect picture. But you know how persistent a driven woman can be! I vowed to take up the search another day.
Monday morning found me venturing into my new routine, making my way to the gym for an aerobics class. (My reward for all that waiting was a few months of fun before looking for a new job.) As I was busy bouncing, and struggling to keep up with the group, all of a sudden a thought came to me, seemingly from out of nowhere. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, so I was quite taken aback. The thought said: “Your perfect picture is at the Christian bookstore.” I had no idea what to do with that thought – gee, I had not even been thinking about the picture! And further, I had no clue where to even begin hunting for a Christian bookstore. I had been dropped into the middle of a metropolitan city, with no idea where to even find a grocery store. I was proud of myself for getting to the gym and finding my way back home again.
As much as I tried, I just could not shake that thought. So, as soon as class was over, I asked the instructor if she knew where I could find a Christian bookstore. She directed me to a mega mall (oh, great!) two suburbs away, where she thought I might find one. I gathered what courage I could find, studied my map, and headed out. Finding the mall, I drove around until I chose the entrance that looked the least daunting; I could get lost in there and never find my way out. I walked in the entrance door, and right there in front of me was a Christian bookstore. Looking out at me from the display window was – you guessed it – my perfect picture! Sure enough, it was the perfect size with a dark wood frame, and the mat was hunter green. The clerk said the picture had just arrived, so it must have been sent for me. But the best part of all was the picture itself: a wonderfully refreshing waterfall with the most amazing scripture that summed up our past two years. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” No doubt, I had found my perfect picture.
It would be years before the Lord would reveal to me that He was the one who put that “thought” in my head. At the time, I didn’t even consider that possibility. I had no idea God would speak to us, other than what He gave us in Scripture. I did not hear an audible voice; I simply received a thought that caught me by surprise. In an instant, I knew something I had not previously known.
That was the beginning of God’s teaching me to recognize His ‘voice’ and to accept the invitation to respond to His leading. Indeed He was laying out His plan for me for the years ahead, to speak to me of many things. These days, He often gives me a word, a picture, or sometimes simply a ‘knowing’ that I did not have before. He even expands words and pictures into stories!
Would you say you have trouble hearing from God? Do you even believe He speaks to you? Perhaps He has been calling you, and you have not realized it. Are you ever surprised that you suddenly know something you did not know before? I could have been hearing from God years sooner, had I understood that was a possibility. If you had not known before, you know now that God does speak to us, in many different ways. Doesn’t that revelation make you want to lean back in your chair, take a minute, and ask God to speak to you? Who knows, He just might have your ‘perfect picture’ waiting somewhere.
Proverbs 8:4
To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.
Deuteronomy 4:10b
…‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
John 10:4
“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
Psalm 25:5
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.