All I Need is All I Want

Wish I was always postured to say that. But today I realize my need for grace.

My best friend is coming from Kansas tomorrow!! Yippee! But my house is not ready. BOOO!
Thankfully my heart is ready for her. It's always ready to receive her. She is kind, compassionate, funny, sensitive, wise, knows me better than any other close friend except Paul.
And loves me anyway. We have a history together that dates back to third grade. She befriended me even though my dad was "the preacher" in a small town of maybe 200 people. Some kids avoided playing with a PK, assuming they'd get ratted out. But Barb and have secrets of troubles we got into that "the preacher" has never found out. No, I'm kidding, I started confessing one Thanksgiving while all my sisters were there to add to the pile of sins (mine AND theirs!). My dad's typical line when he can't believe something is "Oh, forevermore!" and he just laughs. Not his precious girls! My mom has always tried to believe the best, but she is far less trusting of flesh than Daddy is. So, that said, she figures Barb and I got into trouble that's best left back in 1975. We suffered natural consequences and pangs of guilty conscience far worse than a paddlin' would've given us.

I'll tell you the smokin' in the barn story some other day.


Anyway, back to grace. I need it. I want it. My house needs attention. Laundry needs to be folded. The van is in the shop getting new brakes, so I am housebound, which is good so I don't run off and avoid my duties in the name of grocery shopping. That can wait till tomorrow, after Bible study, which I really want to attend, provided I'm ready for Barb's arrival.

My Paul is leaving Thursday for CA so I need to pay him extra attention. (I already did his ironing and washed dress socks, so I think he's set to pack. I watched a movie with him last night, Evan Almighty, which I can recommend with 98% confidence. I seldom watch movies, let alone recommend them. This one's good; for all the humor, it made me grateful for Jesus my Ark of Salvation, the only Door to God, my Protector in the floods of life. It also motivated me evan-gelistically. How many comedies do that?)

Please pray I prioritize correctly. I had my quiet time this morning in which, by 8:30, I was able to agree with my husband on something that I was in disagreement about when he left at 7:30. It's a matter involving Sarah's recent decision that may result in her having to drop a college course she's halfway through. Pray for mercy on her professor's part. But even if her prof doesn't change his mind, I have a peace that I have respected her dad's input on the matter. I tend to be a fighter (thought the prof wa heartless not to see a freind's grandma's viewing as a legit reason to skip a test) but I eventually saw the prof's point of view, saw some error on Sarah's and my part, and realize it's gonna be a mercy call at this point. You can read the hardship on her blog, Homeward Bound.

I see glimmers of hope, like a robin's eggs in a spring nest, regarding the difficult test I'm "taking" from God now. It's good.