Growth

Discovering the Wisdom of Success

January 1, 2019 By Mrs. Mom 2 Comments

If I were to ask you what you want most out of your life and tell you that you had to give me one word to explain it all, I think I know what you would say. You would tell me that you’d want success. When we think of success, we think of joyful lives, filled with peace, wealth, honor, fulfilling relationships, and someone walking in their purpose. That picture can look different for different people, but what we don’t normally see when we think of success is what it takes for a person to be successful. What we don’t normally see or hear about is the wisdom of success.

Today, I want to talk to you about becoming successful and obtaining all of the desires that God has given you, from the biblical perspective of wisdom.

When I have read the word of God on the topic of wisdom, I have learned a few things. The voice of wisdom is one that speaks clearly and shows the road to take that honors God. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, but what exactly is wisdom?

What is wisdom?

Wisdom is defined as having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgement.

While there is, from our general perspective, one definition of wisdom, we must recognize that there are two different types of wisdom. There is first, the wisdom that is from above or from God. Then, there is the earthly, unspiritual, and demonic wisdom. (James 3:13-17)

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ~James 3:17

The Biblical definition of wisdom, as explained in the Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, states

“The man or woman, who fearing God, lives in accordance with what God expects and what is expected of him in a God-fearing society is viewed as an integrated person. He is “wise” in that his manner of life projects the fear of God and the blessing of God reset upon him.

The opposite of a wise person, according to the Bible is the fool or wicked person

who stubbornly refuses counsel and depends on his own understanding: “For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” (Prov. 1:32; Deut 32:5-6; Pro 3:35) from Vines Complete Expository Dictionary

When you begin to understand that there is a difference between the wise and the foolish, you should also seek to understand what it means to be wise according to Biblical standards. The details of wisdom are found throughout the entire bible, but if there were one place for you to start, I would recommend that you go to the book of Proverbs.

A Few things the Bible says about wisdom

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an horrible life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

The book of Proverbs is a book of the Bible that helps us to understand the ways of a wise person. From here on out, I want you to remember that when I use the word wise, I am speaking of a person that is considered wise from a Biblical perspective. Anything other understanding of wisdom has to be thrown out the window, if you are going to understand the true wisdom of success. The purpose of the book of Proverbs is to

“teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.” (Proverbs 1:2-3)

The Bible tells us that people who are wise should pay attention to the proverbs and become wiser. They should determine to understand the meanings of the proverbs by digging into what they mean and searching them out. (Proverbs 1:5-6) It also says that in many different ways that the person who desires to be wise or one who possesses wisdom does not passively sit around waiting for wisdom to come to them. They are diligently searching out wisdom. They are looking for knowledge. They are seeking to understand.

Can you see yourself in any of this? If you can’ that is awesome! I want to encourage you to continue to seek and search.

However, if you cannot see yourself in this, I want to encourage you to start to desire knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

There are great benefits to being a person of wisdom and there is great success that comes with being wise.

Benefits of wisdom

Sometimes we need a little motivation to work hard. We may say that we want to do something, but it’s not until we clearly see some of the benefits that we will actually begin to work towards obtaining the thing. Wisdom is no different. I know that you may feel like it will take too much for you to obtain wisdom. God knew that as well. I believe this is one of the reasons why He outlined for us some of the benefits of being wise. I want to share them with you now.

Why would a person want to be wise? What are some of the benefits of wisdom? (In the statements below, wisdom will be referred to as “she.” This is how wisdom often appears in the Bible)

Wisdom will preserve you (Proverbs 4:6)
She will keep you (Proverbs 4:6)
She will promote you (Proverbs 4:8)
She will bring you honor (Proverbs 4:8)
She will bring you grace (Proverbs 4:9)
She will bring you glory (Proverbs 4:9)
When taught the way of wisdom, you will not be hindered (Proverbs 4:12)
Wisdom will be life to you, when found (Proverbs 4:22)
Words of wisdom will be health to all your flesh/body (Proverbs 4:22)

I don’t know anyone who would decide that they did not want to be promoted, have glory and peace, health and life. Who would say that they didn’t want to be preserved, protected, or that they wanted to be hindered? Well according to the Bible, only the fool or the wicked.

So that just leaves one question, for now anyway.

How do you live wisely?

Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.

Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.

Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.

Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-7)

These are just some of the ways to live wisely, but what I love about the Bible is that God has chosen to lay it out plainly.

He said in His word.

Getting wisdom is the wisest thing that you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgement. If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her and she will honor you. ~Proverbs 4:7-8 NLT

Now it is up to you. Take each of these directions and begin to think about how you can apply them to your life in daily situations. Look at how you act and what you do. Begin to ask yourself if you are acting the way that a wise person would act or if you are acting like a fool. When you lack wisdom, ask God for it and He will freely give it to you without making you feel bad for asking. (James 1:5) He won’t call you stupid or dummy. He will simply give you what you are asking for because He loves you and wants you to reap the benefits of wisdom more than you want it for yourself.

I hope that you found this helpful and realize how you can have a successful life. There is a lot more that goes in to this, but it is a great start. By determining that you will be successful, you are saying that you will choose that pathway of wisdom. That my sister, is a good decision.

If you found this helpful, share it with someone who you believe can be helped by it, as well. Make sure to become a subscriber, by filling out the form below. My subscribers receive emails of encouragement, weekly. Then, really begin to apply yourself, by joining my Facebook group and becoming apart of the Being Mrs. Mom Community.

I look forward to connecting with you soon. 🙂

Understanding Gratitude and the Power It Can Have in Your Life

November 20, 2018 By Mrs. Mom Leave a Comment

Everyday that you wake up, you are given the same opportunity as millions of people across the world. You start off with the same number of hours, the same breath of life, and the same ability to decide how you will see the world around you.

So, what is the difference between a person that sees the world as dark and grim, and the one that sees it as a beautiful place where the colors are a bit faded today?

The difference is perspective

I believe that the difference is perspective. Our perspectives are the way by which we see the world, but it is also the lens that is colored by the environment cultivated within us. In other words, what happens in our hearts, determines the perspective that we view the world from.

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

~Proverbs 4:23 NKJV

Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts. ~Proverbs 4:23 GNT

If you struggle with forgiveness and bitterness, your perspective will always be of one on guard because the world, through this lens, cannot be trusted. If you have struggled with rejection, guilt, or depression, the world will seem mean and unkind because you will feel that you have nothing to be thankful for. You will feel like an outcast in the world and your inner perspective will determine your outlook, actions, motivations, and even, the direction of your relationship.

But what happens if you have a heart of gratitude, where you are constantly on the lookout for things to be thankful for?

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ~Luke 6:45

Well, like everyone else, you will always have 24 hours in a day, but when spent with a thankful heart, you live loved and optimistic.

I’m sure that you’ve heard the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I know that we apply this statement to many things, but you can take the same concept and apply it to the condition of your heart. If you look at your life and situation hard enough you can find something to be thankful for. I’d also like to point out that the opposite is also true.

Understanding Gratitude

When you turn your heart from unthankful to grateful, you are expressing gratitude.

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful. It is a readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness.

Now why would you want to be grateful. Well, gratitude involves being appreciative for the things that God and other people have done for you. It causes you to look outside of yourself for goodness, and it makes you feel good in the process. This process occurs because possessing a grateful heart helps you to realize that the goodness you see is beneficial to you, which causes you to feel loved.

“The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I feel good.”

Thinking like this keeps your mind upbeat, joyful, and optimistic. Positive thoughts breed positive emotions, actions, and interactions. When you feel good, life seems good. When this is true, no matter what happens, you can find the good and this is the way that you want to live your life.

The power gratitude can have your life

Gratitude causes you to feel like you are important to someone, cared about, and loved. You begin to feel like you matter. You see people as good and your perspective of life is blessed.

When you see this, you will even begin to bless God for the way that He has cared for you.

Research shows that gratitude has the power to make you resilient, more optimistic, and kinder. It helps you achieve your goals, feel more hopeful, makes you healthier, and can help you sleep better.

Gratitude makes the difference

If each person starts their day with the same ability to make a choice which effects their day, situation, and life, wouldn’t you want to choose the perspective that blesses you the most? If your answer is yes, then choose gratitude. It really makes the difference.

If you have trouble focusing on the positive, go to the scripture.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. ~Psalm 34:1-2

Scripture helps us to focus on what God says and it gives us a new perspective, when ours is out of whack.

Make gratitude a goal by focusing on the things of God to take your thoughts outside of yourself. Begin to thank God for all that He has done for you, ever, in your whole entire life. Sometimes that’s what it takes to make your heart grateful. It may require you to look back over your life and remember where you have been to see where you are and bless the Lord. Your act of thankfulness will transform your thinking, surroundings, relationships, and your life.

Today, I encourage you to think about the effects that gratitude can have on your life. Make a decision to have a grateful heart, so that you life can always be in an upward spiral.

Get focused

I also want to encourage you to take sometime to focus your thoughts and heart. That’s why I’ve written the 5 Days of Gratitude Devotional and Journal. It gives you the opportunity to focus your thoughts, emotions, and actions on being thankful. Get your copy today, it costs $7 and is packed with such great information. It blessed me to write it and I know that it will bless you to interact with it. I want to tell you that while it is a 5 day devotional, it is 44 pages of devotion that will send you on a biblical journey of checking your heart and your perspective, so don’t wait. Get your printable e-book copy of 5 Days of Gratitude Devotional and Journal today, by clicking on the image below.

5 Tools You Need to Plan Your Day

June 14, 2018 By Mrs. Mom Leave a Comment

Ever wake up in the morning feeling a little frazzled and chaotic? Maybe you had a long night, the night before, because the baby wouldn’t sleep or one of your kids had a nightmare. Perhaps, you have too much laundry to do, groceries to pick up, and the kids have practice. Don’t forget that you still have to decide what to make for dinner, oh and lunch…but you should probably take care of breakfast first, right?!

If you ever wake up feeling overwhelmed by the thought of what you have to do for the day, you need to make sure that you are planning. Not just pretty planning, although that makes it fun, but actually planning your activities.

There’s a lot of talk about this topic of planing today, but it really isn’t anything new. Someone has just put a spin on it.

When I was a little girl, I remember seeing my mother with this big black book. It may not have been that big because looking back, I realize the my perception as a child was a bit skewed. Almost everything looked big to me.

Anyway, my mother had a black leather binder that she kept with her all the time. She wrote phone numbers in it. I saw her taking notes and keeping track of her bills. What I didn’t know until recently was that it was a Franklin Covey classic binder.

That might not be a big deal to you, or it might, but that’s big in planner society.

There I was, a little girl, witnessing, first hand, what it meant to take charge of my day and my life. I didn’t know what an impact that would have on me, until many years later.

Fast forward to today, I have my own Franklin Covey planner. Let me correct that. I have multiple planners in multiple sizes and they all have helped me get the job done.

My mother was a single mom and she got the job done. She had to do her job at work and then come home and get the job done at our house too. I never wondered how she did it as a child, but when I became a mother, I wondered. I realized a few years ago that she remained focused by using that system of writing down her thoughts and plans to stay focused on her goals.

See, we all wake up in the morning a little frazzled. We have to take the time to gather ourselves and focus on what’s important. We should not wake up on 100. We have to pace ourselves, or else we can get drained before the end of the day.

You have to put things in place to assist you with leveling up. Like my mother, you need the things that you are going to keep with you, so that you can focus and feel less overwhelmed.

5 Tools You Will Need

Here are the five things that you need to plan your day. I’ll go more in detail in a future post, so make sure to subscribe to get notified when it publishes. The list is below.

The right mindset. You have to decide that you are going to have order and focus in your life. If you don’t take charge of somethings, disorder and chaos will wreak havoc in your life.
A prayerful heart and your bible. You must have your bible, or bible app, to help you frame your thought patterns for the day. This coupled with a prayerful heart will help you make a well thought out and executable plan of action.
Commitment to move forward and progress. There is no point in planning your day, if you aren’t going to be committed to the tasks. Everything might not always go according to plan, that’s life, but you have to be committed to moving forward and progressing.
A notebook and a beautiful pen. These could technically be two different tools, but you can’t use one without the other. The beautiful pen doesn’t have to be beautiful to anyone else except you. If you like the way that it writes and glides across the paper, it will work. These two items will help you to focus your thoughts before you actually start planning. They will also help you not to lose focus while you plan. Let’s be honest. Things come up. People have requests and we can get side tracked, if not careful.
A planner to write down your plan, track your progress, and review for hindsight. There are so many different types of planners out there to choose from. However, I suggest that you get something that is aesthetically pleasing. You will be using it daily. It also needs to be functional and durable. Don’t get anything that might fall apart on you in a month or six months, at that.

Again, we are going to go into more detail about these five things, in a later post, so make sure to subscribe, but for now, start thinking about what I’ve shared with you today. If you don’t already have a planner, begin looking around to see what’s available. Don’t purchase anything just yet, because we are going to discuss your options…and there are a lot of them out there.

If you have any specific questions that you’d like me to address in the future, regarding planning, post a comment below or send me an email at makeda@beingmrsmom.com

Why you need to understand that no one has really made it

August 22, 2017 By Mrs. Mom Leave a Comment

Have you ever looked up to someone that inspired you?

If you are like the rest of us, then the answer is yes. You have been working hard, your whole entire life, aiming to emulate someone and at different seasons, for different reasons, and this person changes to a different character, frequently. What I mean by this is that depending on what you’re working on, or what the subject matter is, your inspiration can change.

I want to tell you something though. The person that you are looking to has someone that they look up to as well. They do the same thing that you are doing, search for inspiration. They struggle just like you struggle. They work hard, trying to figure out their next step too.

What you may not even realize is that in some situations, the very person that you are looking to for inspiration, is looking back at you. We live in a big world that has been brought down to size by social media, travel, and technology. You could be following someone on social media and they could be reading what your posting as well. There’s a good reason for this.

The truth is that no one has made it yet.

We all may feel like we have achieved something that we were aiming for, but we are not finished with the work that we are supposed to be doing on this earth. If we were, we would no longer need to be here. We each have a purpose to fulfill and we glean from one another the ways by which we can do this, but there is something that we do as humans, especially as women, that needs to stop.

We tend to think that we are at the bottom of the todempole and that we can’t help anyone. Well, I want to tell you something. That’s a lie.

The truth is that we each have been given a specific sphere of influence. You may not realize this, but you’ve been influencing people the whole time that you’ve been on this planet, even if you didn’t mean to do it.

I am honored to say that I’ve had people that I know and look up to come to me for advice. I’ve had business inspirations come to me for inspiration. What I have learned from this is that we are all doing our best. Even the person that has a million dollars is still looking for someone to inspire them as a parent. The person with the degree is looking for an inspiration in being creative. The woman with the business is trying to stay innovative and productive. She’s looking for someone to encourage her to stop procrastinating.

Why are you telling me this?

We’ll I’m glad that you asked. The answer is simple, but very important for you to know. I’m telling you this because I want you to stop living below your calling. I want you to stop hiding in the dark, running away, and holding back. I want you to realize that it is important for you to be yourself because there is no one else like you on this earth. Sure, we all have some similarities, but none of us are just a like; That’s because of our God given purposes.

More that I want you to know these things, God wants you to know them.

You have to stop trying to be someone else. The world needs you to be you.

Do you have a spiritual wound that won’t seem to go away?

May 16, 2017 By Mrs. Mom 2 Comments

As a mom of four, I’ve seen quite a few booboos. We have to keep a box of band aids in the house because my children are always getting injured in one way or another. They come to me when they get hurt, feeling like the world is over and, nine times out of ten, I’m able to tell them that it’s ok. They don’t always believe me initially, but I just tell them again that they got hurt and it’s going to be alright.

My thought process

When I think about this as a parent, especially a parent of four, I know that this is just apart of growing. When learning a new skill, like riding a bike, in order to get better at it, children fall. They scrape their knees and end up needing hugs, band-aids, and pep talks in order to calm their nerves, ease their pain and try again.

Little lessons like these, combined with my own growing pains have caused me to realize that we are no different. We grow and as we learn new skills, mature in life, and learn to be better, we get a few booboos along the way.

Be here’s the thing, some wounds are deeper than others. Some require more care than others and more bandages to protect from infection.

Small reminders

Not only do I have to remind my children not to pick at their wounds, I have to make sure to keep the wound clean and covered. On top of this necessary and obvious care needed for my children’s wounds, I have to remind them that no matter where we are in the process, the wound is healing. It has to, that’s how we were made. With the proper care and time, that scrape will get better because it wasn’t a fatal injury.

See the way that God built our bodies was to give us protective layers and barriers that make sure our inner parts, the more necessary ones, are not harmed. These are the parts that keep us alive, breathing, eating, and moving. When we are hurt by falling and scuffing up our knees, our skin begins to heal, but our minds remember the event and learns from it. We begin to process that being off-balance on a bike leads to falling. Touching a hot stove leads to being burned. Touching an aggressive dog leads to being bitten or snapped at. These lessons prepare us for bigger tasks and allow us to remember that although there are great things we want to experience, we should use our skills, use wisdom, and proceed with caution.

That’s what happens with the little scrapes and bumps that our children get. It’s also what happens when we are growing in life and growing spiritually.

The Timing of the Wound

We have all encountered situations that have caused us pain. Something has happened to us or we had an experience that opened a wound. Normally, these wounds, no matter their situation, came at some pivotal point in our lives. They came when we were at a certain season of life and began to progress through that season.

It could have been a spiritual, emotional, relational, or physical experience. No matter what it was, these experience have an effect on us spiritually, whether we know it or not.

Prayer for healing in the process

Now, I know that you knew we were going to discuss something that would make you a bit less comfortable than normal and we are, but first, let’s pray.

Father, we love you. We come to you humbly Lord, first and foremost asking you to forgive us for sins that we have committed, both knowingly and unknowingly. Give us peace, Lord. We desire wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. We ask you to provide what we need to explore this topic without fear, because You’re perfect love casts out all fear. Help us to grow and see that the wounds are not the end, but instead a part of the process. Open our hearts and give us what we need to live this life to the fullest. Help us to heal from both spiritual and emotional wounds that we have experienced. Cause our broken hearts to be reminded that you do not despise us, but instead you love us. Wrap us in your arms of love and bring healing to our wounded souls in the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

The process of healing

When you think about your wound, I want to ask yourself a few questions. When the wound was first opened, did you take the time to assess the damage? I ask this because it is very important. Remember when I was talking about my children, I mentioned scrapes and bruises that were not fatal.

Did you clean the wound and cover it with the proper dressing or band-aid? Did you make sure to go back occasionally, clean it up, and redress the bandage?

If you are honest, in most cases, the answer is no. We get hurt and we normally do one or two things immediately. We cry, cover it up, and either never go back on the spiritual bike again out of fear, or we try to push past the obstacle to master the challenge. There’s a problem with this though.

Wounds that are not well cared for can get infected, seep deeper into our bodies, and never completely heal. Remember, the way that we are built. There is a mechanism to overcome built within us by God. Whether we want to or not, we are always in the process of healing. The problem comes in when we don’t properly care for the wound. It can leave a residue, develop puss, and a stench. It can become more that a growing pain because of a lack of care.

Do you have wounds that just won’t seem to heal?

At this point, I am going to assume that the answer is yes.

I want to help you heal, but first there are a few things that we have to do.

We have to clean the wound up, by taking and thinking about what happened. That’s how you begin to assess the situation, determine the type of damage that could have been done, and decide how to treat the wound.

Second we have to find the proper tools to assist you in the healing process. We have to gather all of the tools that are needed for the type of wound that you have. There are big bandages and small ones. They all work, but we have to find the one that you need.

Third, we have to properly dress the wound and you can’t pick at it. If you do, it could open back up.

I want to remind you that all wounds have the potential to leave a scar, but that’s a different post. Just don’t be alarmed if you end up with a scar from this wound. It’s not always a bad thing. I actually think it’s a good reminder that you’re healed and have made it out of a painful situation that wasn’t tough enough to kill you.

What’s next?

For now, here’s what I want you to do. Take a moment to think and journal about this wound that you have. Ponder some to the things below

What is a natural wound that you have? Perhaps you fell and scraped your knee as a kid. Write about what happened. Give the details of the incident. Do you remember how it happened? Do you remember how it was cared for? If so, describe it. What lesson did you learn from this or where were you in the learning process? Finally realize that the wound did heal because you are still alive and breathing.

Now for the spiritual wound.

What happened? You have to take sometime to really think and journal about this. You can’t avoid this process. It’s apart of accessing the damage that was done to you.
Write about the immediate care that was given to the treatment of the wound. What did you do after it happened to take care of yourself? Did someone else attempt to help you care for it? What type if pain did you experience? What type of discomfort are you still experiencing from the wound?
Did the wound get infected? Why isn’t it healing? Did that experience cause something else to happen in you? Did you develop bitterness, jealousy, anger, or something else? Be honest with yourself about this. It doesn’t do you any good to cover it up, if it isn’t cleaned up.
How bad do you want this wound to heal? Talk about what it did to you in the past and what it would mean for you to be healed. What type of fear have you experienced? What has it kept you from doing? Has it tormented you or kept you in bondage? What type of freedom would you experience, if this wound were to finally heal?

Think journal and pray about this. Then comeback. I want to take you though the next step in this process, but this is the first step and one of the hardest, thinking about it.

Share this post

Please take a moment to share this post with someone who may find it helpful. Repost it to your Facebook or Twitter. Many of our friends are hurting too and need assistance healing from wounds. Let’s not do this alone, we all need each other.

Leave me a comment sharing your thoughts with me or send me a message telling me how this post impacted you. Would you like to see more topics like these?

Also, if you found this post helpful, consider purchasing my book. In it, I discuss some of the things I’ve been though and how I’ve healed from them. It wasn’t easy to write, but I did it for you, so consider purchasing it. It’s available on kindle and in paperback.

I’m also in the process of writing my new book. Tell me what you would like to or need to read about. What types of topics would you like to see me discuss and find most helpful?

Be encouraged and make sure to do the work. You’ll be surprised at the results the you get.

When you’re finally ready to do it…

October 14, 2015 By Mrs. Mom Leave a Comment

Have you ever had a time in your life where you keep on waiting on someone to do something. You didn’t want to overstep any boundaries or make anyone feel bad, so you just kept on waiting? Then when you were finally tired of waiting and decided to do the thing yourself, they did it.

That is what happened to me this morning. I had been waiting for the gardeners to come and take care of the yard. I had been doing it myself, but we went on vacation for 3 weeks and I thought they would take care of the yard. Once we returned from our trip, I found weeds galore. My bushes were unkept and my yard looked horrible.

This disappointed me because the gardeners are paid to keep up the yard. I planted beautiful flowers before in the yard, but I guess I had expected them to do their job especially since I was gone.

I had been waiting and waiting, mostly because I didn’t have the time to do it and also because I didn’t want to do their job for them. Then yesterday, I decided that today, I would go to the store and get the flowers that I really wanted. I would take the time today to plant the flowers and do my yard.

To my surprise, this morning, at 8am, the gardeners were outside doing everyone’s yard.

Can you say frustrated? That’s how I felt…

I decided that I would let them do their job and just continue on with whatever they left me with. That thought was a good one, until I heard the chopping.

I went to my window and saw them ripping out my beautiful pink flowers. I could feel them ripping them away in my heart…that’s when I couldn’t take it anymore. I opened the door and asked if they were really about to rip out all of my beautiful flowers. The gentleman told me no. He said that they were just trying to get ready for the fall. I didn’t like the idea of them gutting my yard, but I decided to let them do it anyway.

There are a few reasons why I want to share this with you. I learned a few things and I’m hoping that you will find the lessons helpful.

Reason #1: Perspective

The first reason is that sometimes people are waiting on us to do things. They wait and wait, patiently, frustrated, and trying not to overstep our boundaries. Then when we are finally ready to do the job, they have planned to do it. We show up ready to work, it is almost too late.

If this is a situation that you find yourself in, look at the situation from this perspective. Try to communicate. The other person cannot read your mind.

Reason #2: Make a Decision

I am sure that the gardeners were busy with their other jobs. They probably had already set the date on their calendars to go out to the homes and prepare each garden for the fall. It just so happened that I took too long to do what I was going to do. I didn’t know what they had planned and they didn’t know that I was also waiting and planning.

We have to either let someone do the job that they are supposed to do or hurry up and do it ourselves. Both situations are not going to work together…at the same time. Only one person can do the job… Only one plan can work.

If you find yourself in this situation, decide what you are going to do and stick with it.

Reason #3: Trust God

This reason is the one that stood out to me the most. There are times when God is doing something that I do not understand. I’m not sure what is happening because He has not revealed all of His plans to me. Yet, I know that His plans are to prosper me. (Jeremiah 29:11)

All I see is weeds growing, things not being done, and my impatience driving me up the wall. Yet, I do not realize that God has it on His calendar to do something in my life, His way. I could try to hurry up and do it, but I might mess it all up.

Waiting on Him is not easy, but this is His job, to work in my life; to take care of me, as my Heavenly Father. He does what only He can do. If I wait on Him, He will take care of everything and have my garden looking beautiful and ready for the Fall…yet it won’t be a pretty sight while He is ripping up all of my weeds and trimming all of my bushes. He might have to gut a few of my beautiful pink flowers because they are not needed or can’t survive the next season. I just have to trust Him and move out of the way so that He can do what He is going to do.

If you find yourself in this situation or can identify with my sentiment, simply, trust God.

Think about it..

When I first started this post, I asked you if you had a time when you were waiting on someone to do something, but you really were planning on doing it yourself. Hopefully you have now thought about each perspectives and not just your own.

Can you see the godly perspective?

That is the perspective that is most important. Waiting on God is wisdom. Moving out of the way so that He can do what He desires it’s the best thing to do. His plans for us are the best plans that anyone could ever have for us, including our own plans.

As I waited inside of my house, with the blinds closed, I wanted so badly to have my hand in my garden. Yet, I restrained myself, because I thought it was best. If you find yourself in a similar situation, be encouraged because you are not alone.

I hope you found encouragement in this post. Share your thoughts with me in the comment section.

Thanks for reading…

Growth

Discovering the Wisdom of Success

What is wisdom?