Eternal Habits

I have some habits I need to break. The closer I draw to God, the more He reveals things that may seem like “little sins,” but they’re not. The consequences might not be as great as other “big sins,” but they all fall into the sin category to our holy God.

But other habits are good ones. As God weans me off of some, He moves me to develop new ones and these always have Him at the center. These habits bring endless joy. These habits are eternal.

Lately, I’ve had a few things happen that on the surface would appear disappointing or just not what I wanted. One example involves my oldest son. Derek came back from boot camp too late to start a fall semester in college so he is registered and ready to go for January. It appeared God was generous enough to drop 2 jobs right in his lap for the time until he started school. He was thrilled. However, the most important of the 2 jobs has fallen through, so he has time on his hands that he wasn’t expecting. I was disappointed for him.

However, God had something else in mind. Because of his down time, he has been around the house more than ever. He and his brother do a ton of stuff together and have grown very close. He and I have also had so much time together. I see him each day at lunch; he calls me many times during the day; and we’ve had wonderful conversation...good, healthy, deep dialogue. Several evenings over the past couple of weeks, my 18 and 15 year old boys actually dragged out board games for us to play. I am fully aware that this will not last for long, so I soak it all in with a grateful heart.

But…if I wasn’t in the habit of looking for God at work in disappointment, I would have missed all that He was doing. I could have gone to Him questioning why he took away a job; instead I’m praising Him for glorious family bonding time. Derek and I couldn’t be getting along better. I am thankful for God's ordination in our family and how He guides me to toward revelation in how He works.

So I’m gonna keep honing the habit of looking up when I’m down and finding God’s magnificence displayed in every single situation. Habakkuk 3:18 says, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”