Wednesday two-and-a-half weeks ago I shared about a nearly flooded upstairs bathroom and a flat tire, all while Seth was working in Wyoming and Montana. Because all the really fun stuff around here always happens when he is clearly several states away. As I was writing that post, there was something else going on that I didn't even mention. I knew that one of our AC units wasn't working. It was blowing hot air instead of cold air. We've had trouble with this unit constantly since we built the house so it really wasn't a surprise. I didn't even go there in that post.
But, at that point, I was done. DONE. I just didn't even care enough about it to tell Seth, much less call the AC guy. It was hard to sleep at night because it was so hot in the bedroom, but I still didn't care. At that moment, I couldn't deal with anything else. I was just thankful for clear pipes and good tires. Besides, we were going to be out of town that weekend anyway. I did finally call the AC guy on Friday morning, and I even told him to just put me on his schedule for the following week. Long story short, he did, and he came back yesterday and finished repairs on the unit.
So now the real reason for this post. I wanted to write this the following Wednesday after the plumbing and tire debacles, but it just didn't get done. Here's what happened.
I had received a jury summons for the week of June 18. It was my fourth summons in three years. Yes. The other three were during the school year. I didn't serve because either those were cancelled, or I was excused. But this one wasn't during the school year. It was the week my parents had planned to come stay with us for a few days. It had been two years since their last visit, and they had picked the date a couple of months ago. And I was called for jury duty. I remember the day that summons came in the mail. I knew what it was before I even ripped the envelope open. I can only say I was pretty frustrated.
Again, this was another "I can't deal" situation. So I did the only thing I knew to do. I told a couple of my friends and my mom, and we started praying that the case would be settled out of court prior to the trial date so the jury would be canceled.
That following Wednesday - one week later - my friend came over for the morning so we could take care of a lot of the administrative details and planning for VBS. I'm basically training her how to be the Director, and we spent the entire morning together. Before she left, I shared with her about the jury summons. She encouraged me to contact our Clerk of Court and explain the situation because she was sure I would be excused. I told her I was just trusting the Lord, and I asked her to pray the same thing - that the case would be settled out of court prior to the trial date so the jury would be canceled. She agreed to pray with me.
Oh, one more thing. This summer I've been studying the book of Hosea and reading the book of Psalms. That's just what the Lord laid on my heart to do. But this time I started with the last chapter in Psalms instead of the first chapter. I'm reading through it backwards. So that Wednesday morning before my friend came over, I flipped to the back of Psalms to read my chapter. I went too far and landed on chapter 138. Before I could turn the page to where I needed to be (chapter 119), my eyes immediately fell to verse 8. I had underlined it.
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me. ~Psalm 138:8a
And I thought, "Huh." So I prayed really quickly about that whole jury duty thing again. And then I went about my day.
Seth came in that evening with the mail. He said, "You got another letter from the Clerk of Court." And then, of course, he doesn't want to give it to me. That was fine. Because I already knew what it said.
So I'm sharing it today. And maybe there's a reason that I haven't had time until today to share this little story of God's faithfulness. Maybe someone needed this today instead. Because, you see, the Lord reminds me over and over and over again that the things that concern me - His child - concern Him, too. He is ALWAYS at work for His glory and my good - His child - even when I can't see it. We are so quick to beseech Him in the midst of a medical diagnosis or a financial challenge or a relationship problem. You know, the "big" things in life. But how quick are we to beseech Him for the "little" things, the "simple" things? Like jury duty.
This was such a comforting, tangible reminder to me that GOD SEES ME. He is involved in absolutely everything in my life - the big things AND the little things. Barbara said we shouldn't be surprised that jury duty was canceled. I told her I wasn't surprised at all, especially after my day began with Psalm 138:8a, and my friend promised to pray. I knew that somehow I wouldn't have jury duty. I didn't know exactly how, but I knew it would be canceled. And it was.
What about you? What concerns you tonight? Go to Him, tell Him, talk to Him. He hears you, He sees you and He is working on your behalf. Be encouraged. You may not know exactly how, but God does. And that's all that matters!