Should Be

Did you ever have a weekend that just didn't go the way you wanted? Ever let it ruin everything?

Ok, so now I'm being dramatic. ;-)

I LOVE Fall. And in my mind it has been fall since Labor Day. I have made that mental leap, complete with daydreams of rainy days, colorful trees, hot tea, and scrumptious smelling baking. I don't know, there is just something comforting to me about a cool fall day. I really wanted this to be the picture of my weekend. However, the weather decided not to cooperate. We had humid, sunny, and hot. YUCK!

Instead of warm cozy cups of hot tea, I had water with ice and lemon.

Instead of colorful trees, I had weeding my backyard.

Instead of scrumptious smelling baking, I had, well, scrumptious smelling baking ;-) -- But it wasn't the same!! LOL!

I was tempted to let this destroy my weekend, my attitude, and be a royal grump about the whole thing. I couldn't even enjoy the fact that we were finally having sun after a summer filled with cool cloudy days.

Then the Lord started  shedding light on a deeper truth. What else isn't the way I think it should be in this season of my life? What else am I "grumping" about to the Lord when I should be just enjoying what I have.

What are my personal list of "should be's"?

The phrase "I should be _______ by now in my life" is one of the most destructive and hurtful phrases we can tell ourselves.  It is wrought with undertones of  I'm not good enough, I'm not successful enough, I'm not with-it enough. All of that leads straight to false humility, depression, angst, anger, and sin. Think about it. The serpent told Eve in the garden that if she ate of the fruit she "would be" like God. He played on her sense of not good enough and gave her a new should be. "I should be like God".

Here is the truth. God has us where we are for a reason. We didn't slip his notice. He didn't forget about us. We are where we are because he has a purpose for us in it. We neglect his blessings when we keep our eyes on what we think we "should be" doing rather than embracing the goodness that God has already brought us. If we love him, and keep our eyes on him, we can't help but be where we are supposed to be.  Who cares anyway about "should be's"?

He says he will complete what he began in us. I choose to believe it today. How about you?

Blessings,