Staying Focused

So many things in this world are screaming us this way or that.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, hotspots, laptops, emails, iPods, ear "buds", texting, cellphones, and the list of new technology goes on and on.

I am convinced that these new things were put in our way for a reason.  After refusing to get onto the Facebook boat, I finally consented to get myself an account when several of my friends began marrying and moving away.  I also use it for promoting this blog and notifying my 'friends' of special political updates.

I will gladly use new technology to further God's Kingdom, but nothing more.  If I get to the point where I am constantly going to www.facebook.com and signing in for the purpose of finding out who 'likes' my status or commented on something funny I said, then I pray to God that He will make me so busy I can't even find a moment to type in www....

I love everything old-fashioned.  I love the art of writing letters that make words, and words that make articles and articles that make novels, etc.  I just do!  But forms of new technology are wiping out letter-writing and even electronic mail (e-mail)!  How scary is that?  I hope that I may continue to write letters to my pen-friends... there is something more special, more meaningful in a letter.  I know that when I receive one, I feel important.  I feel thought of.  Someone actually took time out of their busy lives to jot me a note and ask how I was doing.

I like the photo above because it depicts a young woman in a serene, beautiful garden.  She is taking the time to enjoy such beauty while at the same time, perhaps, she is engulfing herself in the Word of God.

I pray that we may reach thousands upon thousands through Facebook and Twitter.... but in the meantime, I pray that we remain focused on the one true goal in life: to bring glory and honor to His Name -- not our own.

When Disappointment Slaps You in the Face

The Lord has been leading me of late to get a job and, at the same time, learn a vocation.

After praying and thinking about going into the medical field since I was a child, the Lord opened the door for me to attend a class to become a nurse's aide.  The free class would last for three weeks and then I would be obligated to work at the nursing home for up to six months, depending on State Exam dates.

Two months passed before I made the decision, with the Lord's guidance, to submit an application.  At last, just after the New Year, I was called in for an interview.  The lady educated me on the ins and outs of the profession, ending the interview with a tentative class start date.  I was so excited to actually be given such a great opportunity!  I even started looking at scrubs to wear to work.

Then it happened.  From out of nowhere, the open door slammed shut in my face.  She called and said that I had not "made" the class... there was an overflow of applicants.

What??  How could this be?  I felt like crumbling to the ground and crying my fill.  But the Lord gently reminded me, "All things work together for good to them that love God..."*

I questioned the decisions I had made; was I right, after all, to submit that application?  Was I right in refusing a good nanny job?

But then, as I prayed and prayed about it, and spoke with my mom about the difficulty of it, I recalled to mind how God had certainly led me.  It was not *I* who really wanted to be a CNA -- God Himself had laid the desire on my heart and took me through the necessary steps to accomplish it.

He could certainly turn things around, if need be.  I am confident that He will open another door for me... and yes, I am sure I will one day become a CNA, but for now?  I'm just waiting on Him to beckon me here or there.

He is my Guide forever.

*Romans 8:28