This gorgeous cactus was started from a piece that belonged to my mother’s friend, Joy. Sad thing is, Joy grew impatient with this plant when it was spindly and taking too long to grow. She got fed up with it and threw it out. Her neighbor, however, knew how to pace her time a little better, be more flexible with time-lines—at least in the case of growing this cactus.
This is a crazy, super-fast summer for me. I’m barely into my new house. There are still lots of boxes to unpack. There are pictures yet to be hung. And I’ve got relatives visiting from Ireland. With all that excitement, the next three weeks will go by in a blink. During that time, I also have to fly to Manitoba for a huge Harvest event with Children’s Camps International. After that, one week of ‘normality’, and my husband and I make one of our semiannual trips to the middle of the country to drop our son off at college. Then . . . summer is over. DRAT.
Lots of fun things to do, great times to connect with family, but little time to work on the two projects that press on my heart—the CCI non-fictional story, and my fictional novel that I’m hoping and praying will be the one to break into the publishing world. It would be nice to actually make a little bit of money for all the writing I do.
You see, I have a timeline running through my head. Push through with the two books in the summer, polish them off and have them ready by November. And then . . . yuck . . . get a day job in December to support the household coffers. Insert heavy sigh, I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
That’s my personality. Like all personalities, it has its plus side and its negative. Yes, I’m the kind of person who can work like a piston engine, all steam, push-push-push, and complete a project. You can bet your boots, I’ll finish a thing.
Negative side is—I get frustrated if I can’t get to my work, or what I think should be done. It’s because I worry, I suppose. Worry that events won’t roll off the assembly line of my mind on time. Those time-lines I set for myself are a two-edged sword. Yes, a person needs to set goals—without something to shoot for, you’ll miss every time. But so often I see in myself and in others, frustration welling up, when their expectations are not met quite as they feel they should be.
Impatience is a nasty thing. When Joy sent me that picture of the cactus it spoke to my heart. Sometimes we need to let go of the time-line in our mind, leave it to God, and let Him bring the flowering in his time.
What Jesus says about worry--Matt 6:25-28a "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field, and how they grow...."
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