Thursday, April 30, 2009

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Next week is my last week of school. It’s strange that time can go so fast, and yet feel so slow. I am greatly looking forward to the summer and have but to survive next week with its two seven-page research papers and three finals, and then I shall be free to do whatever…well, whatever my family wants me to! (I guess I won’t have that much more freedom, but it’s worth it anyway.) : )

One of the first things I will need to start working on right away is setting up the organizational/business end of my piano studio, while my brother finishes putting the final touches on the sheetrock in my studio. (Yes, we finally have everything ready to rock!) Then, once I have actual, tangible walls in my studio, I will don my grubbies and become a painter for a while. (Not my favorite job, but hey, it is my studio, after all.) : ) Once the paint dries, my next task will be to find two pianos to put in the studio, (hooray for Craigslist!) have my two strong men move my organ out of the garage and into the house, (no more practicing with stiff, cold fingers!) and set up for business. Teaching from home will be more complicated, but it will definitely be worth it!

And then there’s the garden. One of the things I look forward to the most this summer is working on our still non-existent garden. We have to get rid of the grass in order to put in the raised beds, which means lots of difficult digging, but I actually kind of enjoyed myself last year when Daddy and I re-did the garden beds at our old house. I love being outside, and this will be the perfect excuse! : )

Well, I suppose I should stop dreaming and come back to the prosaic reality of looming homework…

Friday, April 24, 2009

Sneezes and Sniffles

Here I sit, bundled in blankets and tethered to my box of tissues. I have a cold. But I can’t complain too much, because this is the first time in over a year that I’ve actually been sick. I’m done with my homework for the week, and hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time doing things I actually want to do for a change. : )

I was just thinking as I sat here sniffling that being sick can actually be a good thing for me. It will force me to get the rest I need, and give me a chance to unbend my mind a bit before the next week of schoolwork. It will also help me to appreciate all the things I can do when I’m well. (It seems I need to have my ability to function taken away to make me appreciate it.) Once I am over this cold, my immune system will be stronger and I will be better able to sympathize with others who are ill. I will also be eager to get to work again, after watching everyone else working and being unable to help. I can also use this time to be a blessing to my family, by being as patient as possible and trying to cheer everyone up, even though I am making extra work for them. (Hopefully that won’t be as counter-productive as it sounds.) : )

I am reminded of Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:20, where we are commanded to give thanks to God “always for all things.” –Even sickness.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Pride and Puddles


It was a typical spring day with its mixture of rainstorms and sunbursts, and Mommy and I were out for a walk. We had gone our usual route and were bound for home when we came to a very large puddle. This puddle had somehow grown larger since we passed it just twenty minutes before, and though we were able to walk around it then, it now covered the whole path. Mommy began to try to find the best way to get across without getting wet or muddy, but I stopped to ponder a more perplexing problem. Unlike Mommy, I was not trying to figure out how to get across the puddle without getting wet and muddy. I was wondering whether or not I was too old to splash through the puddle, instead of going around as Mommy was doing.

The ladylike thing would have been to gather up my skirts and tiptoe gingerly through the spongy grass at the puddle’s edge. That would have gotten me past the difficulty in the most dignified manner, but such a lovely large puddle was too good to miss. : ) Either way I risked slipping in the mud and falling face first, like Anne in the cabbage field, getting both wet and muddy.

So there I was, standing at the edge of the puddle trying to discern how deep it was and how waterproof my boots really were. I apparently have not yet gained that kind of pride that supposedly comes with age to keep one from doing childish things like splashing through puddles, but I do have a glimmering of it that at least made me question the propriety of doing such a silly thing. Finally, I made my decision. I walked right through the middle of the puddle –being very careful not to splash.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Driving Test

Yesterday I went in for my driving test to try to get my license. I did pass, (barely) for which I am very thankful, but strangely enough, that wasn't the biggest blessing of the day. --But to explain that I need to give some background.

My driving instructor had taken me to the parking lot at the DMV to practice driving the harder of the two routes they take people on. (It was closed that day) He told me that, of the numbered parking spaces they assign people, the first three were the easiest to pull into. The other three had a planter/traffic island behind them that made pulling in and out very awkward. I had no problem pulling into number 3, so I was praying that I would be assigned that one.

The night before my test, Mommy and I went to practice in the parking lot of the DMV. We spent at least a half an hour just trying to perfect pulling into number 6, (which was the hardest one) just in case I had to. After successfully pulling into it a couple times, another car pulled in and looked like they wanted to practice the same thing, so we left them to it, and drove the test route until we found the next difficulty that needed practice. When we got back to the DMV parking lot, I decided to try pulling into random parking spots so that I could if they told me to at the end of the test. I couldn't seem to park without being extremely crooked, so we gave up and tried number 6 several more times. By that time it was far past my bedtime and I was very discouraged. I came home convinced that I would fail my driving test, and have to re-take the written test to renew my permit, which expired in a couple days, thus wasting both time and money -all because I failed the test the first time.

The morning of my test, I went up to the desk at the DMV for my parking assignment, and was told to pull up in spot number 3! The lady must have thought Mommy and I were very strange to be so happy about a parking assignment. : )

That was so encouraging to me, because it was a reminder that God really does hear and answer prayer. (It also made me feel much better about the test.) : )



~"The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
James 5:17