Vacation

   I started this blog with the intention of posting something daily but I haven't done very well with that. Last week I was on vacation with the family and not able to post because either I had poor internet connection or, and I will admit this, I just forgot. 
   I wrote a column last week but since I wan't in the office I emailed it in and it just so happened that email was down at the office and so the column did not make it in time for Wednesday's paper. I don't post the columns here until they are published. I'm back at work now though so everything will get back on track. 
   You know the email thing was just the first of several trials I went through last week. Vacations are supposed to be a time of refreshing but I think this one ended up being more a time to see what areas in my life I need to work on. Patience, faith, trust and forgiveness were four things worked on with me.
   I was frustrated over the column not getting here since I had taken time on Monday, the first day of my vacation and a holiday, to write it and make sure it was sent. Tuesday afternoon I am out of town with my family and getting terse emails asking if I was going to have a column. As far as I knew it was already received. It was over four hours after the email was sent asking me about it before I received it and by then too late to get it in, even though I did resend it. That started my work on patience. I tend toward perfectionism. If something is supposed to be done, I do it, and when I am accused of not doing it, well, that is where my patience was really tested.
   We are also in the process of moving. Moving is expensive and vacations are expensive. That is where trust was put into play. Trusting that the Lord would provide all we need for everything we need to do. It's been a bit tight, but we were able to take the boys on vacation, are still moving and are still be able to provide for our family. God is pretty amazing like that.
   A situation that has tested patience, faith and forgiveness came up Friday. We had arranged for the electricity to be turned on in the house we are moving in to on Friday. By Friday evening it still wasn't on. When we finally get through after about 45 minutes on hold, patience test number 1, we find out the renters who had been living there tampered with the electrical box - twice - and there was a lock put on the electrical service at that address. The first woman with the electrical provider was extremely rude and appeared to be blaming us, patience test number 2, so we asked to speak to a supervisor. Turns out there is now a process we have to go through proving we weren't the ones living there when the box was tampered with in order to have our electricity turned on. That one takes patience - we are still waiting for the forms and have no idea how long this will take, forgiveness for the people who lived there before and were less than honest since we are now dealing with the repercussions of their actions, and faith that it will all work out.
   I'm not sure how refreshed I am after that vacation, but I have definitely been working on some areas that needed strengthening.
1 Corinthians 10:13 - "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it"