In spite of the fact this has been 'only' a four day work week with being off on Monday, this week has been crazy busy and stressful. Of course Monday was hubby's surgery and it was a day of extreme waiting and exhaustion. Tuesday was busy, and recovery was happening. Full focus back on Wednesday, and yesterday was broken up by having to take hubby to the doctor's appointment. THAT took all afternoon. But we did stop at Olive Garden to use a gift card that was burning a hole in his pocket on the way home. Dinner at 3:30PM - that works. We even paid $5 each for the extra food to take home. I like that. Guess what's for dinner tonight! Spaghetti. And I thawed out some chicken earlier so will put in the air fryer and we'll have chicken with our spaghetti tonight. Dinner is complete.
I jumped on the computer when we got home and had 37 messages - which took me over an hour to get through, schedule meetings, etc. I think it was after 6:30PM before I turned the computer off. My boss was still online - what's up with that? - sure hope it wasn't to find me more work! I did email her a couple times but she didn't respond so guess she was involved in a project. Probably learning stupid timecards. I mean, learning timecards. sigh. Got to focus on that today. I've decided that I have to learn it, so I may as well become an expert on it.
Can't think of anything we have planned for the weekend. Want to check with a grandson with an upcoming birthday to see when we can take him out to dinner. We love spending time with him and catching up. Yeah, hope to get him taken out one evening soon.
I read in my devotional this morning about Naaman. Remember him? He's the military guy who had leprosy and the Israeli servant girl he had captured told him to go see Elisha, a prophet of God. So he did. He also took 10 sets of clothes, lots of coins, gold and silver, animals, and I don't know what all. (cause I didn't go back to the story)
Interesting.... the heading of the devotional for today is 'Willing to Listen'. Are any of us willing to listen to others? I like Proverbs 12:15...
Proverbs 12:15 "The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice."
Have you ever had a time when something someone said 'flipped a switch' in your mind and you go "dang! I never thought of it like that!" A switch gets flipped and everything makes sense. You do it and you succeed in your task. That's like Naaman. In 2 Kings 5, it tells the story. Stop and go read it.
There was no cure for leprosy (still isn't, that I'm aware of). Yet, once the Israelite servant girl told him to see Elisha, Naaman grasped at a straw and went. He took all that 'stuff', expecting to buy his healing from Elisha - but Elisha didn't even come out to see him! Sent his servant to talk to Naaman - the commander of an army! Naaman was not happy. He stated what he wanted, Elisha's servant told him what Elisha told him to do - "go wash in the Jordan River 7 times and ou will be healed." Naaman was offended! The Jordan River was dirty! He wasn't going to do it. But then what happened?
Another servant went to Naaman and asked him (paraphrased) "why don't you do as Elisha said? It's such a simple thing, and you will be healed." So again Naaman listened to his servant and went and washed 7 times in the Jordan River as instructed by Elisha...... and on the 7th washing, he was healed. His eyes were opened when he decided to listen to what his servants had told him; what Elisha had told him, even when he didn't want to hear it.
We always think that our grass is greener on the other side. That the advice we are given isn't good for us - unless it is what we want to hear. Sometimes we refuse and shut our ears to hear advice from those we don't want advice from. I get it. Guilty. That's me! Unless the advice confirms what I want to do - usually I don't want to listen to it.
But sometimes we need to. Sometimes we need to hear what others say and follow it. It is kind of like a doctor telling you 'You need to lose weight' and we think in our minds, 'Yeah, I know I do, but I don't want to deprive myself of what will help me do that'. So we reject the words of the doctor who is trying to help us feel better and to live a long life. What if we don't want to live a long life? You are only hurting yourself because you will leave a tangled emotional mess if that is what you think. Grandchildren deprived, children deprived, memories not made. Oh yes, when we don't follow good advice, it affects everyone around us.
But then you get my age and you wonder would anyone even care. And yet, I know some will. Actually, I think most will, but emotions get held in. I always laugh and say the statement I heard from someone or read somewhere years ago - "I want to live long enough to let my children ...." I forget the rest of it. I do not want to be a burden on my children. I want to live a long healthy life and then die in my sleep. I don't want extreme medical bills at the end (which is one reason I'm having to pay out a high dental bill now - if that root becomes infected it will affect my entire jaw and then, and then... sigh. Catch 22, right?)
But sometimes people come in to our lives like Naaman's servants and tells us that we should...." " - whatever it is. Maybe it's time we stop and hear what they say. It may just be the switch that flips the light inside of us.
In the meantime, it's Friday, and I'm grateful.
Do the Friday dance.
Blessings!
