Production Week
A typical week - 7 days.....168 hours.....10,080 minutes.....604,800 seconds - no matter how you count it, it all still adds up to a week. Somehow, if I tried to add this week up, I'm pretty sure it would total more than a week. For those of us in the Real Christian Theater drama ministry, it was "Production Week."
We have our full-length play (around 2 hours) this weekend. So, after a long day at school, we would head down to the church and put in some more hours working on the play, sometimes 3, 4, or even 5 hours every evening, all week long. Nights were long and I don't think I got to bed before midnight once this week. Some days, it was because I was working on something that was related to the play, like the t-shirts that Judith and I painted with the design of "Big Mama's Cafe" (In the play, my character is Laura, the cafe's owner; we each painted the shirts we're wearing).
Other days, it was because once I'd get home, I still had other things that needed to be done in preparation for the next day, like prepping my students art projects (I cut letters out of cardboard and the kids painted them; these are the first letters of the names of all my students - they turned out so great!).
And now, here I am, looking back over the events of Production Week: I gained a new student who doesn't know any English, our apartment got robbed, my roommate buckled under stress and found herself in a temporary state of paralysis (or something like that....we're not really sure), I learned of my grandma's fragile condition and wonder if I'll see her again, and lots of other bad news from family and friends back home.
But every morning, I always seemed to wake up with more energy than I expected - I knew it wasn't mine. God has definitely blessed me this week. Somehow, I've made it through, and I know it's because He was carrying me.
The beautiful thing, is that God knows what we need before we even ask......or even when we don't ask. Usually, the busier we get, the less time we spend with God because we feel we need to spend that time doing all the things that are demanding our attention. But Martin Luther had a totally different approach. He said, "I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer". The busier we get the more time we should be spending with God and in prayer. I wish I could say that I followed Luther's example this week and spent extra time with God because I knew I needed Him more this week......but I didn't. As I got caught up with all things bombarding my life, I didn't entirely neglect my time with Him, but it wasn't what it should've......or could've been. God had no reason to bless me - I didn't spend very much time with Him and I didn't even ask to be blessed - but He did it anyways.
I'm not saying we don't have to spend time with God or take our requests to Him, but He knows our hearts and knows when we need Him to step in and take control. I'm glad He did that for me this week. I'm counting my many blessings......especially the ones I didn't ask for.
We have our full-length play (around 2 hours) this weekend. So, after a long day at school, we would head down to the church and put in some more hours working on the play, sometimes 3, 4, or even 5 hours every evening, all week long. Nights were long and I don't think I got to bed before midnight once this week. Some days, it was because I was working on something that was related to the play, like the t-shirts that Judith and I painted with the design of "Big Mama's Cafe" (In the play, my character is Laura, the cafe's owner; we each painted the shirts we're wearing).
Other days, it was because once I'd get home, I still had other things that needed to be done in preparation for the next day, like prepping my students art projects (I cut letters out of cardboard and the kids painted them; these are the first letters of the names of all my students - they turned out so great!).
And now, here I am, looking back over the events of Production Week: I gained a new student who doesn't know any English, our apartment got robbed, my roommate buckled under stress and found herself in a temporary state of paralysis (or something like that....we're not really sure), I learned of my grandma's fragile condition and wonder if I'll see her again, and lots of other bad news from family and friends back home.
But every morning, I always seemed to wake up with more energy than I expected - I knew it wasn't mine. God has definitely blessed me this week. Somehow, I've made it through, and I know it's because He was carrying me.
The beautiful thing, is that God knows what we need before we even ask......or even when we don't ask. Usually, the busier we get, the less time we spend with God because we feel we need to spend that time doing all the things that are demanding our attention. But Martin Luther had a totally different approach. He said, "I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer". The busier we get the more time we should be spending with God and in prayer. I wish I could say that I followed Luther's example this week and spent extra time with God because I knew I needed Him more this week......but I didn't. As I got caught up with all things bombarding my life, I didn't entirely neglect my time with Him, but it wasn't what it should've......or could've been. God had no reason to bless me - I didn't spend very much time with Him and I didn't even ask to be blessed - but He did it anyways.
I'm not saying we don't have to spend time with God or take our requests to Him, but He knows our hearts and knows when we need Him to step in and take control. I'm glad He did that for me this week. I'm counting my many blessings......especially the ones I didn't ask for.
Comments
el besto
(And tonight and tomorrow). Which we will. We promised to savor it and I feel we really have so far.
God has been good.
Much love and may God continue to pour out His blessings upon you. Peace.