Hard Work=Relaxing?

A few nights ago Herb and I were praying together (I know, it's wonderful that it's a habit now!). Herb was praying for me and asked that I would take the time I now have to relax. Then he followed up with "Or as it is for Katie, if she needs to get some work done, allow her to do that to feel more relaxed." This is a man who knows me all too well! I spent today, my day off, cleaning the house, cleaning out my pantry and junk drawer and doing some laundry. There was some relaxing in there too, but mostly some good hard work. And it felt good, and I feel so relaxed right now! My husband knows me...it's a good feeling to be known.

I know it sounds crazy to most that cleaning my house is a satisfying way to spend my day off, but I just love to sit in a clean house. It makes me feel so at ease to look around and realize that I am that much further from cleaning my house again. Somehow it gives me the feeling that there is more relaxing in my future than hard work.

Herb laughs at me because I claim that I'd rather do work now so I can rest later. His response "But you never relax later!" We joke, but of course there's often truth in the humor. But today I did relax later. I am currently sitting on my couch enjoying the D-backs win against the Dodgers, after having lost to Herb at Scrabble. I found relaxation in my hard work, at least for the day.

So as paradoxical as it may seem, hard work equals relaxing for me.

I know the plans I have for you...

Last night at church there was an opportunity to take our burdens, our sins, our secrets and nail them to the cross, much as you might expect from an Easter week service. As I sat down to write, knowing exactly the burden I wanted to relinquish, God placed a very different version of my burden on my heart. And all of the sudden I was writing: I don't truly believe you have good in mind for me.

What a harsh realization! I know my God and I know His goodness, but I do not believe truly that it is intended for me, especially when it comes to where my life goes from here. The cool part, I wrote down that untruth and nailed it to the cross to be erased by His precious blood shed for me.

The story gets cooler: Herb and I are driving home discussing the service and I tell Him my revelation. God showed Herb a very similar truth, he doesn't truly believe God has a place for him in the work world. We both agreed that we should be praying over one another for this specific area. Cool enough for one day, right?

God is so much bigger...I was getting ready for bed thinking about praying over Herb when it dawned on me: every night I spend 8 minutes doing neck exercises and Herb hangs out with me; why not spend that 8 minutes praying?! Praying together isn't something we do often, but it's something we desire to do. So last night we started praying together!

Yet there's more! This morning I got up to read my devotional and part of the chapter was about believing in the good God has set before you. Specifically it called upon Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" How, after this last 24 hours, can I not believe this is true? How, after God so perfectly spoke to me and to Herb so clearly, can I not begin to pray over and trust in His future? It may not be the future I envision, but it will be "exceedingly beyond all I can ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20), which is more than enough for me!