Quiet at the Ranch...by Lucy

The Zaragoza family left for a vacation in the Acapulco area on Wednesday. It has been very quiet since they have been gone. Not that nothing is happening here, but without 17 more kids making noise, it is just much more peaceful. It doesn't take a half hour to get everyone to the table after the call is made. I don't have to be in school (Aaron and Joanna are waiting for books to begin their 12th grade and 10th grade years), and I can do laundry whenever I want. Well, almost whenever I want! As I am writing this, I am waiting for the water truck to come so I can continue doing my laundry that I had planned for the day!

Water is something I will never take for granted again after living here. I had plans for my day to do laundry that doesn't normally get done (blankets, small area rugs...), but that all changed after I found out that our water supply is low. What if the water truck doesn't make it today? I'd better not use the last of our water on laundry, in case we need it later to take showers, or to do dishes from a meal, or to drink! I figured it was God's way of telling me that I needed to blog today! I can't remember the last time I blogged.

Just for this week, while the family is gone, I am enjoying the quiet time. We usually don't realize how much we need to slow down and de-stress, until the moment is upon us. We usually know things aren't quite right, feeling unsettled and knowing we need a break, but don't know just how much until we are in the midst of it, and we sigh, and we smile, and our bodies relax, and we rest. Ahhhhh! The joy of just being still.

God calls us to be still often (Once a week at least!). One of Satan's ways to get us away from God is to get us so busy with the everyday "stuff," that we lose our focus. We forget why we are doing the things we do. We forget Who we are doing them for, and just what He really wants from us. We are to be glorifying Him in everything we do which is difficult when we can't see beyond the task at hand.

Last week, while Mark and Joanna were gone on crusade, Aaron and I started a puzzle I received as a gift through the Upper Deer Creek work team. I've always enjoyed working through a puzzle. I have a process that must be followed. Outside pieces first, separate the colors for the inside, and pick a section to work on. Sometimes the puzzle pieces come together quickly, and at other times, I just sit and look at the pieces, trying to picture how they will look when they are put together. I have to be quiet, and work slowly, sometimes just sitting and analyzing the pieces, looking for how they will fit together. I do have an advantage however. I can look at the cover on the box to see what the picture should look like when it is completed. Puzzles are a lot like life. We don't see the whole puzzle when we are going through our lives, and sometimes that is good. God doesn't show us everything all at once because we can't handle knowing every step that leads us closer to Him. But if we can keep our eyes on Him, we will know what the completed puzzle should look like in the end.

This week I am looking toward the completed puzzle, and ordering my steps to be in line with His. The puzzle will come together one piece at a time, in His perfect time, and all I really have to do is be still at this time. Thank God for stillness this week. Thank God for His perfect timing.

Be still and know that I am God.--Psalm 46:10

The completed puzzle to remind me to be still