Obedience

My wife and I have five children, and every year she would run out to buy some form of a small swimming pool; nothing extravagant. Usually, she’d buy a quick-erect, blowup vinyl pool. You know, the type that’s easy to fill up, with an expandable floating top ring. As the children grow older, the pools keep getting larger. And yet, they still manger to puncture them beyond repair…every…single…year. So this year, I put my foot down.

“No swimming pools this year! I’m tired of being the only one to clean them and patch the holes, you guys keep mysteriously putting in them. I’m also tired of the bare grass patches, I have to keep replacing.”

Pause. We’ll be back.

In 2011, my wife walked away from her job, after 16 years of service to CVS. She told me she felt the Lord’s call for her to move on, and to focus on her relationship with Him. Financially, it was a challenge, but we managed to make ends meet. But the change in her life was absolutely amazing. She dove into the scriptures everyday and got involved with the kids’ PTA. It seemed like everything she touched prospered in her obedience to the Lord. She grew in tuned to God’s subtle whisper.

Then things changed. One year after her departure, we suffered a trying season financially. It seemed as if my job just couldn’t cover the monthly bills alone. Without consulting the Lord, or her husband, my wife chose to go back to CVS. Her rationale was that it was her responsibility to make money for the family.

The walk of faith doesn’t also have a clear line of sight. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel every time. When darkness settles around us, we have to trust in God’s direction. He uses the internal and eternal beacon within us: the Holy Spirit. But when we go our own way, we tend to make things harder than they need to be.

Luke 11:28 says, “Jesus replied, ‘But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’”

Today is my wife’s last day at CVS. Once again, she obeyed the Lord’s call. Once she decided to obey, the whole family noticed a change in her. She’s never going back. And almost immediately, the Lord began to bless her with peace and grace.

I came home from work this past Tuesday, to find a gently used, large 16’X48” metal frame swimming pool setup in our backyard; all maintenance accessories included. Knowing we don’t have the money for such a thing I asked.

“Who bought this for us?”

“It was a gift from Trish and Dave,” she said. Trish and Dave Simmons are old and dear friends. “I’ve been praying for a pool, since I decided to leave CVS! Isn’t God awesome?”

“Yep,” I said. “He sure is. Who’s gonna clean that thing?”