What Are Your Ten Things?

We don’t have any grass in our front yard.   None.  Well, okay, we don’t have any LIVE grass.  Just dirt with little scattered patches of brown, crispy, scraggly, dead St. Augustine.  We did this on purpose, at first.  This was 25-year-old grass, after all.  And the poor pitiful stuff was showing its age, thinning, getting bald spots, and was just barely hanging on.   And then we not only had record-breaking cold this winter (in Austin!) but also the now nationally famous interminable stretch of drought conditions in Texas which is currently ranked two levels worse than “Severe,” those being “Extreme” and finally the worst, “Exceptional.”  (I think the level past “Extreme” should be “Brutal,” but that’s just me….)

But we had a plan.  We were excited.  We had sort of let the old grass go its own way of extinction this past winter because this spring we were going to bite the bullet and go for the whole works – tall pallets of brand new luxurious St. Augustine squares of grass and fresh nutrient-rich dirt – and presto, a gorgeous new lawn!  However, what we didn’t know, couldn’t have known, were the financial changes about to befall us, with each of us experiencing surprise extended hospital stays within a month of each other and then my job loss.  Suddenly spending thousands of dollars on GRASS just lost its appeal (and feasibility).  

So here we are. The homeowners in the neighborhood with the non-grass wilderness of a front yard – the pariah of Shady Hollow!  The Homeowners’ Association nightmare – I have been expecting the letter any day now admonishing us for breaking probably several of the strict covenants of lot maintenance and upkeep.  Plus, it’s just plain embarrassing. 

I rode my bicycle around the neighborhood last night and as I pulled out of our driveway, the dirt and crunchy brown clumps of dried grass that greeted me in our yard just reminded me again of our difficulties.  And each push of the bike pedals took me past other yards in stark contrast to ours, boasting rich verdant carpets of emerald grass, a virtual turf paradise, with sprinkler systems gaily spraying to ensure more green, more growth, more grass. 

“Lord, why?” were the words that escaped up from my soul.  And as I continued to ride along and think about this, God reminded me of my own words as a Mom to my children, “You can either compare UP or you can compare DOWN.”  Yes, I could ride around focusing on the other lush, well-manicured front yards and feel the stabs of remorse about our own….. OR I could be thankful that we HAVE a yard at all.  Millions of human beings in our world live in makeshift shelters pieced together with scraps of cardboard with dirt floors, or have had lovely homes reduced to rubble by being right in the path of a powerful tornado, or their homes flooded, or burned.    “Okay, Lord, I’m listening.” 

The next instruction that came to me was the memory of a 12-year-old little Holly succumbing to the ravages of middle school girl moods, being convinced that the world was coming to an end and nothing would be good ever again.  So what would I say to her when she felt that way?  “Holl, tell me ten things you are thankful for.”  “But Mom, I caaaaan’t think of aaaaaanything!”  (Is this how I sounded to God right about now?)  And the suggestion I always made to her in that moment came back to me, “Holl, okay, I understand.  But let’s just think about this.  How many legs do you have?”  “Two.”  So that would finally launch the list of ten things she realized she actually could be thankful for. 

So guess what, I started thinking of my “Ten Things” as I rode my bike further and further through our neighborhood last night, “two legs” being the obvious number one, seeing as I was pedaling my bike with them at the time.  “A nice bicycle.”   “A lovely June sunset coloring the clouds with soft shades of pink and orange, tinting the edges of the clouds with gray.”  And on and on.   Just the pure fact that I was riding a bicycle at all when just a mere four months ago I was doing well if I could shuffle the length of a few houses down the sidewalk. 

So what do we do when we are struggling in our current circumstances?  When it feels like God is even being slow to answer our prayers for relief?  Can we give thanks anyway?  Can we continue to trust Him?

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

The Sovereign LORD is my strength.  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer.  He enables me to go on the heights.        ~ Habakkuk 3:17-19

So as I rode on in the soft twilight, my dry, parched soul which strangely resembled our front yard began to feel soothed.  I felt God say deep within me, “You can trust Me.  It is going to be okay.  See…..”  And I looked ahead and there were five deer taking timid steps out of the woods just in perfect timing for me to see them.  It was glorious.  It was God’s gift of reassurance.

So, we don’t have any grass in our front yard right now and I still haven’t found another job yet.  Are you struggling with trying circumstances in your life, too?   What does God want us to do?

Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  (emphasis mine)      ~  Philippians 4:6-7

I pray God’s peace to guard your heart today, too.  Even before your struggles are solved.  Even in the midst of your crisis or time of drought.  Here is another promise from Him to us  ~

The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.    ~  Isaiah 58:11