Deep Thoughts With Stuart Smalley

It's been a crazy few days! I have had some great life lessons though, and so I am taking comfort in that. First things first, my heartfelt sympathies to George and his kids- his mother (their grandma) passed away last week. I attended her funeral ("Is a funeral like a carnival?" Kate asked. "Probably for the dead person," I said.) and she sounded like a great lady. I only met her a couple of times, but everything I ever heard about her was positive. I know that my mom truly appreciated her love and acceptance when she married George. One of the speakers at her funeral said, "Trials are mandatory, but misery is optional." I really liked that reminder that no matter what is going on I can choose my response.

On Sunday, one of the speakers at church said, "I have received so many gifts from God. Some of them have been hard to open." I thought that was well put. Bruce and I (mostly Bruce) have been wrestling with a tough choice in the last couple of weeks. The bottom line is that he has opted out of the business venture that he has worked so hard on the last few months. He and his business partner weren't seeing eye to eye. That sentence is about one-millionth of what I could say on the matter. However, this trial has turned out to be a gift for us. Was it a gift that was hard to open? Definitely. We learned some valuable lessons- we know now that no amount of money is worth having an absentee father/husband. We know that there is money to be made if you are willing to do anything (we aren't that willing). We know that we have an awesome life- are we perfect? Nope- but again this hard time has taught us that we can do better. The other night I read that the Lord prefers obedience over sacrifice. I thought about all of the sacrifices that Bruce would have to make for this business, and it isn't even a guarantee that we will experience the benefits that we want. Then I thought about the Lord, and when he makes a promise, and I "invest" my obedience, then that is a GUARANTEED RETURN. Our choice seemed simple then.

This is a serious entry for me, but someday when I am looking back on this time I hope I still remember all the things I've learned the past few weeks. Generally speaking my best intentions fade after only a couple of days, but I'm working on that too.