Important Lesson Learned!

Today I learned a very valuable lesson - do not put off your quiet time. God will speak to you in spite of procrastination! I could not seem to get going this morning. Remember in one of my other posts I said that one of the greatest gifts that the Lord had given me was the ability to sleep late since I retired? Well, He has been dealing with me on that, but that is a whole other post. This post is dedicated to me and how satan (he doesn't deserve a capital S) is so sly and works so cleverly that even when good is done, he can twist that good into sin.

It was a little late when I got up (don't ask) and as usual I still took the time to drink my coffee on the porch and glance at the newspaper. Ordinarily, I have my quiet time then, but because I indulged in one of the greatest gifts the Lord had given me in retirement (remember), I thought I had better get to making beds and other VERY important things. Hubby went outside to weed eat and mow. Now, before I go any further, let me tell you about our " below us" neighbor. We live on a mountain and a couple built a house last year on the lot just below us. My hubby is a very friendly person - always the good neighbor - better than me. He likes to chat and do things for neighbors that need to be done. I have known him to mow yards for vacationing neighbors, feed dogs, take care of gardens, get mail - you know - all the things that good neighbors do to help other good neighbors. Our " below us" neighbor is a little different. When they were building their house, hubby kept an eye out for vandals and people who like to help themselves to others property. Any time we would see them we would wave and speak. In the beginning I thought they, especially the man of the house, just missed our wave, but then I noticed that I could be at the mailbox and he would pass and whoops - he missed my wave again! How 'bout that? Enough said. Back to today. Hubby is outside mowing. I'm inside doing all the VERY important that kept me from having my quiet time in the am. Time passes and I think I better check on hubby. I haven't heard him in awhile and I always worry that something bad may have happened. I step out on the porch and call his name and he is downstairs in the basement. I go down and tell him I was beginning to be worried, and then he tells me he has been fixing "below us" neighbors mailbox! I could hardly believe my ears. What in the world was he thinking. Neighbor who will not lower himself to even wave, much less speak. My hubby did not have time for that. He even had to drill new holes to make the mailbox flag work. We had plenty to do here at our house, and beside that, he was going to his brothers house to mow for him! What in the world could he have been thinking! I asked him if "below us" neighbor thanked him. And this part is what amazed me - he didn't talk to neighbor. Neighbor wasn't even home.

Now, time passes. Hubby is on his way to his brothers and I am doing my thing of running the vacuum. Even with all the noise, Still Small Voice is loud and clear - very clear. "Donna, you have taken a good deed and you have smeared it all up with satan (no capital s). Forget what neighbor does or how he acts. Hubby did the right thing. His heart was in the right place. You were selfish and wrong. It could have been different if you had spent time with Me this morning. You need to take lessons from the head of your house. His act of kindness was exactly what the golden rule is all about. Do unto others........... Remember. If neighbor never knows who fixed his mailbox, it's okay because I know. That's all that matters."


I must say, I am very proud of hubby. The Lord was right. His heart was in the right place and mine was definitely in the wrong place. You can rest assured that my quiet time will come first in the morning. That does not mean that I will make all the right decisions because my time with the Lord was first, but I have no doubt my outlook on the day will be better.