Earlier this month we hosted family from Europe for two weeks. It was a wonderful time together but also very challenging. Our house is pretty small and many adjustments were required to accommodate everyone with appropriate sleep spaces and shared bathrooms. Frequent grocery store trips were also needed to keep the refrigerator stocked for two rapidly growing kids. Many menu compromises to suit the guests had to be made, with much more cooking demanded of me than usual.
Despite my strong desire to be a welcoming hostess and my genuine enjoyment of the guests, I found myself occasionally getting irritable and snippy with them just as Saint Martha did in Luke’s Gospel (see Luke 10:38-42).
The unaccustomed work, disorder and noise wore me down. I felt pretty badly about my inability to maintain my good humor and generosity. I felt like I had failed. Without my usual time and space to refuel spiritually and emotionally, I was”running on empty”, so my failures weren’t surprising.
Eventually it began to dawn on me that these challenges and my occasional failures were actually blessings from God. He was showing me quite clearly that I can’t do it in my own strength, that I need him every moment. For it’s only his life within me that can rise to these challenges and be sufficient. I actually knew that; these were just reminders.
In the midst of my irritation, I must learn more quickly to cry out for divine help, that generous help which is always at the ready and just a simple prayer away. All my “failures” were simply rehearsals for the next time I will be similarly challenged. God in his goodness was simply giving me more practice. They say practice makes perfect, but often it just makes better – better than the last time.
Lessons From Love School 
It’s always a challenge when life deviates from what we consider our “normal” routine. However, nothing in the Christian life falls within the realm of “normal” when God is in the picture. It’s our natural tendency to react with annoyance when others don’t follow the script we have written for our lives. It reminds me of all those who said they wanted to follow Jesus but they always had something else to do first. (Luke 9:57-62) In other words, “Jesus, don’t disrupt my routine!” God is in the “business” of making us more like His Son through trials, testing, and discipline all with His loving intention in mind. Thanks be to God that He loves us where we are at but loves us too much to let us stay there.
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Thank you, Rev Sheree.
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Thank you for that reminder this morning!
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