June, you're rude and my memory stinks

As a single gal, I sort of hate the month of June. I LOVE watching my friends get married to incredible guys. Love that part. Don't so much like the rest of it. The television commercials, the bazillion little ads on websites and newspapers....all devoted to that one big day. Sometimes it's envy and sometimes it's just a longing to have that connection at the heart. More often than not it's pure selfishness. Like this moving thing for example. My thought life lately has included lots of, "sigh...wish I had a husband to help me make this decision," or "two incomes sure would make buying a house a little simpler." It's nothing too overwhelming and certainly nothing the Lord and my amazing group of family and friends can't figure out; I just wish I could pull the plug on my wishful thinking and those daily sinking reminders. Makes me think about what else the world throws in our faces to take our eyes off of Jesus. The first opportunity I got to speak to a group of women after graduating from seminary, I spent a good long time thinking about what we, as women, need reminded of most. We all confess our memories are short. We have trouble citing names of new acquaintances and now with cell phones, I can barely find enough room in my cranium to remember my mom's number. Maybe it's because we're bombarded with messages all day long. So much so, that we have a difficult time distinguishing the important from the mundane. I don't have to remember my mom's cell phone number...it's right here in my palm. My brain is so lazy! (consequently it matches my body quite nicely). So what's so imperative in our daily walk with the Lord that we must, must, must not forget? To answer that question I turned to Genesis 3. I figured that was a good place to start since apparently Satan came up with a pretty effective plan to help Eve and Adam forget. That sneaky little punk knew his Creator well and he knew which of God's attributes we would most easily forget without His intervention. The first thing the serpent asked Eve was “Is it really true that God said…?” From the get-go Satan was testing Eve’s knowledge of God’s trustworthiness. He went further and outright called God a liar when he declared – “Surely you will not die…” Satan’s very first lie to mankind was – God cannot be trusted. And it’s the same lie I fall into almost daily. If I believe and actually LIVE like I believe God can be trusted, than my life might look outright radical. What appears to be an obstacle...say, the house I'm wanting to buy is out of my price range....instead I choose to look at as a divine secret. The word secret may not be a positive one to you, so maybe I should choose my wording a little differently, but let me explain rather simply. God sees the things that we cannot. If He is trustworthy, then if something doesn't work out like I hope it to, then I want to train my heart to immediately respond in faith that God has something better. Cause after all He IS trustworthy. Want proof? Check out His Word: Psalm 19:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Titus 1:1-2, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 and my personal favorite 2 Corinthians 4:13-17! I think Satan caught on to that line of thinking, so he hit Eve where it counted. Genesis 3:5 – “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open...” Satan tried to show Eve that God can’t be trusted, because God’s intentions weren't what was best for her. Instead Satan convinced Eve that what was best for her was more knowledge. Have you ever really thought about the fact that Adam & Eve didn’t know what evil was before Satan came along? He offered them knowledge – but not just any knowledge – knowledge of the difference between good and evil. So far, in their world, all they knew was good. They didn’t have anything to compare it too. Satan attempted to show humankind that God isn’t really good and therefore He can’t be trusted. How many times have I turned to crap like the internet to find the answer to my problems? We're convinced that if we just had more knowledge we could make it on our own, no doubt! Why call a plumber when I can youtube a fix-it-yourself video? See all I need is to know more and now I'm connected with millions of other souls with the same independence problem because at the center of my flesh lingers Satan's taunts, "You know God isn't good and He can't be trusted, so you better go it your own way, you stubborn little girl." The truth is, God is good. What else could prove His goodness more than His free gift of life? Psalm 34:8, John 10:14-18, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:8-9 show us and if we stretch our lazy brains a bit, we can look back at His faithfulness past. The next time I'm unsure of my abilities or my spouse and what the future holds, instead I'm going to ask the Lord to give me faith in His plan and timing. It’s the only one that we can trust – and it’s bound to be good.