What's going on

I'm back up at the college painting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can't tell you how awesome it is to actually have a place I can go paint, and not have to worry about having to get everything put away so we can eat at the dinner table. It's also great to see my old painting buddies. We all feed off of one another, and give each other ideas. I have so much stuff to paint, I don't know how I'll ever finish it all.
Over the past two months our Zipper cat has wormed his way into becoming a full time resident of our bed. Now that he is three years old he's calmed down, and has actually become a very good sleeping buddy. He just gets still, and most of the time we don't know he's in here.
I have been doing a devotional by Beth Moore called 90 days with Jesus the One and Only. It is so good, and has been right on target with the things that are going on in my life right now. I have really come to understand the scriptures in a different perspective from what I had as a child or a teenager. Stories I've read over and over through the years are so much more meaningful. It's true, God's Word is living, and it is always fresh.
Last night I read the story in Luke 2:42-50 of the time Mary and Joseph thought they had lost Jesus as a child, and when they found Him three days later He was in the Temple. Don't you know that as parents Mary and Joseph were panicked! This wasn't just a 20 minute separation in a shopping mall. We're talking about 3 whole days in the city of Jerusalem with tens of thousands of people coming in and out from surrounding villages to observe Passover. I'm sure they understood things the way we do now. The first 48 hours after a child goes missing is crucial, after that the chances of finding them alive go way down. Imagine their relief followed quickly by frustration, when they finally looked around the Temple, and found Him sitting amongst the teachers, listening, and making wise comments. At this point Mary and Joseph had probably given up hope of ever finding Him. He was only a 12 year old boy. He could have been taken and made into a slave, murdered, or any number of things. Like any other mother who had just lived her worst nightmare, Mary confronted Jesus basically saying, "How could You cause us such grief? We have looked everywhere for You?" His response was, "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" The scripture goes on to say that Mary was confused, and didn't really comprehend what He meant, but it stayed in her heart, and she pondered it often. Even though she had taken part in the miracle of His birth, not even Mary was able to fully comprehend who her son was.
There are times when I pray, and The Lord doesn't always make sense to me. It's times like this that I have to have faith, and trust that He will show me His plan in time. It is such a blessing to go through something that makes "no sense" at the time, and to later be able to look back, and see God had a great plan all along.
I remember as an 18 year old girl, I was so ready to leave Texarkana, and go off to college at OU. Somehow, I came upon one road block after another. I had been accepted to every college I had applied to, but when it came down to getting a room and a schedule, nothing worked out right. Also my grandfather who had been living with us passed away, and me and my entire family were so grieved. Finally I decided to just stay here for a semester, then I would go. Of course, I was frustrated, and thought "All of my friends have gone off to school, and now this is the worst mistake of my life." I thought I'd leave at Christmas, but transferring between fall and spring and finding a place to live in Norman is next to impossible. So I ended up here that spring, and that is when I met Jon. I know now without a doubt in my mind that I was right where I was supposed to be.
I know quite a few people that have laughed, and looked down on me for staying here. It doesn't matter to me because I learned that you get as much out of your college education as you put into it, and it really doesn't matter what "brand" of stamp is on your diploma because the text books are the same almost everywhere you go. I learned as much or more here at Texarkana College and Texas A&M-Texarkana as I would have anywhere else. I scored in the top 5% on the LSAT, I'm saying that not to brag, but to make a point that it doesn't matter where you go to school, but what you learn while you're there that counts. God made me realized that law school wasn't the path for me (another story all together). I ended up getting my Masters degree through the University of Oklahoma in Interprofessional Health and Human Services (basically hospital administration). From there I have taught Administrative Procedures for the
Allied Health Continuing Education department at Texarkana College.
My life isn't anywhere near finished making twists and turns that I don't understand, but I want my life to be about Him, and so I will continue to trust Him because He sees the Big picture when all I can see is what's in my immediate surroundings. I don't think I'm perfect, or better than anyone else. I have really botched things up at times, and I still do. There are things I've said and done that I would give anything if I could take them back. I find myself having to apologize and ask forgiveness from God and other people all the time. The One thing that matters is that no matter what I have said, done, or thought He is always there to forgive me, and guide me if I just call upon Him.