Listen or else! (part 0ne)

I feel as if I've woken up from a functioning coma. As if the last two years I've been walking, talking and interacting with the world but essentially in a coma. Quite frankly the end of this coma has been a waking nightmare. I've long believed that God will not necessarily guide you down the correct path but if you go down the wrong one He will pull you back. Sometimes forcefully. Two years ago I looked at our financial situation and made a truly stupid decision. I listened to the world and took a paying job. The first job I took was working for a reservation service out of my home. This seemed ideal for someone as committed to home as I profess to be. However, it paid very little and the hours were restrictive. More specifically the time I was "on the clock" I was tied to my desk. computer and phone. The only upside to being at home was the commute. Then I went to work for a large health insurance company. During my initial interview I was told that after six months most workers in this department were strongly encouraged to telecommute. That seemed like a dream come true! The pay was nearly three times the other job and the hours would be flexible. As long as I put in the total hours it didn't really matter when I worked. However, that six months ended up being more than a year and there were major changes in our home in that time. My son rather unexpectedly got married (and the foundling became my daughter in law) and three months later my wonderful grandson was born. Because all of this was very unplanned, they live with us until they can afford to move into their own home. Having them in the house is both a blessing and a trial as is usually the case when multiple generations share the same roof.

Around the time my grandson was born, I started hearing from God on a very specific subject. I also starting ignoring God on this very specific subject. The subject was and is Titus 2 and the eight commands God gives to women. These eight commands are in addition to the 613 commandments in the Old Testament and they are for women only. When God puts a burden on my heart I know it. It is always clear. The problem is, this time I chose to ignore the burden. Ignore God speaking to me. Ignore God nudging me. So He went from nudging to pushing to shoving.

The thing I learned most is: Listen or else! And the "or else" can be agonizingly painful. God may not punish us here on Earth (and for those of us who know Jesus as our Saviour, we will not be punished after we leave this Earth) but He will most certainly allow adversity into our lives to get a point across or get our attention.

I'm going to elaborate on this concept as I learned it in the past two years. It will probably take multiple posts but since so far no one reads this except me, so what. When I'm done writing it all down, hopefully I will find a way to use it to help other women avoid the painful, sometimes excruciating, lesson that I learned the hard way.