Travel Time

9-29-10

I’m finally writing this down despite God’s repeated reminders to take dictation.

I spent the weekend traveling around with my youngest, who’s learning to drive. We’ve gotten to the point where my helpful pointers are no longer desired and I am expected to sit quietly in the passenger side, without any flinching or noises. I value this time together anyway, especially now that the license date draws nearer. At that point, I’m not only kicked out of the driver’s seat but out of the vehicle as well. I love this time together, though, and I really like having my own car!

It dawns on me why I’ve been instructed to write on this. I am guilty of driving my own life without letting You, Lord, even into the passenger seat! My self-centeredness astonishes me and I’m determined to do something about this: I’m getting out of the driver’s side of my life and handing You the keys – again. While in the passenger seat, I’ll try not to flinch and just enjoy being with You!

Husking Black Walnuts

9-13-10

as taught to TLC by her Heavenly Father

I found a brief moment in this very busy weekend to spend an hour peeling black walnuts, a time God had carved out for me so I could learn something more. The squirrels have been the only ones to really enjoy the black walnuts so I thought I’d try to harvest some again this year, especially since I end up picking up so many of them from my yard anyway.

To get to the actual black walnut, I had to get through the green outer husk and ended up using a hammer to accomplish this feat. I did think to wear gloves but I really needed to wear several sets, I discovered, since the husk holds a black stain that can penetrate pretty much anything. Of course, the riper the nut – the blacker the husk – and those held lots of insects. Yuck! I persevered and then put the nuts in water, not only to clean them but also to see which ones floated to the top because they were pretty empty inside.

After drying them off, setting them in the sun for bit and then taking them inside to cure for 2 weeks, I paused to thank God for that hour of quietness while husking. “Do you understand now?” He answered back. I stayed quiet because I really didn’t. He continued to share with me that through the very rough emotional time I had that past week, He was working on peeling my outer green husk off some more, gently but firmly. Yes, there were some gross things that came out of that husk, but He was intent on getting to the real nut – to find me and clean me off completely. But it’s a process and in heaven I’ll finally be cured!

Thank you, Lord for the blackened fingers! You really love nutty ol' me.