Sarah D. Shearer

When I find I keep running into a particular circumstance and my attitude is a major point of difficulty, I realize that God must be trying to teach me something.

Lucas and I are in the process of fixing up our farmhouse for when we get married in December. Last weekend we embarked on our painting adventure, and took our bedroom from yellow to green!

Now, I have never painted anything before.

I didn’t even like finger painting as a child. So this was a completely new project for me, but I thought hey, how hard can it be. Go to the store, buy some paint, slap it on the walls, call it a day.

I was wrong.

Apparently there are a multitude of steps involved in a decent painting job, and about 90% of it is preparation. I would rather see a finished product quickly and I’m sad to say, I would prefer to take a shortcut to get there.

I fussed all weekend as Lucas told me how we would have to take these necessary steps to ensure the final job would look good.

After many hours of mostly him doing the work and me somewhat helping (taking lots of breaks) we finally finished and it looks amazing!

As happy as I was with the result, I was less enthused by my attitude. I was brought face-to-face with my selfish and shortsighted attitude. I want results and I want them now. I don’t want to have to go through tedious middle parts and spend time doing things that aren’t any fun. (I have a lot of enneagram 7 in me).

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’re having to go through something you wish would just suddenly be over. Maybe your job involves a lot of busy work that doesn’t seem to have any end goal. Or maybe you’re just going through a season where you’re not getting what you want when you want it. I’m no poster child for the right attitude to have, but I know the kind of attitude that God would like me to have. I think he would prefer that I be patient in the process, that I be OK with doing things that aren’t fun, and that I trust people who have more experience than I do when it comes to making the right call. I think he would like me to expand my vision so I can see a future beyond today’s gratification, and I think he would like me to trust him more and trust the people he’s placed in my life more, so that even when I can’t see how it’s all going to work out, I know that he’s working every detail out.

It’s amazing the things you learn when you’re remodeling a house.