running the other way

Like most everybody who has grown up in church I kinda' sorta' knew the story of Jonah.  Today I learned the rest of it!  Mary Beth explained that God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh which was a pretty evil place with lots of sin and the streets lined with corpses.  Jonah, as we all do on occasion, decided to not follow directions and boarded a ship to sail 2500 miles away from home.  Pretty soon the ship was hit with horrific storms and wind and the sailors figured out that it was Jonah's God causing all the mayhem.  He told them to just throw him overboard and it would stop.  They really didn't want to do that and pagans that they were, began to pray for the whole thing to cease.  Which it did not, until Jonah hit the water.  A huge fish, possibly a whale, swallowed Jonah up and he stayed in the belly of the fish for three days and nights until he got spit back out onto dry land.  Now, one would think that he would have learned his lesson but noooooooooooo.  He constructed himself a little hutch with no roof to protect him from the sun so God gave him a shrub to cover the top and keep him cool.  Evidently Jonah was not grateful enough so a worm came and destroyed the shrub.  Boy was he mad!  He finally went to the place he was told to go to in the beginning of this drama to warn them that they had 40 days before they would be demolished.  And so it goes.

How often do we as Christians refuse to do what God asks of us because it seems unpleasant or against our will?  I do it all the time.  I've never been swallowed by a big fish but my life has been filled with lots of situations that, had I listened to God's voice, might have turned out differently. One instance was when I didn't have a CT because of the cost even though I KNEW I had diverticulitis.  We all know how that turned out.  My friend asked me later "Since when have you not done what he told you to do?" speaking of our mutual doctor friend.  My bad.

Lauren and Reaves and I had a wonderful visit yesterday just playing and playing.  I took a little pink tent that Cathy gave me for her and we tried for a long time to put it together but uh...it was complicated.  We will eventually figure it out!  She had told me she wanted me to bring the tea set so we could have a tea party so I packed up what was left of the hand painted china that Ms. Polly White had made for Lauren.  Come to find out, Reaves had wanted the teapot with Santa Claus on it.  Note to self:  Take that next time.

I was pleasantly surprised by my lab results because my renal function has improved a lot.  Thank you sweet baby jeebus.  Part of me thinks that the Covid vaccines played a part in all that because that's when it started.  But, it could also be influenced by having an ileocolostomy.  And getting old!  Who the heck knows.

Y'all be faithful and transparent and do the next right thing ^j^