In The Meantime

Several weeks ago, one of our laptops died. It was a tragic death and it left my hubs completely lost as he tried to figure out how to fix the problem, which occurred during the middle of his work day, since I was down in the valley and not scheduled to return until later in the afternoon. Now my hubs is an amazingly smart guy, but when it comes to computers, well let's just say...maybe it's better left unsaid!

So when I got home I took a look and with my limited knowledge of computers it was obvious to me that the problem was WAY out of my league. I took it into PC Laptops (they're amazing) and it was quickly diagnosed that we needed a new hard drive...so a week later we picked it up and it was good as new. BUT, in the meantime, hubs was using my computer and decided that he liked it much better (it is faster and newer) so now I use the "older", smaller and slower one. It has been an adjustment and I even felt pretty bummed about giving up the "comfort" of my reliable PC. So I didn't post as much as I would have liked to and I didn't respond to as many emails as I should have. I was so busy waiting for things to change that I forgot to be as productive as I should have been.

Funny how comfortable we can get with an electronic device! The computer I'm using now is perfectly reliable and functional, I just don't like it as well as my other one and I feel like it's a stranger to me! It took me several weeks to finally download everything that I could possibly think of in order to make it feel comfortable again, but I still don't like it! Am I totally selfish??

In other non-related news, I slipped out of the blogging world for a time since I was undergoing the trauma of no computer, nursing a stubborn kidney stone and other such life interruptions. During this unanticipated hiatus of life, it got me thinking about how easily our routines can be interrupted by, well, Life!

I was thinking about all of the reasons that my life felt a bit unbalanced and was pretty surprised by the chaos it seemed to inflict in my life during that period. I love routine for the most part. I love to go to bed knowing what I need to do the next day. I love order and I kind of need it in order to feel accomplished. But, life doesn't always dish out order...

The kidney stone threw me for a loop. I had SO much to do that particular week and I was actually looking forward to the upcoming events in my life. BAM...Kidney Stone=Down in Bed=Lack of Order=Change of Plans=(need I really go on??)

For me it was completely frustrating to lie in bed, on a heating pad fighting incredible pain and nausea without the help of any pain pills (they make me even sicker) and completely at the mercy of my sweet husband and his help.

But as with any opposition in life, it gave me pause to reflect (in between bouts of sheer stabbing agony) about my life these past 50+ years. It has gone by in a flash! And I'm NOT KIDDING!! I realized that the majority of the life that I have actually lived was not planned out...So much of our lives are spent with the best planned out intentions, but in reality, because of the unexpected trials, challenges and circumstances that arise, we are required to adapt to change. There is so much out of our control and so much that we never planned on. I know that when I wrote the "script" for my life, I didn't include 75% or more of what has actually transpired!

The bottom line (I believe) is that we live in the Meantime. No matter what our personal script for our life is, it's the Meantime that we spend so much of our time in. What really makes our lives significant is what we do with the unplanned, unexpected moments that come our way. I guess it's equivalent to how well we think on our feet. We are constantly barraged with things that were not in the plan...Maybe that's how we will ultimately be judged by our great Creator one day...just a thought.

Lying in that bed for almost a week, I realized that laundry was done, meals were prepared, floors were vacuumed and life went on without my plans for it. People that I love stepped up and were there for me to help where needed without even being asked! All I really had to do was endure that small (but very painful) moment in time. It changed me as a person. It helped me to relax and realize that seconds, minutes and hours don't stop to wait for any of us. It is our responsibility to keep up with them and make the most of each one.

So as I prepare to fulfil the "tasks" that I have planned out for today, I hope to approach them with a new perspective. One where I will do my best and be happy for what I do accomplish. If it gets done, great...if not, I will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I lived in the meantime and made the moments significant in my life!