Try to spend more time laughing

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“Your lives may not be what you would like them to be. You may not

have all that you would like to have, but God will make sure you will

have what you need to do His work.”

-- JOSEPH GIRZONE

“Our sole purpose, our basic reason for existence, is to bring

maximum glory to our God -- to magnify, exalt and elevate the Lord

our God.”

-- CHARLES R. SWINDOLL

God has a creative sense of humor and he often uses humorous

situations to get my attention. A few weeks ago, we had to empty our

attic to remove old ducting and asbestos. I was repeatedly told that

asbestos isn’t a problem unless it’s disturbed.

“Is it disturbed, Cindy?” my father asked. “I don’t know, dad,

I’ll ask it.” I answered teasingly. “But I get disturbed just looking

at it.”

After analysis, we were told that it was disturbed and should be

removed. Several men in masks and special suits spent most of a day

cleaning out our attic and removing the asbestos. Several days later,

we had new ducting installed and a more functional attic flooring

built.

During that time, I spent several days going through boxes,

throwing away and giving away what we didn’t need. I found some

treasures and had fun seeing our daughters’ childhood dolls, stuffed

animals, artwork, school papers and more. I smiled and thanked God

for all the happy memories.

It was noisy and dusty while we all worked. The men worked long

and hard on the removal, as did those who worked on rebuilding the

attic. They were all kind and courteous, apologized when things took

longer than we’d been told and offered to help when I brought bags

home from the market.

I tried to write, but had to stop frequently to answer questions

or let people in the house to do their work. I had to stop writing

several other times when our electricity needed to be turned off

briefly for the electrician to replace old switches.

Sometimes I had a good attitude, but other times I was frustrated

by one more problem with an aging house. Then a friend told me that

she prays everyday that everything she does would glorify God. Even

when she didn’t know if her home would burn in the fires, she kept

that same attitude. I also thought of friends who maintained that

attitude during cancer treatment. My attitude improved.

Then I thought back to before any of these conveniences, which can

easily become nuisances, were imagined or invented. Back when Jesus

lived, many people worried about the most basic needs of life, as

they still do around the world today. I was humbled by the thought

and thanked God for the reminders.

Are inconveniences how God gets our attention back to him and back

to what really matters? He did with my latest ones, which went on to

include a major plumbing problem for several days. I also thanked God

for generous neighbors, family and friends.

Life isn’t always what I’d like it to be, but God has provided

again and again in creative ways to meet my needs. I’m trying to hold

on to things less, laugh more, and will pray to glorify God better,

whether I’m writing, speaking or working with plumbers and

electricians.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Suite 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.