First Baptist Church of Herndon

I know what I want

Linda Soller | Sep 28, 2015

Finally, my kitchen is getting a long needed face lift and I know what I want. Over the years as oven burners stopped working, faucets broke, and the freezer died I resisted repairs because I knew I wanted to update the kitchen. I’m one of those people who wants to pay for the work when it’s done, not for the rest of my life. So as I saved money for the update I scoured magazines, watched HGTV, visited model homes, and created a notebook with pictures of what I wanted. Hey, it took a while to save the money. There was good and bad news. The good news was I love my cabinets and don’t want new ones which is a big savings, the bad news was my dear friend who is an Interior Designer and does this stuff in her sleep is not local enough to manage the project for me. Time passed and I had the money saved, a friend at church pointed me in the direction of a designer/contractor, and I knew what I wanted. Kathy, my contractor, came over, I liked her immediately and said I know what I want. I must had said it with conviction because she was pretty impressed by my prep work. Everything was looking up. When the time came to finalize decisions I could feel the panic setting in. The photos I collected were helpful, but I still had to pick the real thing. The appliance store had so many options with only minor differences, it was like going to a restaurant with a twenty page menu and all you can think to order is a hamburger. I told my husband not to worry about me going too expensive, even the cheapest models were better than what we were living with. The odd thing was, for a person who knew what she wanted, the decisions were hard to make. I told Kathy I might need more handholding in the process and emailed my friend for advice.

How often do we tell God what we want? We may express it as a request, please heal my friend, but what we are saying is I want my friend well, I don’t want to deal with this. Yet He always listens. Sometimes we get what we want and sometimes we don’t. When we don’t it can be hard to accept God is listening. We ask, probably not out loud, “If God is listening; why do bad things happen?” He is patient and loving as we adjust from what we want to what we get. As life moves forward we may have to adjust our plans, find a new picture for our notebook, and make final decisions.

I think my nerves set in on the kitchen because it seemed big and final. The need to get it right weighs heavy. I want it to be perfect. Construction began last week. Purchases have been made, orders are arriving, and change is on the way. I feel more relaxed daily because the big decisions have been made. I can picture the end result in my mind. I thank God for the lessons He presents to me routinely. I know what I want, and so does He. But He knows what I need.

Have a great week! :o)  Linda

Love to my friend Stacey who knows just what I want and is always there!