Retro Post... Life Interrupted

It is my birthday! Happy day to me!

I am continuing my self-indulgent trip back in time, posting reruns. In commemorating 4 years of blogging, I want to go back and pluck out some of the posts I enjoy most. This post explained a bit more about how I came up with the name for my blog. I wrote this in February 2011.

My Life Was Interrupted

I am attending a Women's Bible Study at our church.  We are about to complete our study of Jonah by Pricilla Shirer.  It is not the first time I've studied Jonah.  It seems each time I go through  it I get something new from it.  Pricilla started right off talking about how Jonah's life was interrupted.  That caught my attention in a personal way...

My life was whirling along just as I'd planned in early 2010.  I was working as an oncology nurse and absolutely loved what I did.  Yes, it was hard and stressful at times but I found such satisfaction working with these people.  I was up close and personal with people who were often discovering they were able to draw upon a strength they previously hadn't even acknowledged.  It was beautiful.

Then, early last year I got sick.  That's not supposed to happen!  I am a caretaker!  I was treated.  I got better.  I got sick.  I was treated.  I got better.  I got sick.  I went to the hospital.  I was treated for a long, long time.  I got a bit better.  I got sick again.  You get the idea.  Each time I got better, I returned to work.  Finally, it became apparent that I needed to give up the job I loved, at least for now.

MY LIFE WAS INTERRUPTED!

So, what now?  Maria (my daughter) and I came up with a plan to build on a little home business idea.  I'd made and sold a few pieces of jewelry before but was always too busy to really do much.  But now, we've made all sorts of things!  We've had a lot of fun and I've really enjoyed being creative.  It's been such a joy to be with Maria and Cordelia (grandaughter) so much.  There are many good things about it but I still fretted that I needed to get back to taking care of patients.  I thought that was my calling!

Through this study I've felt myself becoming more relaxed about the changes.  One of the things that bothered me was that being an oncology nurse felt like a ministry to me. I felt it was God's plan for me.  Well, it was, but maybe not forever...or maybe not again for just awhile.  Now, I realize that it doesn't have to make sense to me, but it is important that I just trust God to lead me to what his plan is for me.  It's humbling and it has been a bit hard on my ego, but it has been a growing experience for me for sure!  I don't know where it's going from here, but I know who is in charge!

The title of this blog, Only The Manager, is a result of this study and my life's interruptions.  God is the owner of my life, I am only the manager.

I bet you've had interruptions as well.  I'd like to hear about them. (That sounds strange to write since I have only 1 follower right now, but who knows?)

The Beauty of a Tree

On my way home from work one day this week I found myself really noticing trees. they are all around town. Each is different from the next. What I was really noticing was the intricacy of each tree. That led me to thinking about all the opportunities to observe beauty that are available pretty much anytime. Although I was tired, I decided to stop for a few minutes to enjoy the view.

Here is what I was enjoying. It seemed like an amazing work of art.

I love trees.

Giving Up Control

One thing that is hard to remember, as a Christian, is that I have given up control of my own future.  In fact, that explains the name of my blog; it is a reminder for me that my life is not my own.  Really, it was only a perceived control in the first place.  Like most people, I like to think I have control over my own life.  Anyone who has ever watched the news knows how quickly that control can be lost.  Illness, natural disasters, wars, etc. can all play a part in destroying an individual's feeling of control.  Those things are not what this post is about, though.

I'm talking about giving away control.  I have given control of my life to God.  This is how I do it, though.  I give God control (yes, I know I'm not really giving anything as he always had control), I try to take back control, I repent, I give God control, I try to take back control, I repent, repeat... repeat... repeat.

I think being an American maybe makes it all even more difficult.  I love living in a country that tells me I have the right to pursue happiness and all that.  I'm grateful that I get to choose where I live, my career path, who  I marry and a myriad of other choices.  As glad as I am to have those choices, though, I am constantly trying to hand it all over to God.

A few years ago I saw this prayer printed in a church bulletin.  I clipped it out and stuck it on our fridge where it has been for years.  I found that it is believed the original version was written by Dr. Martin Luther in the 1500's.

If you are not a Christian you may wonder why anyone would want to give control away.  Well, one reason is because we are told to do so...

New Living Translation (©2007) Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ...but the main reason I choose to give control has to do with trust.  I absolutely trust that God has all wisdom.  I absolutely trust that he will protect me and eventually bring me to himself.  I absolutely trust that he knows better what is important for me in all things.  I absolutely trust that he is God and I am not. How about you?  Do you have times when you want to give God control but are having trouble letting go?  Do you have times when you know that giving up control has turned out to be a blessing to you?  Tomorrow I am going to tell you a story about someone else giving up control to follow an unexpected path.

A Novice No More

Guess What?!  I just learned to take photos of myself with my new Acer Iconia Tablet!  Also, I just figured out how to transfer them to my wounded laptop.  For you younger readers, you probably think I should've instinctively known how to do that, huh?  But I am middle-aged and for my readers who are in that category, you know exactly how proud I am of myself at this moment, don't you?  


And, as I decided this was a reasonably good hair day, I just kept taking more 

and more

photos of

myself!  


OK, enough of that!  


I am celebrating!


I have been blogging for a year!  Actually, I just missed my anniversary.  I was thinking it was coming up but I just checked back to my first post and it was February 20, 2011.   It was kind of a strange post, but I just sat down and started blogging about what was going on that evening.  Truthfully, I didn't think I would keep up with it all.  

At first I didn't want my name to be attached to my blog.  I went by Orange Paisley.  Funny, huh?  Well, I like orange, I like paisley, and together they just seem like me.  It made sense to me at the time.

According to my stats, my all-time most read post was A Change of Heart.  That was my recent interview with my friend, Allen, who received a heart transplant.  I was kind of pleased with myself for the title choice but Allen was responsible for the rest of the article.  Thanks, Allen!

My second most popular post was Breath of God.  I've no real good explanation for that but it makes me happy.  Again, I had very little to do with that one as it is the lyrics to a song that I did not write.  I did not even come up with the title!  See how easy it is to be a blogger?

When I started my blog I didn't really tell anyone except Maria.  She was the one who introduced me to blogging and she was the first to leave a comment for me, followed by Momma CupKate.  Thanks, Kate!  It was quite awhile before I even told Mike I was doing this!

Looking back, I can see how Cordelia has grown and that we've made some progress with Bode.  I've told embarrassing stories and introduced you to members of my family.  I have asked you to help me name my craft room and even drug you through a terrible tutorial.  

I don't have any good explanation for why I have kept up with blogging.  I was horrible at keeping up with my children's baby books, I can't seem to put photos into albums, I still haven't done Christmas Cards from 2011 and I have projects tucked all over the house that I've not completed.  I do love working on my computer and I love to write, though, so maybe I've finally found my "thing". I no longer fall asleep at night wondering if I'll have anything to write about the next day.  I just enjoy writing this blog.  Thanks for checking in and reading it!

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.