Emma the Answer

 January 16, 2024

“How do you feel about your commitment?” My discipleship group which has been meeting since last February 5th has finally come to fulfillment. From the beginning, the expectation was that we would take what we’ve been learning and start our own group, thus multiplying the process. A week ago, we had been challenged to pick at least one person with whom we will meet; we reported in this past Sunday. Each of us had at least one person we wanted to meet with, leading to the inevitable question.

The others said they were excited, hopeful, eager to help another know Jesus better. When it was my turn to speak, all I could say was, “I feel overwhelmed.” I have a number of commitments already, from leading our men’s Bible Studay on Monday nights, to three different prayer groups, two breakfast meetings during the week, a bi-weekly mentoring session, and teaching bass lessons Sunday nights. I expect soon to be called by a local youth organization about mentoring a teenager. Once each month, I sit on the village board as a trustee, and on the Samaritan house board as well. And I haven’t even started on personal and family commitments. “Overwhelmed” pretty much describes how I feel.

Yesterday, Linda and I joined our daughter in law, granddaughter and her husband, and our “almost”-granddaughter Nicole working on remodeling the building that will house our granddaughter’s coffee shop in the spring. When we got home, Linda asked if everything was all right. “Deb, Abi, and Nicole all asked, “What’s wrong with Beepa?”” I didn’t realize I was emanating anything negative, but they all picked up on it.

Our dog Emma woke me up right on time this morning. Her time, that is, which is 4:00 am. I had already been up at 3:00 to use the bathroom myself, so when she was done, I crawled back into bed, but couldn’t get back to sleep. After lying there for a half hour, I decided I might as well get up. I closed the bedroom door behind me so the light wouldn’t wake Linda, and was sitting, praying and reading my Bible when it hit me. I felt not only overwhelmed by additional commitments, but am just plain tired; not so much physically, although that happens, but emotionally and spiritually tired. Most of that is the result of my morning schedule of prayer meetings that have pushed me personal time with the Lord to a hodge-podge of “make do” time slots.

“How can I squeeze one more thing into my week? What has to give way to do this?” Emma gave me the answer. As long as I must get up to let her out, I might as well stay up myself. But in order to do that, I have to be diligent about getting to bed earlier. I’m going to try it out. 

There are few problems in life that have no solutions. The trick is to keep working at it until we find them. The Bible tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God (James 1:5), but if we ask, we must be willing to look for the answers he often gives in unusual places and odd ways. Emma certainly fits both those bills, but maybe God is keeping her alive (she’s 14 and getting feeble) just to show me how I can accomplish all I believe God has for me to do.