Sometimes the Answer is "no"....

...or at the very least, "not now."

I have a friend at church who, like many here on Maui, loves to fish, and has the boat to facilitate this (hopefully) productive pastime. He also is a waiter at our favorite high-end restaurant, and has served us for a couple of celebrations. Our last visit to this fine restaurant was a celebration that turned out to be premature, when the escrow that had opened died an ugly death just a few days later. oops. Recently, we have been planning another such celebration, and when I told Ron that we would be up only AFTER this current deal closed, having learned out expensive, albeit tasty, lesson last year, he agreed. "Don't want to throw the gaffe too soon!" was his wise counsel. Having been raised by a fishing dad, I knew what this meant: a gaffe is a large iron hook on the end of a wooden pole, and is used to hook a fish in the gills as the angler is reeling it into the boat. Gaffe too soon, you risk missing the gills and knocking your prize catch free. Soon Nemo is off telling other fishies the cautionary tale of his encounter with what looked like a free meal, while on the boat a very angry angler is looking at the eager-but-errant gaffer, weighing the pleasure versus the consequences of tossing his buddy overboard to go after the said escaped fish. Don't gaffe too soon.

The bible even has all kinds of cautions about boasting and predicting and making plans before God's time. James 4:13-16 says it clearly, in case the subtle didn't work - "you say 'today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and make a profit' yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring..." As much as I love the book of James, and read it often, somehow, I was still ready to ignore it. I made plans and predictions and boasted about what we would do and where we would go once this latest deal closed. We threw the gaffe.

Fortunately, the proverbial gaffe was only in the form of plans and boasting, and not a fancy dinner at Chez Yumminess, but it is still tough. We thought that a sizable deal that Don had been working on since October would close - first in January, then February, then March (sense a pattern!?!?), then finally, on my birthday in April. Finally last week, the deal, which had been on life support, had the plug pulled. weeeeeeeeeeep...flatline. On top of that, I was supposed to be doing a wedding for their horse trainer on their new Big Island property. ah, well.....

I must admit, this trial that Don and I have been undergoing is getting a bit...trying. But if it were easy, it wouldn't be much of a trial - a kind of Judge Judy, where everyone gets scolded, the winner gets paid, but so does the loser (read that one any way you want), just not as much. I would take coming in second right about now, truth be told. But, I am again reminded in Isaiah 55:8 "your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord." Yeah, true. But at least maybe I could give an opinion or have a vote or something! On second thought, as I look back on my more-than-a-half-century of living, my opinion, votes, and somethings more often than not lead to much trouble and infinite drama.

A couple of weeks ago, Don and I were enjoying a morning of watching waves and praying. My beloved made the observation, "except for the money part, our life is great!" I cracked up, but it's so true! We are blessed with an amazing church family, who keep praying for us through thick and thin. We live in a place of breathtaking beauty. Don's business - believe it or not - is quite vibrant, with a few clients poised to pull the trigger (so fire, already!!). Most importantly, we are feeling that we are used by God in really amazing ways. Well, maybe amazing isn't the word. Surprising is more accurate. From nursery to coffee cart to putting girl-stuff in the park ladies' room for 10:30 service, we are kind of thriving in the mundane - but Jesus did some of His best stuff in the day-to-day and ordinary spaces of life - teaching at a dinner party, taking a walk during a cruise, and hosting thousands at a picnic when the young caterer was, shall we say, underprepared.

So, we still are in our shabby-without-the-chic condo and still without our doggy - but she is safe and so are we. We are learning to adapt and adjust. SInce it is peak season right now, the island is chalk full of visitors and potential clients for Don. But since it is peak season right now, all those potential clients are occupying everything, so Don doesn't have a space to have an open house to meet any potential clients. ADAPT!! Don decided to hold this place open again. PANIC!! The phrase "putting lipstick on a pig" comes to mind. But then realizing that the primary purpose is for Don to meet folks, we'll just try to make this place look not scary.

Tonight's bible study was on Proverbs 10. Verse 25 tells us that "When the storm passes by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm". WHEN the storm passes...not if. And I'm not naming names on the wicked - that's up to God. And I am certainly not claiming to be righteous. I can only strive to do that by being obedient. And instead of whining about God not answering the many prayers coming from this home and many others who are praying for us, I need to accept that He is much, much smarter than I.