He’s Back!

He’s baaaacckk! Who? Robert… And Roberta.

You may be asking who Robert and Roberta are, where did they go and why are they back. Well, I won’t keep you in suspense for one minute more. Robert is my backyard robotic lawnmower. Roberta is a smaller robot, so she stays in the front yard.

That’s right! I have Roombas for my lawn. Who knew there was such a thing – or that they would even work?

Hubby saw a robotic lawnmower in our new neighborhood and since Hubby loves all things new and technical, he dove deep into research mode and didn’t surface until he had all the details. The next thing I knew, Robert and Roberta came to live in my yard.

Since I am not into all things new and shiny, I paid little attention to the details. Until Hubby was out of town and Robert started to cut the grass. I immediately called my husband and told him, “This will NOT work! The thing is just going willy-nilly all over the yard! There is a big “X” on the lawn. I don’t think it will work!’”

 

Hubby assured me he had researched the you-know-what out of the subject and to trust the process.

Let me pause and tell you about a few other “new things” I didn’t think would be successful.

When my daughter showed me her new iPhone in 2007 and I saw the buttonless keyboard, I said, “That’ll never work! How in the world will people type without being able to feel the buttons? How can you possibly do T9 without buttons?”

Well, I was wrong. iPhones rule the world IMHO.

Uber. I couldn’t fathom why someone would get in a stranger’s car when you can just take a taxi. (Which I realize also requires you to get in a car with a stranger but Uber felt…different.) Well, it’s been years now since I’ve been in a taxi. Yesterday, I took my umpteenth Uber ride.

I was wrong. Uber rules. Even my 86-year-old dad has the Uber App.

Lastly, Kindle. A friend tried to tell me about Kindle in 2007 and how eBooks were “the latest.” I thought that was nice for him but knew I would never use such an invention because I love the touch and feel of a real book. I also like to share books with friends so I could not fathom a world where eBooks would play any significant role.

I was wrong. 2007 was a hard year for me. eBooks are now my go-to medium. I still love a physical book but probably only buy one per every five eBooks. My two main reasons for using my Kindle App on my iPad are that it helps my marriage because I can read in bed without the light on and my husband doesn’t know how many books I buy. Kindle makes my marriage better.

Back to Robert and Roberta. I was wrong. The two robotic lawnmowers worked day and night and by day three, my yard was completely mowed and not one rebellious blade of grass stuck up.

Yes, the lawn Roombas still go willy-nilly all over the yard. They bump into trees, stop, turn around, and head off in a new direction. Roberta goes up to the very edge of the street, senses the wire, turns around, and heads back toward the house.

They even mow at night. I was a little freaked out the first time I was sitting in the living room late at night and saw two lights coming down the hill of my yard. Yes, the mowers have headlights, not for them but for us. It’s a little freaky.

So, I was wrong about the mowers. I had to trust the process.

Life is like that sometimes. We have to trust the process. We want a quick fix. We want to see the end when we are still on the journey.

I like an orderly plan. I like my ducks in a row – and my yard mowed in straight strips. But life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes my ducks waddle in circles and sometimes they fly away. When that happens, I can get frustrated, impatient, or angry OR – I can trust the process. Knowing God has a plan and a purpose.

Christians often quote and “claim” Jeremiah 29:11 as their promise.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

That scripture is a favorite on pictures, bookmarks, and graduation cards. It’s a good one, don’t get me wrong but back up one verse.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” Jeremiah 29:10

Seventy years! Seventy years of exile. The plans and prospering were in the midst of the struggle. There was hope and a promise of a future – in exile. Seventy years before God would fulfill His promise. Somehow, we skip that part. We want the prospering and lack of harm to be now.

Let’s look further. Verse 12 says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Trust the process. During the willy-nilly, that is the time to call on the Lord, seek Him and you will find Him.

I didn’t have to wait seventy years for my yard to look manicured but there are other things in my life I am waiting on – so I will seek Him.

How about you? Are you waiting? Is your heart in exile on a certain matter? If so, follow the recipe: Call on the Lord. He will listen. Seek him with all your heart. And you will find Him. During the time of exile, know there is hope and a future.