wLL 90 “Trust Training”

In our last chapter, we realized that one of the most dynamic superpowers is not found in comic books or movies. Superpowers are His to discover, foster, and even embrace, and one of the most powerful is to practice and embrace is waiting. I also concluded with, Will you wait? He reminded me of this because it appears His plan is to make you wait a bit longer to read the testimony I promised. As I said, this isn't my plan, but His. I'm still waiting for Him to have me start writing it. In the meantime, He's got something really amazing for you to discover.

In this chapter, I'm excited to share something we all need to be aware of. Something that I trust is happening in your life right now and has been going on, but you were not aware of it. Let me explain. The only way to be able to trust GOD with the big things is to practice trusting Him in the small things. Most of you arrived here struggling to trust Him with an important relationship—the relationship that probably meant the most to you and how you found RMI. But to fully trust, you need to practice trusting Him to the point that it literally spills over into every area of your life, and, for some of you, it is what you'll need to take you through the rest of your restoration journey.

Staying Limber

What do I mean about trusting Him with small things? The incidentals, the day-to-day mundane decisions.

Decades ago, I turned over those decisions to my Husband, my Maker. Yet, if I’m not mistaken (and I’m sure my Darling will correct me if I’m hearing Him wrong), I turned over my everyday, run-of-the-mill decisions to whatever my Best Friend urged me to do when I was very small. (See our children’s Wise Woman and Wise Man not just to teach the children in your life but, amazingly— to heal the wounded child who’s still struggling as an adult).

This type of Trust Training, I realized, has been going on since I was about 7 years old, close to seven decades. So you’d think I'd be good at it to the point I no longer need training. Well, He said to think of it as physical training. Only a couple of years after meeting my Best Friend, the transformation He made in my life (when I gave my heart to Him) meant that I became an extremely obedient child. The obedience began at home with my parents, my older siblings (when they were in charge), teachers, and also swim coaches because He'd trust train me every day to find my way home on the public bus. 

A couple of years after meeting Him, He urged me to remain obedient to my mother, who wanted me to take swim lessons, which within minutes turned into joining a water ballet class with teenage girls (I was nine), and it was the last thing I wanted to do. Only a few weeks later, I was horrified when the Olympic Synchronized Chairman recruited me to join her team in Hollywood. Yet, I never voiced my opinion. He was training me to trust Him even more.

Each of these tests of obedience happened continually for nine more years. Nine years of intense training required me to compete nationally and in world games. Leaving home for nationals (plus hating to fly and I just never felt comfortable being away from home). From the beginning, it was clear that I was unlike my teammates, who loved and begged their parents to be on the team. They also loved to fly and travel. So, each practice God used to strengthen my obedience to the authority in my life. And never, not once, did I complain or do it begrudgingly with a bad attitude, murmuring or complaining. I told no one how I felt. My best friend knew how I felt, but we had never talked about it.

Obeying by being forced or doing it with anything less than a good-natured attitude forfeits any reward (in my opinion and what I taught my own children). Let me also be clear: this was possible only because I was hanging around with my Best Friend, and His influence in my everyday life made that happen. 

Trust Training occurred every weekday. I needed to safely get back home from Hollywood, which began, as I said, when I was seven. Then, when I was nine, I was also responsible for my younger sister. Twice a week, the days for my Synchro practice meant eating dinner in Hollywood and then waiting for hours for practice to start when my mom would be there to watch.

In the 1960s, Hollywood was probably one of the most dangerous places two young girls could be alone. Yet, thankfully, I'd met my Best Friend, who would help, guide, and keep me safe. This training prepared me many years later to trust Him to travel around the world, often not really knowing where I was going and, sometimes, why I was even going there. But one thing that's true...

Our spiritual muscles must be kept fit and used regularly and often rigorously, or they will atrophy and become ineffective when need them the most.

Just recently, my trust training began to ramp up. Why? I've no idea. Asking Him, I remembered from my nine years of synchro training that we would amp up before our bigger competitions when we competed nationally or internationally. So it could be there’s something very important up ahead. Who knows? God knows.

Much like the daily four-hour practices, the Saturday six-hour practices, or the extremely difficult backyard practices at dawn before school— I would just “get on with it” and learned never to question or resist.

This truth is that the negative energy of resisting zaps the positive energy that you need to do what you need to do well enough to succeed and win. “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

Let me give you an example of when I realized I was back to more rigorous trust training. Yesterday, HLM “He led me” to get ready to do some local grocery shopping. Back only a few months ago, like many, I got my groceries delivered to my door. Even then, I had to trust Him for the delivery person to find me (it’s a needle in a haystack to find a suite in a resort, which is where I lived for 2+ years) and for the shopper to find the items I’d requested (since most shoppers didn’t speak English). After about four years of shopping online, I was excited to be able to go into a grocery store myself and do my own shopping! What made it even more exhilarating to me was that I could get there without a car, using an electric scooter my Husband purchased for me about eighteen months ago (which He asked me to give away, but then it was given back to me).

Yet, each time I go, it’s challenging. The thoughts fired off in my head (warning me to be extremely careful since, shockingly, there have been far too many fatal casualties of pedestrians and scooters in our very small community). In addition, I’ve got to be mindful and watch for alligators who can easily outrun me if I'm their goal. (“Oh, Darling, you are too funny.” Dear readers, I just spotted my 7-foot alligator out of the corner of my eye, haha, parading down the lake.)

The least dangerous but the most humbling is running out of battery since I’m honestly not physically capable of walking any distance, and it’s not like you can call a towing service for a scooter like you can for a car. The last thing I want to do is repeat what happened on my birthday. Quite suddenly, the battery went from low to stop, and the battering died.  And though I am thankful to have a son who would be more than happy to come to rescue me— I do have a Husband, and He’s who I was actually having a conversation with when my battery died just outside my apartment building, and I began to laugh.

If I were able-bodied, it would be nothing to put it in neutral and push it. For me, who is blessed to be physically challenged, to put it mildly, it’s an impossibility. Nevertheless, He did urge me to trust Him, and somehow, we did make it back home while laughing all the way. Yet, even though each time I thought of it, I laughed, it still gave off the vibe of something I never, ever wanted to repeat. And if you're wondering why I don't just make sure it's fully charged. Like everything, I ask Him about charging my scooters. If you've read my workers@home, then you'd know this mother of seven would have had a routine for keeping things charged.

Stranded?

So now we’re back to what happened yesterday. I was dressed and ready to go out the door when I turned my scooter on, and it showed only 2 green dots. Soon, it would drop to 3 orange dots and a single red dot, then die. As I said, I experienced how quickly the battery dropped to stop on my birthday, so I sat by the door to make sure I knew what He wanted me to do. I kept sensing to do the reckless thing and go—but I knew for sure I would not make it to my destination. So would I go or would I not?

There was no question that I would go once I knew (which took less than a minute, so I wouldn't fall victim to too much reason or lean to my own understanding). I quickly changed my foreboding and fears (as I said, there are live alligators, and being stuck in a crosswalk if my battery died could also be fatal) to being excited to see how my Husband would rescue me. I became quite curious to know what was about to happen.

What I didn’t expect was when my Husband pointed out and almost took control of turning off the lake trail to a lovely waterside pavilion that I never realized had plugs for me to charge my scooter! So HLM to sit on an outdoor couch, then another when the sun began beating down on me (the temps were reaching 98 degrees, 37 Celsius).  We had such a lovely time when suddenly He told me to unplug it (it was far from being fully charged, which takes hours), and yet, with just one more green dot, He told me to keep my eyes on Him and not focus on how much of the battery charge was remaining.

Yes, I did make it there, but the training continued. After shopping, my trust training continued. I got to trust Him with my melting ice cream and went to the mezzanine balcony to charge my scooter after I purchased my groceries (where we’d charged it before when I couldn’t return home from a nearby nail appointment). Once again, without enough green dots to make it home, He suddenly said it was time to go, and I made it back safely. But even more. I made it back home—enormously grateful, invigorated, and spiritually stronger—trusting Him more than before. Oh, and when I ate my ice cream later, it hadn't melted at all. How did He do that?

Even though I could finish this living lesson, He reminded me of this morning’s Trust Training He’d like me to share. There were dozens of things I deferred to His decision before HLM to get my swimsuit on to take advantage of the lovely pool and swim some early morning laps. Knowing when our pool guy comes and cleans the pool, I reminded Him Brian would be there, so I’d need to wait or come back until later. The funny thing is, like an older, wiser husband (I witnessed my father and the kind way he’d listen but continue to lead and protect my mother and his children, never repeating himself or explaining. He’d just wait patiently until we did what he’d said); my Husband listened, but I could still feel Him leading me to go.

Not in a million years would I have expected our faithful pool guy not to be there, and he never came. I was able to grab my free cappuccino coffee at the clubhouse and give it time to cool down while I did my laps. Later, I had time to sip it while getting some sun. He told me to lounge backward (feet at the head) on the water shelf lounge, which worked perfectly to sun evenly on both sides of my body. What I haven’t yet mentioned is the baby bird that needed rescuing.

Trust Waiting

“Wait for the Lord, put your hope in Him. Travel steadily along His path.” Psalm 37:34

Right after entering the keyed gate, I saw a baby bird attempting to get out of the pool and off of the gutter shelf. Either it was too young to fly those few inches, or its wings were too wet, but what would shock most Americans who worship the creation rather than the Creator, I waited. I assumed He would have me rescue the bird right away, whose mother was making more than a bit of noise, but I am not foolish enough to know how to do it that would be successful. "Apart from Me you can do nothing."

Since He’d never led me to do anything, I just did what He led me to do. As I said earlier, I swam my laps and then sipped my coffee under a palm tree and caught some rays to strengthen my immune system and prevent skin cancer, besides regulating my sleep pattern. (Oh, and by the way…Yes, He does pamper me like a newlywed, lovesick bride). It was only after I got out and dried off a bit that He showed me and led me to know how He wanted me to rescue the bird. Suddenly, I noticed that the pool net (used to remove leaves) was already off the long pole. So I took the net, scooped up the baby bird, and while paused to know where He wanted me to put it: in the plant bed inside the pool area where it could easily fall back into the pool or to place the baby bird outside the fence where it could become breakfast for any number of wildlife that roams the area— it leaped out—and its mother was right there to loudly warn me she’d take it from there. 

Today’s Trust Training is far from over. He's already shown me several things that need my attention that are a bit more important than whether or not I take an early morning swim. That trust training was just a warm-up, something I’m very familiar with, and I’m sure one of the many reasons my Father had me train in various ways for so many years at a very rigorous level.

Even though I’d like to quickly conclude because I’m tired of this assignment, which started out fun. He’d like me to address all of you who didn’t train to be obedient but were excessively rebellious. Is there hope for you? Are you too far gone? Have you waited too long to learn to trust Him in the little things so you’re ready and prepared for (what just might be) decisions that will affect countless generations who will follow you? The answer is No. 

No, you’re never too old, rebellious, or ignorant to embrace the importance of obeying and practicing trust.

Earlier, when I pondered all this (while we talked at the pool), He reminded me about being a reading tutor as a single mom. I discovered that learning to read may take a couple of months for brand-new six-year-old readers. For a twelve-year-old, it takes only about six weeks to be able to read well. For an adult, it could take just a few lessons to go from a nonreader to someone who reads for enjoyment. I believe my Husband and yours wanted me to share this to encourage you to begin now, begin today, and practice your Trust Training every day. All day, if necessary, to build the spiritual strength to be willing and able to train others.