Most of the church staff is away at a leadership conference. I wanted to go but I’m home with my son instead. So now I have a choice to make. I can be
sad, mad, annoyed, feel left out and left behind OR I can see a day ahead full
of amazing promise and purpose.
It’s a beautiful Florida
day and my garden and flower beds are bursting with blooms in the spring
sunshine. The lake behind our property is sparkling like diamonds in the sun
and the ducks, egrets, osprey, sand cranes and song birds are calling to each
other. The little Anole lizards are sunning themselves on our pool screen, the males showing
off for the gals, with amusing pushups and throat puffing.
I’ve already had time to exercise, get into God’s word and spend
some time in conversation with Him. I have things swirling in my head that need
to be written, several sewing projects to complete, a stack of books to read, some
things that need to be organized and a few new recipes I’d like to try. There’s
laundry to do, floors to sweep, bathrooms to clean and when Jon decides to come
out of his room I will need to spend a few hours convincing him to get in the
shower. There’s plenty to do, much to be thankful for and no time to pout or be
miserable about what could or should be on such a gorgeous day!
I’ve come to realize that God sometimes calls us down a different
path than those around us. Our life may not look like everyone else but He
still has a plan and a purpose in it. We may not understand all the whys or
hows, but His sufficient grace is great enough to change our heart from one that
whines, kicks and complains, like an unhappy toddler not getting what she wants in
a toy store, to one of peace and contentment in our circumstances.
If contentment comes only when conditions surrounding me are
pleasant and bursting with abundance, accomplishment, accolades, fun, happiness
and warm fuzzy feelings, I’m in big trouble. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, tells us we
should be thankful IN all things. I’m glad Paul didn’t say we had to be thankful
FOR all things, that’s too hard to do. The more I practice thankfulness the
easier it becomes. My contentment meter registers less and less like an over-active earthquake
seismograph, emotions level out and peace reigns once again. It’s a beautiful
thing!
There is a loud and annoying bulldozer in the lot next door
grading and leveling for a new house soon to be built, and my hubby called asking me to look up a restaurant on Google maps where he and the rest of the staff can all go for lunch together, but today I will choose
to ignore that as well.
Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Don’t know about you but I want life, health and peace flooding over me-inside and out.
Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Don’t know about you but I want life, health and peace flooding over me-inside and out.
I'm going to go make myself a salad and choose God’s plan for my day, for my life. I may need His help to start
over again tomorrow, but on this day I choose contentment.
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.”
Your writing is always pragmatic. It veils your courage and strength, because you make it sound easy to walk through the most difficult places. Thank you for your gift of encouragement. ~Marsha
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Marsha. Knowing you read encourages me to keep growing in grace and writing about the journey.Blessings to you!
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