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What if
We stopped trying to live the perfect life.
Would we become real?
What if
We stopped pretending we had it all together.
Would we fall apart, or would we finally recognize our need for help?
What if
We saw the Ten Commandments as a gift from a loving Father trying to teach us how to live non-destructive lives.
Would we use more of them?
Once again I gather my cup of coffee, Bible and journal and step out onto my deck brimming with potted plants. The orange and yellow nasturtiums along with green vines and shrubs create a privacy screen, a secret garden. This is my oasis, a place of solitude and quiet where I come to find renewal.
The sounds of the bubbling water fountain soothe my heart and bruised spirit. The questions about an uncertain future melt away like the early morning mists and I feel strength and confidence returning.
Peace.
Psalm 18 begins: “I love you, God – you make me strong. God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God – the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout.” (The Message)
When everything around us seems to be crashing and we think nothing else could possibly happen, it invariably does.
Problems have a domino effect. One problem creates another and so on. At such times, we reach out to friends for help and support and turn to God for encouragement and hope.
Difficult times compel us to stop and make an assessment of where we are in life.
Such an evaluation can enlarge our vision. We may need to abandon unclear goals and replace them with new, more coherent, or articulate ones.
At these crossroads, we are given the opportunity to clarify what is really important to us so we can step out with a new purpose and ending in mind.
Christmas: a shining star – a break from the tedious schedules in which we find ourselves. A time to gather and connect with friends and family.
But Christmas is more than a nice diversion – a blip on the radar screen of our hectic lives.