A light bulb!
Have you ever gone to church, heard a speaker, or had a conversation with someone and walked away feeling as though someone just bonked you over your head with a shovel and told you to wake up and examine yourself? Ever had little bells go off in your head….”ding, ding, ding, ding”…like whatever that person was saying, totally hit the head on the nail when it came to you? This past Sunday in church, I had one of those moments. In fact…Doug even had that moment…for me…nudging me through the whole sermon. I think he saw the guy hitting me over the head with a shovel, the guy's words applying directly to me.
I have to admit that I am a worrier. I worry about everything…my girls, my husband, my family, my friends…work, the move we’re attempting to make, keeping my house clean, keeping our financial health in order, keeping myself in order. I feel guilty on days when my perception is that I didn’t spend enough time with my girls, or that I didn’t achieve enough at work, or for saying no to something because my plate was already too full. All of this thinking is no good and needs to stop!
So…in the season of setting new resolutions, last Sunday…as I sat in church feeling as though I was the subject matter at hand…my decree for 2009 became clear to me. I gotta learn how to re-direct my worrisome, anxious thoughts towards peace. True peace. God’s peace.
This isn’t the temporary peace that comes from a quiet long, hot bath, aromatic candles and glass of wine (although…I’ll never pass that one up!). It’s a peace that “transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7. Peace. Sound hippyish or cheesy to some? Maybe. Unrealistic at times? Maybe. But I know it exists. It existed when just this past summer, my family and I spent 8 hours waiting at U of M hospital (after an already failed 9 hour surgery) as my mom underwent a second procedure…with the real possibility that she may not make it through. Although angry beyond words, heartbroken and wondering why…I truly eventually felt God’s peace. It existed when Doug and I first learned we were pregnant with Ava, went through 3 different ultrasounds, with no obvious signs of life and doctors assumptions were that I may have miscarried…feeling alone, depressed and again…heartbroken…I eventually felt God’s peace. It existed again when we went through the same exact thing with Katelyn (our kids like to play hide and seek!). It existed when Doug and I said “I do”, when I anxiously awaited Ava & Kate’s arrival in the delivery room and when we bought our first home. I know in my heart it exists.
So if I’ve experienced it with the big things that have happened in my life…I need to learn how to realize God’s peace in my everyday life. And here is what I will strive to do each day in 2009…knowing full well that I am by no means perfect and will not reach the bar.
Pray. Be thankful in everything. Focus on the positive. Do the right thing.
And so here I am, a little out of my comfort zone, documenting my shortcomings and my resolution openly on my blog so I can revisit my thoughts throughout the year, and maybe…one day…my daughters will read this post and find some inspiration. I hope that they too will grow up knowing and realizing God’s peace, in each and every aspect of their life, big and small, no matter what bumps may come their way.
http://www.heritagecc.org/message-archive/2008/12/31/122808-brian-brooks.html
I have to admit that I am a worrier. I worry about everything…my girls, my husband, my family, my friends…work, the move we’re attempting to make, keeping my house clean, keeping our financial health in order, keeping myself in order. I feel guilty on days when my perception is that I didn’t spend enough time with my girls, or that I didn’t achieve enough at work, or for saying no to something because my plate was already too full. All of this thinking is no good and needs to stop!
So…in the season of setting new resolutions, last Sunday…as I sat in church feeling as though I was the subject matter at hand…my decree for 2009 became clear to me. I gotta learn how to re-direct my worrisome, anxious thoughts towards peace. True peace. God’s peace.
This isn’t the temporary peace that comes from a quiet long, hot bath, aromatic candles and glass of wine (although…I’ll never pass that one up!). It’s a peace that “transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7. Peace. Sound hippyish or cheesy to some? Maybe. Unrealistic at times? Maybe. But I know it exists. It existed when just this past summer, my family and I spent 8 hours waiting at U of M hospital (after an already failed 9 hour surgery) as my mom underwent a second procedure…with the real possibility that she may not make it through. Although angry beyond words, heartbroken and wondering why…I truly eventually felt God’s peace. It existed when Doug and I first learned we were pregnant with Ava, went through 3 different ultrasounds, with no obvious signs of life and doctors assumptions were that I may have miscarried…feeling alone, depressed and again…heartbroken…I eventually felt God’s peace. It existed again when we went through the same exact thing with Katelyn (our kids like to play hide and seek!). It existed when Doug and I said “I do”, when I anxiously awaited Ava & Kate’s arrival in the delivery room and when we bought our first home. I know in my heart it exists.
So if I’ve experienced it with the big things that have happened in my life…I need to learn how to realize God’s peace in my everyday life. And here is what I will strive to do each day in 2009…knowing full well that I am by no means perfect and will not reach the bar.
Pray. Be thankful in everything. Focus on the positive. Do the right thing.
And so here I am, a little out of my comfort zone, documenting my shortcomings and my resolution openly on my blog so I can revisit my thoughts throughout the year, and maybe…one day…my daughters will read this post and find some inspiration. I hope that they too will grow up knowing and realizing God’s peace, in each and every aspect of their life, big and small, no matter what bumps may come their way.
http://www.heritagecc.org/message-archive/2008/12/31/122808-brian-brooks.html
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