BE NOT AFRAID
This is the title of a religious song that I first heard when I planned to publish the story of living with Pap’s Alzheimer’s disease. “Be not afraid, I go before you. Come follow Me.” I almost said that it was a new song, but my father passed over more than 20 years ago. He definitely isn’t gone, I’m reminded of my “friends in high places” regularly. Which in my life is a good thing.
I had a warning storms were coming into my life. THANKFULLY THEY ARE NOT HEALTH CONCERNS. I have the ability to turn a tiny bump into a mountain in the blink of an eye. When there is only one problem at a time, I have a better chance. When they pile up, it is harder for me to relax. Even if I have done my best to solve it, and am waiting for the results, they continue to surface like the bubbles in the boiling hot pools in Yellowstone.
Many of my warnings come from the bible. When I open to Job or the furnace in Daniel, I am aware that storms might be coming.The verse often hints at the severity of the problem. Am I proclaiming God’s strength in Job, or listing shortcomings. Have I pointed to the beginning of the furnace where there are three walking or to the ending where they have an angel with them and are praising God?
I won’t list the turmoil in our life right now, I’m sure you have enough of your own but thankfully God is in charge. I needed to tell our neighbor about an upcoming project. He is in Arizona and I didn’t have his phone number. Luckily I opened our curtains and saw his tenant outside. Not only did his tenant have the needed phone number, he will be able to unlock their gates when we have our tree trimmed.
Some of it is just little things — temperature and humidity levels in the hundreds that continues for days. Strong storms when we have a leak in our roof. A flash of lightning that looked like it hit our house. Thankfully that was just a reflected light. (We had a lightning strike hit our house when our children were young.) The car battery loose.
While the bible often alerts me, as well as my book Queen of Angels, they also remind me that God is in charge. “Who made the world a desert? ” Daniel 3:28. “The Lord goes forth like a hero.” Isaiah 42:13. “saying to the prisoners, come out.” Isaiah 49:9. Church is often in the mix: “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.” Psalm 138
The key is to be aware of the interactions in my life. To keep my eyes wide open, the blinders off. To have courage — God is in charge.
I read something interesting last night. It was in the June 30 issue of Woman’s World. I often buy the magazine but don’t often read it cover to cover. Trying to get rid of some of the clutter on our table, I scanned quite a few of the magazines and found this. “Taming tension with red meat. Eating 16 oz of beef or pork weekly could help you feel less stressed in as little as five day. Red meat is rich in iron and all nine essential amino acids which together relax tense muscles. ”
After the birth of our four children, my request to my husband was for an Italian beef sandwich. I’m often looking for leftover beef in our fridge or getting a hamburger. Makes sense now.
The problems in our world make the problems in my life extremely small. OUR WORLD NEEDS OUR PRAYERS! Please join me! Years ago I read that a group of people joined in praying for the world during a crisis.
Wandering With Spirit 