Good morning…
Each time I go on a trip, the question is not, “Will I forget to pack something?” The reliable question has become over the years, “What did I forget?”
As I shared in our morning message from Sunday, I am spending the week working to finalize this semester’s study with God, Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul. As I drove down the highway, the nagging question reared her familiar head, “What did I forget?”
This time my answer was …drum roll please… my freakin’ computer charger. I am here for a wonderful week of work, and as a writer, I really need my computer charged up and ready any time of day or night. At first I was really bummed, and my mind started doing elaborate gymnastics wondering, “Where I might get a computer charger in Grayton Beach, Florida?” When the charger at the beach house did not work with my laptop, I drifted to sleep wondering, “God, what are we going to do?”
Then as I woke on the dawn of the first day, I settled into a new thought. Maybe God wants me to unplug from my computer and listen to the Spirit directly with pen and paper humbly in hand. Maybe God needs me as a scribe with real handwriting on a wide open page rather than fingers typing madly on a computer keyboard.
“But God, beyond my work for the church, You and I privately write a morning blog each day, and my laptop is essential to that process,” I argued back.
The new idea grew in strength. Since I work for the church Monday through Friday, roughly 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, it is always in my off-time that I write our daily posts anyway. Our written word ministry is supported outside of my church hours by the kind gratitude gifts of our subscribers. So why not take Sunday, a day off from my church work, to write and pre-schedule as many blog posts as possible until the power runs out on my computer?
Yesterday our morning message was about the blessings of flat tires. Might the the flat tire of leaving my charger at home allow me to first finish this week’s blog posts before I dive down deep with God to finalize our Waking Up Whole study? Without needing to come up for air to write to our online community in the middle of each night, might God and I rest in wholeheartedly harmony as we bring to life this new material? My next question is this: Will we be able to write and pre-program a week’s work of blog posts in a single day away from my church work?
Only God knows and only God can be trusted to accomplish exactly what is necessary in the given time frame. So if, somehow, we get midway through this week and you do not receive a morning message in your inbox, be patient with little ole imperfect me and calmly nod with knowing, “No worries. Sue’s flat tire has yet to be fixed!”
Before leaving this imperfect world for the complete harmony of heaven, Jesus said: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] (John 16:33, AMPC).
Way too often we forget this truth: trials and tribulations, distress and frustration are par for the course in our wayward world. But Jesus whispers into our whirlwind, “Take courage. Be confident. Live certain and undaunted!” Jesus has overcome the world, depriving it of power to harm us. Regardless of the flat tires, the train wrecks, the chaotic conflicts of this world, we must not forget to focus on this truth: enveloped by Christ we are held each day in the gentle arms of perfect peace.
…Sue…
