While January has flashed by nearly as speedy as the holidays past, I woke to the reality of our fleeting days.
So tucked within my journal pages are snippets of experiences that have brought me to reality that all of us are flawed and needy and in the midst of something hard. (I hear my Mother's reminder that everyone has something difficult, so treat one another with kindness.)
While the tornado winds this week kept us curled up in in quilts and pillows in bathtubs in not so lady like fashion, the morning light broke through the darkness to reveal the damage. And neighbors moved around the neighborhood to see how they could help. And they did.
It's like the reality of perfect strangers who offered a cup of warmth to share on a difficult day that brought me to tears.
Or even the journal entry that recorded a formal rejection letter of a manuscript that brought me momentary sadness. That same article "Grace in the Garden" brought me a check the next month at the right time from another publisher so my eyes would behold the encouragement just when I needed it most.
Or even the note that intentionally came on a twenty cent postcard on a bitter January day with a message my heart craved.Her unintentional writing error brought me a bushel of hope on a bitter day that could not be measured in degrees.
Welcome to our church. We hope that you felt the presents of God and will return to be with us.
Or even the words my ears beheld on my FM as I got into my car after a sleepless night this week bringing calm and peace as I drove. Little did Katharine von Schlegel know in 1752 that many years later, her lyrics would resonate to my soul...
Be still my soul: the Lord is on my side,
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain,
Leave to thy God to order and provide
In ev'ry change, He faithful will remain.
Be still my soul, thy best, thy heavenly Friend.
