I don’t struggle with anxiety all the time. Not to look down on those who do, but this is not a major struggle in my life. But every once in a while, anxiety and worry will sneak up on my and I find my emotions and my thoughts so overtaken with it. It kind of reminds me of gardening in a rainy spring. If I neglect weeding for even a few days, the garden will soon look like nothing but weeds.
[Side note: I don't have a garden now, but we always did growing up. Weeding often was my job, and one I didn't care for too much. Regardless, I hope to have a garden of my own one day. There's nothing more refreshing than a fresh-picked cucumber.]
This morning as I was driving to work listening to the usual political banter on the radio, I found my thoughts flitting between one worry to another. As I sat stuck in traffic, I had to turn the radio off and pray, turning this worries and cares over to God. When I look back on situations like these, I realize how dumb I was to worry about them, but I wish I could always remember that at the time.
I’ll be meditating on Matthew 6:25-34 today:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Lord,
Thank You for providing me two yummy Thanksgiving dinners and family to share them with. I pray for the young man at Cracker Barrel who ate alone on this holiday. Share Your love for him in a special way.
Thank You for family and friends near and far who love me and I can share my life with.
Thank You for Your church that I can gather with, learn beside, and give and receive encouragement.
Thank You for all the special ways You have showed Your love and care this year through the good times and the hard times.
Most of all, thank You for sending Your Son to die that we might have life if we trust in His name.
Amen.
Ronnica
NaBloPoMo, Day 22
Lord,
Thank you for allowing me to be born in a country where I can worship You freely. Thank you for those who serve us both at home and abroad.
Thank you for those who willingly put themselves in harm’s way for our country. Protect them, bless them, but most importantly bring them to know You, the true source of strength, guidance, and hope.
Be with their families while they are far away. Help them to handle the everyday stresses of a family unnaturally separated by thousands of miles. Bring others alongside these families to help, bless, and encourage them. Use Your church to reach out to those in need so that we may serve them and show them Your love.
Be with our leaders as they seek to guide our country. Give them wisdom to make the right decision for our country’s future. Raise up leaders that will rightly honor You as they lead and serve America.
In everything we do, may we glorify You. May Your praises be proclaimed throughout our land.
To You be all honor, Amen.
Ronnica
NaBloPoMo, Day 11
North Carolina (and much of the Southeast) has suffered from extreme drought. The last figure I saw was that the Raleigh area was short at least 9 inches of rain for 2007. It had gotten to the point that the horizon sky was brown, a sight familiar to Kansans in the typically hot, dry summer weather, but not typical of the wetter, greener weather here. Trees were droopy and lawns were brown and spotty. Most importantly, the reservoir where we get our drinking from was down to less than half of it’s capacity. When I drove by it last week, there was a significant portion of the lake that has been dry long enough for grass to sprout up on the bottom! As of the beginning of this week, Raleigh had about 100 days of water left before we would be completely out.
I’ve been working on saving water. Since I don’t have a lawn, I can’t cut back on watering it. I stopped washing my car in May (okay, that had nothing to do with the drought, I just can’t see shelling out money to have a clean car for less than a week), so I couldn’t conserve more water there. Instead, I decided to be more conscious about the length of my showers. I have been able to cut my average shower time in half, and am going for even shorter. Don’t ask how long of showers I was taking before, it was pathetic. I can only blame it on the fact that I’ve never had to pay the water bill.
Last Wednesday, I specifically prayed for rain. It rained on Thursday (though not enough to make a dent, but it did soften up the ground). This Tuesday, I also specifically prayed for rain. It’s rained/misted fairly steadily since Wednesday. I’ve heard that some places have gotten up to 5 inches of rain, and it hasn’t stopped yet! What a blessing!
The moral of the story:
When you pray for rain, bring an umbrella.