BRRR, I'm Cold!

Cold weather has burst upon us!  I was enjoying warm days, cool nights.  Well, before I was near ready to face the cold weather, it came.  It actually came while Mom and I were shopping for dinner.  We put on a backpack and walked several blocks to the store.  When we left the store 45 minutes later, it was freezing.  I carried the back pack home gladly as it gave extra warmth.  I was wishing we had driven.  Oh, it was a beautiful walk as we saw the sun sink out of sight, but we were also greeted by a brisk wind.  By the time we reached home, I was ready for hot tea and soup.  Dad had run a hot Japanese bath for me, so after dinner I plunged in and could have stayed a long time.  Now, it is time to sort through the clothes.  Sweaters, where are you?  We have dig out the flannel nightwear.  We have to bundle up.  The bright side is Christmas is coming.  

Steps

We have been real busy this fall.  We go from event to event.  Each event is good and fun, but I have come to see that events take energy and time you would use for the not so fun but necessary routines of life.  We are not able to keep up with laundry and room cleaning, and writing.  It has increased my stress.  I am perplexed!  Which event would I have eliminated? 

If I cannot eliminate enough events, then I must find another answer.  Fussing, whining, complaining, being a brat is not the answer either.  Is there another answer?  I have decided there must be, but what can it be?  It is not a natural response for sure.  Well, then, what is it?

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3.  As I ponder this I realize I am not able to cope with change.  I am not a flexible person.  Clearly the answer is not in me, but I know where it is.  When I am steadfast in my trust in Jesus, I have perfect peace.  When I am stubbornly focused on me, I have no peace.  I can choose peace or stress.  The circumstances have little to do with it.  I want to choose peace, so I must die to self and the habits and compulsions that keep me from steadfast trust in the Lord. This is easily written here.  Now, I must push back from the written page, back to real life, where the practice of steadfast trust is a slow process of steps forward, and failure, too. Lord, help me take the next step!