Be Still my Soul

Have you ever read the children's book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?" Well that was my week last week and I found myself multiple times saying under my breath, "I think I'll move to Australia." If you are unfamiliar with the story, Alexander says that when everything that could go wrong in his kid world, did. I have spent quite a bit of time in quiet reflection and prayer this weekend, trying to regain my peace and calm and I was reminded of a few things:
1. I always say that I have given things over to God, but darned if I don't just take them right back to wallow and worry over them.
2. When I go before God and ask Him to take care of things, I don't give Him time to work them out. I want immediate results.
3. I spend a lot of time worrying about things I can't control.
4. I don't spend enough quiet time listening for God.




I have been to the beach twice in the last few days, trying to get quiet and think. It is so relaxing to sit and wiggle my toes through the sand, listening to the waves. I love that I live 10 minutes from the beach! We just pack a cooler and off we go! God has created so many beautiful things for me to enjoy and to remind me of His awesome power and attention to detail. Think of all of those tiny grains of sand. He put each one there for a purpose. Being at the beach allows me to clear my head and think...such wonderful therapy for me.

Then this morning, God spoke to me. It began in the quiet of the house as I was reading a blog about leaving things at the throne of God. The music on the page was "Be Still My Soul." As it kept playing, I began to relax and listen to the words...Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to your God to order and provide;
in every change God faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
I thought about Psalm 46 "Be still and know that I am God." God has used this verse so many times to reassure me that I don't need to spend so much time in fret and worry. If I am constantly trying to manipulate the circumstances, I'm not relying on God. I need to BE STILL. So hard for a Control Freak like me!

So with that on my mind, I went to church. Guess what we sang today..."Be Still, My Soul the Lord is on your side." Today's sermon really spoke to me, it was one of those where I felt like it was written just for me. Don't you love it when God does cool stuff like that? And I was reminded that I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. So with that, I have renewed determination to let God work things out and to stop getting in the way of it all.

At lunch today, the princess said our blessing and afterward she said, "And God, please help Mommy to have a good week this week and to not be stressed." At the very least, I owe it to her and the prince to have more faith that God is in control and to let it all go.

On a happy note, two of my favorite people celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary yesterday. I have learned a lot from these dear friends about what marriage is like. I remember when I was much younger, riding in the car with them, I was in the backseat and they were up front holding hands. My friend turned around to me and she said, "When you get married, make sure you marry your best friend." I have never forgotten that and it is exactly what I did. So Happy Anniversary to my dear friends! I love you so much and am blessed to have you in my life!