Control

Psalm 151 a psalm of me, not David.

My life and I are His idea, for He is the author.
I yield to His masterful narrative. I am His story to tell.
He is in control.

He has allowed this storm for reasons that I do not understand;
The wind and storm waters are solely His possessions.
I trust Him.
He is in control.

I will rest in Him even though the wind, cold and biting, loudly howls around me; though the cold rain pierces to the flesh.
I am drenched, and shivering.
He is in control.

Still, I will fix my eyes and ears upon the conductor; the only one who understands the rhythm of this cacophony.
He is in control. I am grateful to follow His lead.

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. Always give thanks to God for everything in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:19-20

January

On my walk this morning, I was mentally chronicling all of the reasons that I love this month. I will share:

It's slow. The pace of January is refreshing after the busyness of the holidays. It's unhurried.

It's new. Like crawling into a bed with freshly laundered sheets, the first month of the year is fresh and unwrinkled. It feels new and delicious.

It's hopeful. There is much to anticipate: the first bulbs of spring, summer at the beach, digging in the garden, sun tea, the crunch of leaves in the fall, and all of the occasions and events that mark the year.

I am grateful for another opportunity to take a spin around the sun on this big blue marble that we call home. I believe that it is going to be a great one.

Roadtrip

When our family lived in the Midwestern cornfields of Illinois, we occasionally needed a city fix. So, we'd jump into our car and make the two hour drive North toward Chicago or Schaumburg. It was a pretty straight shot and the terrain was fairly homogeneous: a long stretch of black asphalt surrounded by farmland as far as the eye could see. Every so often, we'd reach an encouraging landmark that would serve as an indication of how far we'd progressed and give us some indication of how far yet remained until we reached our destination. It was not a terribly exciting trip visually, but good music, great conversation, and the promise of soaking in all that awaited us at journey's end made it worth our while.

That's how I feel at the beginning of 2011. We are still on the same road that we found ourselves on during most of 2010. Unlike that little highway to Chicago, it has been wrought with bumps, twists, and turns. Yet is has been a ride filled with peace as we've surrendered with complete trust to the navigator. Though, we've never been on this stretch of road, He has. And, since we are still moving forward, we must be getting closer- even though the scenery has not changed much.
I so look forward to stretching out my legs and sending out some postcards.