With school back in full swing, I have taken time to ponder how different fall feels this year. Life has finally settled down to a nice hum of activity without quite so many variables hitting us at every turn. Josiah is almost three and actually acts like it at times-- following directions, soaking up information like a sponge, and even giving hints that potty training may actually happen some day! I'm not pregnant, exhausted, and sick (3 years ago), fixing bottles and wondering when my baby will outgrow reflux (2 years ago), or wondering if there will be surgery in his near future (last year, and yes, he did have surgery to remove his adenoids and get a second set of tubes). There is a lot going on in the lives of my older children, but middle elementary is a bit of a calm before the storms of adolescence. I have, at times, actually had the thought, "Life is good."
It is at those moments I want to sit myself down for a stern talk. What is this "glorying" in my present circumstances all about? I guess on a human level, it is quite understandable. There is a physical and emotional rest taking place that is good for both mind and body. Yet, as always, it is my soul I ought to be most worried about. Will I glory in my circumstances or glory in God as my circumstance? Good times and bad times both will come and go with the ebb and flow of life, but God alone is unchanging, unvariable, dependable, and the source of true joy.
I do give thanks for an apparently peaceful entrance to fall of 2009. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I am grateful for the gift of the three years that are behind me, for this time has tenderized my heart toward those who are suffering... amid many other as yet unseen and unrecognized benefits to my soul and character. I have learned to lean hard upon the Lord when He is all there is to lean on, to know His strength when I have none of my own. I look forward to learning to trust Him more at every turn. And for now...I'm enjoying Him in this time of calm, for that is His good gift to me, too.
*A big thank you to my friend Kristi, who first taught me this phrase and more importantly has lived it out before me week after week after week. From her life I have seen glimpses of how faithful is our God.
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