I remembered how to blog!
Well would you look at that? I remembered not just where my blog is but how to publish to it.
Five years might be a long enough break from writing....or maybe not.
It does appear that every time I dust this old thing off with renewed fervor I abandon it soon after. Wonder why. It's not like I don't have stuff to talk about. I mean, I could tell you all about how delicious my coffee is this morning. Or how I love my new shampoo. Or I could tell you about the recipe I tried that worked out in horrible fashion. Maybe I could talk about how hilarious my daughter is and how I have no clue how she comes up with half of her ideas but I adore them and her.
I could talk about the scripture I recently read that jumped off the page in a new way. Or I could even tell you about one of the several books I'm writing....
Maybe that's the problem right there. I have too many ideas and I can't settle on one long enough to actually write about it. Sure we'll go with that one and not that life is busy and happens whether I have time for chaos or not.
It's always interesting to come back here, to read the old posts and see how I've grown and what I've learned. Some of the lessons are an ongoing process and will be until Christ returns. Some of them I just chuckle and move on.
But there is a constant. I'm always learning. I am of the mind that once we think there's nothing left to learn we are in trouble.
Some lessons are easy to learn and some are hard. That's no secret. Some lessons are fun to learn and some rip the very heart out of you.
I'll never understand why God saw fit to let me learn some of the lessons. Why He let me endure some of the trials I've faced. And you know what? That's ok. It took me a long time to get to that place. I like knowing things. I'm the one that reads the spoilers, hates the cliffhanger endings and always wants the movie with the happy ending. I like corny '80's sitcoms because in 30 minutes someone learns a lesson and it ends with a hug and a smile. I like practical solutions for problems.
Do you see where I'm going with this?
Spoiler Alert - Life rarely cooperates with a person who needs that level of control. I remember reading about a tree and a reed and a storm. The tree is proud and stands tall to face the storm attempting to fight the wind. The reed bows and sways and bends. The tree mocks the reed - but - when the storm ends and the tree is uprooted but the reed stands where it was planted.
What's the lesson here? Easy. Storms are going to happen and there's nothing we can do about them. It's not about the storm. Never was. It's all about our reaction to the storm. Do we stand there staunch and refusing to acknowledge the power of the storm? Do we roll with it? Do we recognize that the storm has the ability to level us and respect it?
Well...that's the part I can't answer for you.
I've tried both. I've tried to decide that the storm is going to have to move out of my path and I've been leveled. I've rolled with the storm and ended up a little battered but no worse for the wear.
What's your storm?
What's your reaction?
Regardless of the trial, there's a constant. Christ promised to never leave or forsake us. That includes when we think we are smarter than He is and wander off into our own plans.
Run back to the safety of His arms, weather the storm with the one with the power to say "Peace. Be Still."
One thing I can promise, one guarantee I can actually make is that Christ will not fail.
