What I'm Thankful For Today...

I am a tender sort...what some might call a person who "wears her heart on her sleeve". Sometimes, I do pretty well at putting an additional layer over that tender, exposed heart, but this only serves to delay the response to rough handling, accidental bumps and bruises and breakage, and even intentional injuries. As soon as I am in a quiet place, the jacket over the heart on my sleeve comes off and all of the emotion pours forth as if the hurt was fresh. At times, too, I handle my own heart roughly. Dashed hopes, disappointed expectations, even forecasts of hurt, rejection or disappointment are magnified in my mind and join the chorus of past hurts, rejections and disappointments until my poor heart can't take it anymore and my very soul wants to run away...to give up...to be done.

This is how I handle my heart. This is how others handle my heart. This is not how God handles my heart.

In those moments, when I can scarcely breathe for the emotion, God says things like this...

“A bruised reed he will not break.”

A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.—He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.—"I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.”—Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.—“Behold, your God. . . . He will come and save you.”

And that is what I am thankful for today.

A Timely Word...

“Wait, my daughter.”

“Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint.”—“Be still, and know that I am God.”—“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”—The haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. . . . “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”—“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way —“Whoever believes will not be in haste.”

A-Not-So-Typical Day.

Yesterday, I left work just a few minutes later than usual. I'm not sure why, I just did. I hummed a happy tune on the way to my car, excited about my plans for the evening. Said plans included, greeting folks at Alpha (a 10-week introduction to Christianity which my church does twice a year), having dinner with my fellow greeters and servers and cooks, giving my landlord the montlhy rent check, then going home and going to bed early. That was my plan and it was foiled. Foiled, I tell you...by a case of Coke Zero.

When I hopped in the car, I noticed that one of the cans in the case on my front seat looked funny. I moved the box a bit to see it better, only to discover that another of the cans had actually exploded. Yikes. Carefully, I exited the vehicle, walked over to the other side and attempted to, even more carefully, remove the soggy and potentially fatal case of cokes from the car. As I did...KABLAMMMMM! All but two of the cokes exploded, loudly, all over me and my car. I stood there for a second, in shock and it was then that I noticed the parking lot full of people, looking at me. I assured them all was well, I was just wet and sticky, it was fine, go about your business, nothing to see here. Then, I proceeded to try to clean up some of the mess.

After I was done, and safely back in my not-nearly-so-clean-as-it-had-been car, another co-worker mosied into the parking lot, noticed the coke on the side of my car and wanted to make sure I knew that "someone let a coke explode on [my] car". I assured Captain Obvious that I did know this and that "someone" was me and went about my business.

Only that business was not quite what I had planned. I couldn't greet visitors to Alpha wet and sticky and smelling of stale Coke Zero, so home I went to peel the yuck off of myself and see what else we might do with the rest of the night. In the end, and after I was clean and dry, it turned out to be a nice night. I chatted with a new friend, my friend Yves who is currently in the custody of the immigration service, my hairy little atheist and an awesome Canadian. Oh, and I watched this movie called The Lake House. Strange. Don't recommend it. Strange.

And I didn't go to bed early.

Hope you enjoyed that odd little slice of my life. :)

ta-ta!