Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Hold On for the Ride
Life can leave us feeling exhausted. We have ups and downs, which make us feel like we are on a roller coaster. Moment to moment. Day to day. Month to month.
I’ve recently been thinking about how when stress hits, our default is to fight in our own strength. We know we should cling to God and His strength, but doing that is not necessarily our instinct.
Even when life is stressful, we can make a decision to choose peace. We can make up our minds to keep peace in our hearts. We can hold onto truth and the promises of God. We know that He is with us and fighting for us, but we don’t always live like we believe it.
Last weekend when I was reading in Proverbs 3, these verses struck a chord:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
The words in verses 5-6 we might recognize, while the words in verses 7-8 might not be as familiar.
These words resonated with what was on my mind. Although these verses are talking more about seeking God’s will, wisdom, and discernment, I believe the same is true for seeking God’s strength. Look at those words in verses 7 and 8. Fear of the Lord is health to our flesh and strength to our bones. When we are feeling tired from life’s trials, the Lord will sustain us.
But we have to choose that path. The title of this post is “Hold On for the Ride.” But the question is, what are we holding on to? Are we holding on to mighty God and His all-powerful strength? Or are we holding on to our own limited, human strength? We get to choose. And it’s a daily choice. Every morning we need to remind ourselves to cling to Him.
We can choose to activate our faith. We can choose to believe. We can choose to trust Jesus with whatever comes our way.
“Your life on earth is the only time you’ll get to exercise your faith because one day, your faith will become sight. Now is the time to cultivate a faith that blesses God’s heart. Today is the day to trust Him.” – Susie Larson
I started working in this post last Saturday, but I didn’t have time to finish it and publish it that same day. Then on Sunday, I read another blog post Sunday Reflections by Maxine at Heavensreef. I love the reminder she shared on choosing God and His strength.
It seems that much of our Christian walk necessitates reminders. We need to remind ourselves of truth. We need to remind ourselves to seek the Lord’s strength, instead of our own. We need to remind ourselves to turn to the Holy Spirit for discernment. Therefore, this is something I am trying to keep in mind each moment of each day.
Sometimes (if I remember ! 🤔) I will even picture Jesus right there beside me. And even better, I picture myself holding on to His arm. That visual hits home and helps me to do a better job of seeking His strength, no matter what I am facing.
Prayer: Lord, how grateful we are that You are always with us. You never leave us, no matter what we are going through. Sometimes when difficulties hit, we try to fight them in our own strength. Please help us to remember to seek You and Your strength. We know that You are our strength, but we don’t always live like we believe it. Help us to activate our faith. Help us to trust You, every moment of every day. Thank You so much for Your faithfulness and love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen 🙏
Thank you for reading, I hope you have a blessed weekend!
March’s Blessings and Reminders
I’m back with another monthly “Blessings and Reminders” post. In this post I will share some of the events from the month that brought a lesson, or highlighted the goodness of God.
The first of March marked two years since I have been working from home. Over the years, I had several friends from work that moved on to different opportunities where they were working remotely. And some of them even reached out to me and offered to help me get a position with their companies. But at the time, I was hesitant. I just didn’t feel like it was the right time. Looking back, I know it was the Holy Spirit prompting me to stay put. God opened a door for me, right where I was. I didn’t have to start over at a new company. I was able to stay with the company I have been with for many years. What a gift. This reminds me to trust God through all the ups and downs. Don’t be too quick to jump, without seeking His will first. He will guide us down the best path. And His ways are better than our ways. 🙌
If you have been reading my posts for a while, you might know that I like using a gratitude journal, which I started in the fall of 2017. Thanks to inspiration from Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, I count the items I log. I use a five-subject spiral notebook each year. When I reach the end of a page, I will add the blessings from that page to my running total, and jot down the new number on the bottom of that page. In March I passed 23,000 gifts. And this merely represents the items I have written down. There are so many good things in each day that I miss or forget to note. I am in awe of God’s goodness and how much He looks out for us. I have to wonder how many times He is working behind the scenes to protect us or provide for us, when we aren’t aware of it. 🥰
I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 89:1 ESV
My husband and I have been enjoying sitting outside most days and getting some fresh air. We live in a somewhat rural area, with a large cow pasture across the street. It’s peaceful to get outdoors for a few minutes. Sometimes it’s the simple things that can bring us joy. Many of us need to be better about carving out these small moments in our day to breathe. Each of us might have different things that will bring us a bit of peace. Maybe listening to music, drinking a hot cup of tea, or taking a walk. In the example I gave, my husband and I have been enjoying God’s creation. And as Daryl Madden said in his poem, Nature Shown, “To cherish creation, Itself is a prayer.” 🏡
On a similar note – one day when I was walking my dog, he took a moment to sniff a rose bush. He reminded me to stop and smell the roses. I always feel the need to fill my time doing something. I think many of us are like that. I have heard a pastor say that we are called human beings, not human doings. Yet, often many of us feel the need to do, and we find it difficult to be. My smart pup is on to something. Let’s learn to stop and smell the roses. 🌹
If you had any blessings or reminders that you would like to share in the comments, I’d love to hear them.
Also, please let me know if you have any special prayer requests. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing in the comments, you can email me at bridget@bridgetathomas.com. To my friends who have shared prayer requests before – I am still praying! If you don’t mind, please say a prayer for my family and me. Thank you. 🙏
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
In the Middle
After Jesus died on the cross and was buried in the tomb, we can imagine His friends and disciples felt hopeless. They had spent every day with this man. They followed Him and they learned from Him. Each day they grew in their knowledge and their relationship. Suddenly, the One they thought brought all hope was gone. Now what? Where would they go from here? What would they do next? Life as they knew it was over.
We have the privilege of knowing the whole story. We know that this time in the middle of hopeless and hopeful was only temporary. We know the disciples would learn that Jesus was alive. He defeated death. He truly was who they thought – the Messiah.
In our stories, we have a lot of time in the middle too. Each season of our lives will bring different middle circumstances, but many of them will boil down to the same conditions. A disappointment comes our way, life feels hopeless, and we can’t see how something good will come.
Just as we have the privilege of knowing the whole story with Jesus’ death, God has the privilege of knowing our whole story too. When we are in the middle, and life feels hopeless, He sees how things will end. He knows there is still hope. He knows that something good will come.
And as we grow in our Christian walk, we have a better understanding that everything in life is temporary. The good, the bad, and life as a whole. But this is good news. No matter what we are going through, we have something better to look towards.
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. – Romans 8:18
Tomorrow we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. We celebrate the fact that He took our large sin debt and stamped it with the words “Paid in full!” We celebrate our freedom. We celebrate that we can look forward to an eternity in heaven.
As you celebrate Easter, remember what the disciples went through when they were in the middle. And remember that no matter what you are walking through right now, you are in the middle too. Even if you are dealing with something painful, God is there. He knows how it ends. When we surrender our stories to Him, He can work things out better than we can imagine. As we celebrate Jesus, let us hold on to hope. And let us remember that having Jesus in our lives changes everything.
I hope you have a Happy and Blessed Easter!
Now to Him
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV
When disappointments and hurts come our way, it’s so easy to feel discouraged. We might feel down or angry. And sometimes we might be tempted to stop praying and turn away from God. Many will ask why God allowed the pain in our lives. Too often, humans turn their focus and their emotions in the wrong direction.
And we also have an enemy who tries to steer us away from the Lord. The enemy wants to keep us from praying and reading our Bibles, because he knows how powerful those tools are. The enemy wants us to feel isolated or discouraged, because that helps break us away from God and our loved ones.
But when a difficulty comes our way, that’s when we need to cling to God the most. We can’t allow fear to creep in. Instead we can be intentional and turn our thoughts into praise and thanksgiving. We might not see the answer to our prayer yet, but God is still working.
And even when things don’t go the way we want, we can remember that Gods ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and He is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28).
We have to be mindful about keeping our thoughts and emotions in the right direction. In the beginning, it takes a lot of work and practice. But over time it will come more naturally to us.
What a gift to know that we have an all-powerful God who actually cares about us. And He doesn’t leave our sides. When a difficulty comes, He is there. As it says in Psalm 75:1 – “We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are NEAR…” (emphasis added)
No matter what we are facing, it does us good to remember the mighty God that we have beside us. He is all power. He is all good. And He is able. As it says in Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think…”
The words in this verse “Now to Him” feel so powerful to me. They remind me that all power is in God’s hands. What a comfort that is, especially when we remember that God is our strength and help. And even more than that – He cares about us and loves us.
God loves to surprise his faithful people with answers to their prayers that far exceed anything they could hope for or imagine (Ex 14:10–14; 2Ch 20:5–27; Ac 12:5–17). The Lord has wonderful plans for your life, so do not be discouraged by disappointments along the way. Keep following him faithfully, and continue believing that he will answer your prayers in a manner that is better than anything you have ever dreamed or envisioned. – Charles Stanley
Whatever it is you are struggling with today, remember that you have a magnificent Lord who is on your side. He loves you more than you can imagine. Hold tightly to Him. Believe that He is there for you.
Thank you for reading, I hope you have a blessed weekend.
God’s Goodness Doesn’t Run Out
You might recall that during our Gratitude Challenge in November, with each post I shared a picture of the sunset that I had taken. It was fun and meaningful to include God’s artwork, as we focused on gratitude and God’s goodness.
Well, every few months I will get an email saying my iCloud storage is almost full. Apple kindly gives me an option to pay for more storage. Personally, I don’t like the idea of paying for them to store my data. So when this happens, it means it’s time to clean up my phone. The culprit is always my pictures. Therefore, I download my pictures to two different external hard drives (that way if one fails, I have a backup). And then I delete the pictures from my phone.
When I had to do this recently, I was also deleting many sunset pictures. Some of them we enjoyed together in the Gratitude Challenge. However, there were many that I didn’t have the opportunity to post.
Even though all those pictures were safely stored in two places, I had a fleeting feeling of panic. I felt like I was losing treasured moments and reminders of God’s blessings.
But as quickly as that thought came, I then had another thought hit me:
God’s Goodness Doesn’t Run Out!
Every day we have the gifts of a sunrise and a sunset. Every day we wake up – we have air to breathe. For all those reading this, I think it’s safe to say – we have food to eat, we have clothes to wear, and we have a roof over our heads.
Every day we have so much to be thankful for. We have a rich God who loves to bless His children. And His goodness never runs out.
Just because someone else got the book contract you wanted – that doesn’t mean there aren’t more book contracts. Just because someone else got the promotion you wanted – that doesn’t mean there aren’t better opportunities waiting for you. Just because this day will come to end – that doesn’t mean we won’t have a new day with new mercies.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
Something I want to be better about is looking for God’s Goodness in every moment. I don’t want to take His blessings for granted. And I believe when we realize how good He is to us, the awareness will bring more joy to our hearts.
For many of us, we live daily wondering when the next shoe will drop, so to speak. If things in life are going well, we might wonder when our peace will come to an end. Or if we have been walking through a difficulty, we might have grown pessimistic in our outlook. We might even be angry at God for the troubles we faced.
Yes, we will face troubles in life. But that doesn’t mean God’s love for us has come to end. When God created the world and mankind, He created a perfect and peaceful place. The enemy is the one who brought evil, sickness, and troubles into our world.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. – James 1:17 ESV
God’s love outshines any heartaches we face. He is there beside us every day. And He is continually bringing good things into each day. Our part is to remember that, and to keep our hearts open to His goodness.
Whatever you might be walking through today, remember that Jesus is your constant companion. He is guiding your path, and working behind the scenes in your favor. Instead of focusing on our worries, let us look up in wonder at our Mighty God. Let us learn to focus our eyes on the goodness of God. It is all around us.
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend!
Perfect Peace in His Presence
Many years ago I remember someone asking me what I wanted in life. My answer was peace. They didn’t like my answer. I’m not sure why, but perhaps this person was looking for something tangible like a certain job, a family, or success.
In my opinion, peace seems like something everyone would want. Peace in our relationships, peace in our jobs, peace in our hearts, peace with God.
Unfortunately, we will have tribulations in this world, as Jesus said in John 16:33. But in the same verse, Jesus also reminds us the He has overcome the world.
And in John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
The Lord offers us peace. It starts with a relationship with Jesus. When we are anchored to Him, then we will know that no matter what we are facing, Jesus and His peace are there with us.
The peace of Jesus “transcends all understanding” (Php 4:7) because its source is Christ himself. His peace keeps us from fear and worry because it brings us straight to him—and teaches us to depend on him in everything we face. And we know that no matter what our circumstances, the Lord Jesus will sustain us, strengthen us and enable us to walk through it victoriously. – Charles Stanley
Perhaps you have seen the bumper sticker – “No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace.”
Exactly!
When we have a relationship with Jesus, we trust Him. We know that whatever we are walking through, He’s got our backs.
However, we do still have an enemy who is out to get us. And we are human. So fears and worries will try to creep in at times. But in those moments, we need to remind ourselves of truth. We need to give ourselves a pep talk. And we need to hold onto Bible verses that encourage us.
One Bible verse that really spoke to me a few weeks ago in the midst of many eye appointments was Isaiah 26:3:
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Aren’t those words beautiful? When we trust in God and fix our thoughts on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. What a gift! 🎁
My word for 2024 is Presence. And something I am learning is that there is peace in Jesus’ Presence. However, our lives are busy, we have many distractions, and our minds are pulled to the work in front of us. Therefore, we might not always be focused on the fact that the Lord’s Presence is there with us.
So we have to deliberately shift our mindset and remind ourselves that His Presence is with us in that moment. And when we do that, we will feel that perfect peace invade whatever situation we are in.
What is troubling you today? What fears or worries are occupying your thoughts? Remember, Jesus is there. He sees you when it feels like no one else does. He hears you, even when you think no one is listening. If you turn to Him, He will bring peace and He will guide you through the challenges you’re dealing with.
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend!
February’s Blessings and Reminders
A few weeks ago I posted about January’s blessings and reminders. I enjoyed that post so much that I am back to talk about February and some of it’s key moments.
Complimenting Others – My job has recently started something called High Fives. We can electronically send someone a High Five as a way of recognizing them. For example, if someone did an exceptional job with their work, or if they provided help with a task, or if they went above and beyond on something. I received several this month, which brought smiles to my work days. But what brought me more joy was giving High Fives to others. I want to be intentional about looking for the good that others have done and pointing it out. Brightening someone else’s day is a priceless way of spreading joy. And bonus – it brings joy to both parties.
We Choose – There were several things throughout the month that kept reminding me of a valuable truth. We get to choose our own attitudes and mindsets. Yes, we might hit some negative circumstances along our path. But we don’t have to let that steal our joy. When we keep in mind that God is always there, He allows everything that comes our way, and He is working all things together for good – that can make a tremendous difference in how we face each day.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28
Stepping Stones – There were several days in February when I had internet issues. Since I work from home, this is a big deal. I figured out how to use my iPhone as a hot spot. But it only worked for my iPad. My laptop wouldn’t connect to it. Something to do with iCloud, I think? My iPad screen is smaller than my laptop. Also I don’t have a mouse for my iPad. But I do have a wireless keyboard I can use. Overall, it wasn’t ideal. However, despite the frustrations, I was amazed that I was able to work. I was amazed with things God helped me learn long ago, which was groundwork for me in this situation. I don’t consider myself to be a techy. I have a nephew who can spin circles around me in that department. So figuring out how to do things with limitations of not using all the tools that I am used to was a victory. This reminded me that God uses the things in our lives as stepping stones. Some things that I learned over twenty years ago came to light. (Matt over at Jesusluvsall had a posted this week that also resonated with this theme – God Never Stops Working in our Lives.)
Don’t Fret – That is something I say to my dog when he gets stressed over something. But it’s good advice for all of us… My apologies because this is kind of a long story…. Part 1 – The last time I got my driver’s license renewed they noted that I needed to wear glasses. Since I recently had eye surgery, I planned at some point to go to the DMV and get that removed. But I wasn’t in a hurry. I mean, who likes going to the DMV? (No offense if you work there. And I do have a neighbor who works there. 😅) … Part 2 – We received in the mail our vehicle registration renewals. But the one for my husband’s truck wasn’t included, which was odd. I usually renew online, but with this situation we felt we should go down to see about it… Part 3 – I had been looking at our escrow in our mortgage and I felt that the company wasn’t taking out enough for the property taxes that will be due at the end of the year. I talked to the property appraiser’s office and they said we could come down and get a mortgage letter which would show the amount they expect we will owe. And I could send that to my mortgage company… Part 4 – Suddenly we had three reasons to go downtown to the tax collector’s office. It was a Friday afternoon and they closed at 4:30. We got in the door at 4:05. The first two items we handled together downstairs. Then we had to run upstairs to handle the third item. We got it all done before 4:30. And the lovely people in the property appraiser’s office actually had the mortgage letter we needed already printed and waiting on us! I talked to them that day on the phone. But I didn’t tell them I would be up there that day. (God bless them!) … All of this might seem like a silly thing, but my husband and I were tickled to get it all knocked out. And normally I dread doing stuff like this. So this reminded me that often when I dread something, it turns out better than expected. We spend a lot of our time worrying about things that never happen. Fretting is usually something that brings us down and makes us feel worse, but ultimately gets us nowhere. May we learn to hand our worries, big or small, over to God. And trust Him to handle the speed bumps in the road.
Lean On God – At work there was a task I have been dealing with for a couple of weeks. Not a couple of weeks straight. I worked on it some here and there, but also put it aside for awhile and worked on other things. I wasn’t sure how to make it work the way I wanted it to. Sometimes a big part of my job means spending time going over it in my mind, trying to think of a way to get the results I need. (And I pray for wisdom. 😅 ) Well in this case, I was making it harder than it had to be. I credit God for a new idea that popped into my head. It was much easier than the path I originally went down. This reminded me that sometimes in life we make things harder than they have to be. Often this is when we try to do things in our own strength. When we seek God for wisdom and guidance, He provides.
Also in the last few weeks, two blogger friends have each published a book:
- Manu over at The Faithfood Blog published a study on Jeremiah: Lessons through the steps of one of God’s faithful servants. I finished reading this book a few days ago and I enjoyed digging into this study on the prophet Jeremiah. I gained a lot of insight about God’s faithfulness, and how we can cling to Him even when facing the hardest troubles.
- And Matt over at Jesusluvsall also published a book entitled Encounter with the Ancients. I haven’t read this book yet, as it was just published this week. But I am looking forward to jumping in. I know it’s going to be an encouraging read.
Now it’s your turn. I would love to hear about some of the blessings or lessons you encountered in February.
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend!
86,400 Seconds
86,400 seconds is the amount of time we have each day. It sounds like a lot of time when we look at it in seconds. Yet each day seems to go by so quickly. Most years we get 31,536,000 seconds (365 x 86,400). Since this year is a leap year, we are given 31,622,400 seconds (366 x 86,400).
Most leap years we let leap day slip by without much attention. Unless you are one of the folks whose birthday actually falls on the twenty-ninth of February. Then you might look forward to this day with anticipation. Or perhaps if you want to adopt the tradition where the lass proposes to the lad, then leap day might be something to look forward to. But for the rest of us, the day comes and goes without a second glance.
I say we make this year different and start a new tradition. Let’s make leap day a special day. We all talk about needing more time for various reasons. And with leap day, we are getting an extra twenty-four hours. Therefore, I say we do something significant on this day.
How can we do that? The answer can vary for each of us. Think of something that you have been wanting to do, but you just haven’t gotten around to it. Or think of something that is holding you back which you would like to lay aside. We just have to pick one thing to do on this day that will make it special.
This year it falls on a weekday, so many of us will still have to report to work. However, we still have an opportunity to do something unique on that day.
Here are some ideas I thought of:
- Go to a park which you have never been to before
- Go to dinner and anonymously pay for someone else’s meal
- Don’t complain all day, especially if this is a bad habit of yours
- Don’t look at social media, video games, television, or something similar, especially if this is an issue for you
- Anonymously send a friend a gift card
- Do something special with your family, laying aside work or any other distractions
- Read a book or watch a movie that you have been wanting to read / watch
- Cook a meal (or bake something sweet) together with your family
- Adopt a pet
- Take care of an item on your to-do list
- Donate money to a good cause
- Plant a garden
- Use the day for fasting and prayer
- Bring your neighbor fresh baked cookies
- Visit a nursing home
These are just a few examples of how we can do something memorable with the extra 86,400 seconds we will get this year. Feel free to come up with something of your own. If you do, I’d love to hear about it!
86,400 Seconds by Bridget A. Thomas was first posted on ChristiansRead.com Feb 27, 2020.
Abiding Bears Fruit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
Ever since I first read these Bible verses many years ago, I’ve had a bit of a fascination with the fruit of the Spirit. That is what I want my life to look like. But I don’t always succeed.
For many years I have wondered why I wasn’t improving in this area. Then the verses in John 15:4-5 clicked.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. – Jesus
We need to surrender to Jesus to produce the good fruit in our lives. Abiding in Him is key.
However, I believe we need to make an effort too. We can’t just say, “Oh well, I will do whatever I want. Jesus will have to take up my slack.”
Walking with the Spirit doesn’t work that way. We lean on Him daily, and He shows us the way to go. We have to keep our hearts open to His lead.
I am currently reading a devotional on the fruit of the Spirit called Making God Smile by Kim Taylor Henry. One entry that I read recently brought up a powerful question – “What story do I want my life to tell?”
When we live with that question in mind, this will help us to live out our lives differently. We will walk in love. We will be faithful in all areas of our lives. We will be patient and kind to those around us. Joy and peace will overflow. Goodness, gentleness, and self-control will be evident in our hearts.
I have also found that praying about our emotions and the fruit of the Spirit helps open a door. Prayer has a miraculous way of changing our hearts. And when we pray about our attitudes and how we live our lives, we are more receptive to allowing Jesus to live through us.
It’s not always easy, especially when we try to live this way in our own strength. Having a relationship with Jesus and spending time with Him daily is key.
Sometimes our spiritual growth might seem slow to our human eyes. But the Lord is patient with us. He knows where we are and where we are going. Jesus walked this earth, which means He knows firsthand how the enemy will feed us lies to steer us off track. But Jesus is our constant companion. He wants to see us succeed and He will help us grow.
And as long as we are on this earth, God will mold us to become more like His Son. That is something to be thankful for. Let us learn to surrender to Him. Let us remember that abiding in Him is a daily commitment. Then we will see the good fruit produced in our lives.
When facing difficult situations and asking ourselves, “What story do I want my life to tell?” – it becomes easier to choose the fruitful path.
Since we celebrated Valentine’s Day this week, and since love is one of the fruit of the Spirit, I also wanted to share an inspiring post called Leave Noticeable Marks of His Love, written by Maxine over at heavensreef.
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend.
Peace for the Soul
Last Sunday, fellow blogger David over at David’s Daily Dose posted As Strong as a Mother’s Love.
I will give you a moment to check it out…
Are you back? Great! 😁
In his post, David talked about an incident in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Young parents brought in their sick toddler, and while waiting both parents turned to their cell phones for a distraction. The way David wrote it made the scene come alive, so I hope you read it.
David wrote, “Rather than judging the young couple—hey, I do it too—my thoughts turned to a spiritual implication.”
I love how David made his point, “What in my life competes for God’s attention and affection?”
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. – 1 John 5:21
The answer to David’s question will differ for each of us. This could range from our jobs, to food, to money, and so much more. Really everything in our lives could potentially compete for a place in our hearts.
Since the example David gave in his post had to do with smartphones, I would like to touch on that for now. But try to think of what things or activities in your life might be vying for attention.
Like these young parents, and like David, I too have turned to my phone at times. In my post last week I mentioned that I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms dealing with my eye appointments. On some of those occasions I did look at my phone for awhile, especially the time when I was there for over three hours.
However, on the majority of my visits to the eye doctor, I tried to do better in this area. You might recall that my word for 2024 is Presence. I want to focus on God’s presence. And I also want to be more present in my own life. Therefore, I felt these moments in the waiting room allowed me to slow down a bit and just breathe.
Most of us live life at a fast pace. Our lives are full. And often we feel exhausted and overwhelmed. We have a lot of “noise” coming at us each day, and sometimes this means the noise of the world drowns out the voice of God.
But I believe if we are intentional about carving out quiet moments in our days, this can have a positive impact on our souls.
Instead of reaching for our phones in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, what if we took that time to pray? Instead of listening to our televisions all day, what if took a few minutes to get outdoors and listen to the sounds of nature? Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds for hours, what if we feed our hearts on God’s Word?
Lent is coming up. This year it begins on Valentine’s Day, which I love (no pun intended) because the life and death of Jesus is THE greatest love story.
So perhaps for Lent we can find ways to quiet our souls and to draw closer to the Lord. Each of our lives look different. Therefore, how we proceed will look differently for each of us.
I don’t know yet what my Lenten season will look like. Therefore, while keeping all of this in mind, I will prayerfully seek ways to find peace for the soul in the coming weeks. How about you? If you decide to do anything specific for Lent, I would enjoy hearing what it is. Or if you have special ways to give your soul a bit a peace and quiet, please share that as well.
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend.
Bridget A. Thomas 