Bridget A. Thomas

We recently invested in storm doors for our home. But it was a bit of an ordeal. We ordered them from one of the big chain home improvement stores, and we also paid to have them installed. We were given a date of when the doors should arrive at the store. And we were told we would be contacted by someone to set up a time for the install.

The day arrived when the doors should have been in the store, but we never heard anything. My husband went down to the store and talked to them; however, they couldn’t find our order in their system. I went down later that same day, with proof of payment in hand. I talked to the same guy who placed our order several weeks prior. (We will call him Alex.) Alex did some digging and was able to locate our purchase. However, he explained that it didn’t seem to be in the computer the way it should have been. I was in there for a good length of time, but we thought everything was straightened out. Alex even believed that the doors were on the premises. But he said they could still be in a truck, waiting to be unloaded.

I was contacted several days later by an independent contractor to set up the install. (We will call him Jed.) We agreed upon the day. All seemed to be well. When the day arrived, Jed called me back and asked me if I had the doors at my house. I didn’t because Jed was supposed to pick them up and bring them to the house on the day of the install. However, Jed was at the store and apparently the doors were no where to be found. He got some employees to help him. They searched all over and couldn’t find them.

Again my husband went down there and spoke to someone. They weren’t sure what happened. But at this point we had some options. We could either place a new order for the same doors. Or they had very similar doors in stock that we could purchase instead. We opted for the doors that were in stock, and we even got a little money back because they were cheaper than the original doors we ordered.

However, we still didn’t get the doors that day. When the doors seemed to be lost, Jed had moved on to a different project that day. Several days later I heard from him, and we scheduled a new install date.

Finally that day arrived and Jed did the install of the two doors. The storm doors were just what we needed. There was one more hiccup, though. I got a call approximately a week later from the store saying that my doors had arrived. I quickly realized the lady on the phone must have meant the original doors. So I explained to her what happened and let her know we already had doors installed. She thanked me and we ended the call. I guess they either put those doors out for sale or sent them back. I thought it was humorous that the saga continued. But that is not the point of my story.

Let’s back up a few weeks. When I was in the store over a month ago talking to Alex about the mixed up order, he kept apologizing. He sincerely felt bad about the whole debacle, even though it wasn’t his fault. He was the same guy who took our order, but he was a seasoned employee. So I believe there must have been some sort of glitch.

When he apologized again, I said, “It’s not the end of the world.”

His reply to me was, “I’m glad it’s not to you. But to a lot of other people, it would be.”

I knew Alex was right. For some people, an inconvenience like this could seem like a catastrophe.

My husband and I have been through a lot of stress recently. So this additional item on our list could have easily caused us some angst as well. When problems pile up, it can be difficult to take one more thing.

And I don’t know about you, but for me personally, it is usually the unexpected bumps in my day that cause me grief. Seemingly small things that disrupt my plans. But I am learning (sometimes more slowly than I should!) to hand those inconveniences over to the Lord.

While this story is a minor example, we all have had bigger issues that blindsided us. Our initial reaction might be to panic or to get angry. When we are taken by surprise, especially if we are already stressed, we feel vulnerable and shocked.

However, one important thing to remember is that whatever comes our way is not a surprise to God. He knew it was coming. And He already knows the outcome. He often allows obstacles in our lives for a purpose. We won’t always know the reasons why different things happen. But we know the One who is in control. And He can see us through whatever we are facing.

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?

Psalm 56:3-4 NLT

This takes trust. Trusting God can be difficult for different reasons. Sometimes we are used to being in control and handling everything ourselves. Or it could be that the obstacle in front of us is so big that we just can’t fathom how God will work it out. The good news is that we don’t have to worry about that part. When we put it in God’s hands, He will work it out.

Keep in mind this doesn’t necessarily mean we do nothing. There might be action on our part. But if we lean on the Shepherd, He will show us what path to take

Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees.

Dr. Charles Stanley

If you are facing something unexpected, God can help you through it. He is always there. And the best part is that He actually wants to help you with whatever obstacle you might be up against. What a loving Heavenly Father we have!

Dear God, thank You for walking beside us, in front of us, and behind us. No matter what unexpected circumstances come our way, it is comforting to know that You are there. Help us to remember to lean on our Shepherd, who will guide us and show us the way to go. We are so thankful for You, Lord! And we love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend!

© 2018-2023 Bridget A. Thomas

Time is a funny thing. In a way, I feel Lent flew by; yet Ash Wednesday also feels like a long time ago. Today I wanted to share some of the things I learned over the weeks when I was offline.

Set Guidelines When Fasting: If you plan to do a fast of any kind, it’s important to map out the rules you want to adhere to. If you step into a fast too vaguely (something like “try to spend less time on social media”) it will never work. Before Lent started I made a list of things I wanted to remove from my routine, as well as things I wanted to add to my day. My initial step was sound. However, I didn’t refer to the list throughout Lent. This means I fell short with some of my goals. In hindsight, I should have looked at the list each day in order to keep myself on track. (Note: I admit I tend to try to take on too much at once. Even when fasting. I had too many items to focus on. I did do well with the main item, though. And that was to stay offline – social media and blogging.)

Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself: Regarding the items for which I didn’t reach perfection, I didn’t beat myself up about them. I might regret that I didn’t do better, but I don’t necessarily feel guilty. For example, one of the things on my list was to not complain. Did I master that? No. In this case, this is a bad habit. It is not something we can easily turn off or on, like a light switch. Therefore, this is something I aim to keep working on.

Seek the Lord: One main point of fasting is to seek the Lord. So day by day my actions should reflect that. At the end of a fast we can look back and ask ourselves, “Did I spend more time with Jesus?”

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. – Psalm 63:1

Pray: Another main point of fasting is prayer. Oftentimes when we are fasting for a particular cause (for example, perhaps we want to see healing for a loved one), it is key to add more prayer time in your day. With traditional fasting (giving up certain foods or meals) you would pray during the hour when you would’ve normally been preparing dinner and eating it (for example). My fast didn’t include food this time. However, I did start off Lent with a prayer list. I used that list throughout the weeks to keep my prayers focused.

Keep a Prayer Journal or List: With that being said, I recommend keeping a prayer journal or prayer list at all times. One day during Lent when I was going over the prayer list, I was amazed at how powerful prayer is. I could see areas where God had come through. He heard and He answered. When we can see items on our prayer list get checked off, it leaves us in awe of our miraculous God, and it makes us want to keep leaning on Him.

Protect Your Time: After about a week into Lent, I was reflecting on how much more productive I was. I had more mental clarity and I accomplished more. Then I put two and two together and realized it was because my time and energy was protected. I believe we all should set boundaries on how much time and energy we spend on different things in our lives. We each might have different needs in this area, so I will talk generally about what this means for me. You may want to pray about it to see how God wants you to protect your own time. Personally, now that I am on the other side of Lent, I hope to keep particular guidelines in place pertaining to checking my email, social media, blogging, etc. Especially on weekdays. Prior to Lent I would look at my phone first thing in the morning, and that affected my day. Now that Lent is behind us, I have been trying to put some of those things aside until my lunch break. Mainly for me this is email and blogging. (I am not big on social media in general. However, one thing I did miss during Lent was posting pictures of the sunset on Instagram, which was something I had done a lot of in the weeks prior to Lent. It was uplifting to capture God’s beauty and share it with others.)

Mental Health: This point is tied to the one above. Not only did I have more clarity and productivity, I also felt more at peace. When I have a lot on my plate, that equates to pressure. And pressure is what gets me frustrated and upset. I want to be able to handle everything that comes my way. But the reality is that I cannot do it on my own. So by protecting my time and energy, this leaves space in my soul for the Lord to come in and help me. He is my strength and I need to remember to lean on Him.

Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry: You might have heard of a popular book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry written by pastor John Mark Comer. However, if you didn’t actually read the book, then you might not know the phrase wasn’t originally his. And it wasn’t even said to him firsthand. Yet it was powerful enough to inspire him and countless others. The story goes that John Ortberg, another pastor and author, called Dallas Willard, a Christian philosopher, and asked him what he needed to do stay spiritually healthy. The answer was, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life … Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” I read this book a few years ago and I need to read it again. But anyway, I have a point here! Again this is tied to the two items above. As I mentioned above, I found that overall I was more at peace during Lent. Intentionally slowing down played a part in that. A lot went on in my life over the weeks while I was gone. Much of it was stressful. Yet one day when I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes, I was amazed that this chore was actually a bit soothing. Prior to Lent, when my life was hurry and hurry some more, I would not have found washing dishes to be a tranquil task! Obviously I wasn’t one hundred percent at peace. If I were then I would have kicked complaining to the curb! 😜 Nonetheless, I did have more peace and when you discover that feeling, it makes you want even more of it!

“Gratitude and murmuring never abide in the same heart at the same time.” – E. M. Bounds

Hold Everything Loosely: One thing I am trying to remember is to hold everything loosely in my hands. We all make plans, and they range in size. For example, we might plan to eat yogurt for breakfast or we might plan to acquire a college degree. Our plans don’t always work out the way we expect. I tend to get frustrated when my plans get overturned. So I am trying to remember to hold everything loosely in my hands, take it all in stride, and embrace whatever comes my way. This is easier said than done!

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room – why am I posting today when prior to Lent I was posting on Thursdays? I apologize if this disrupted anyone’s routine. But I felt moving my posts closer to the weekend would help me stick with some of the new guidelines I am putting in place for myself.

I could write a bit more, but this post is already a bit lengthy. So I will let you get back to your day. Thank you for stopping by and reading. I am honored that you took time out of your day to be here. If you had any takeaways from Lent or Easter, please share in the comments.

© Bridget A. Thomas 2023