Irony

It's a little ironic that I would begin to blog again at one of the busiest times in my life. Yet...there is a little peace that comes from the quiet moments of sitting down and writing my thoughts. Chaos finds its match in the quiet.

Savannah got her learner's permit this week. It's been an adventure, these first few days of driving. She prefers my coaching so we have been going out each afternoon on our country roads and practicing. She gets better each time she practices... funny how that works.

We are in the midst of moving. With that comes the crazy of cleaning and staging and selling a home...which all happened in about 3 days. Then the packing and the packing and the packing. The chaos abounds.

With this move the family is going in all different directions...some weeks the kids are with me, sometimes with Bruce and sometimes we are all together. We are burning the rubber between here and our new hometown. If you want to know what crazy looks like...look at our debit card record. There are charges from every little town between here and there.

But the irony is...in all of this...we are at perfect peace. There are moments of cray-cray and there are moments of feeling overwhelmed...but never unrest or without the assurance of God's peace. Isn't it beautiful how God gives us peace in the middle of our hectic circumstances?  It's a gift to us, from God, to be able to walk through times of stress, trials, temptations and craziness and still have peace.

I've tried it the other way...I've tried operating in my own strength, in my own way, on my time table and it never works. His way is best...and that's not irony...that's God.

Who Can You Trust?

As our world seems to be falling apart around us, it's scary.

I sat with my almost fourteen year old Sunday night and we talked about the shape of the world...the terrible happenings in Orlando that day, the state of politics, ISIS, agendas and the breakdown of morals and values (AKA...sin...but no body really likes that word, do they?) She asked me, with tears welling up in her eyes, "How much more has to happen before Jesus comes back? I'm scared."

And isn't that the question we are all asking? How much can more can we take? Could this be the end? Who can we really trust?

And as I sat there watching my girl struggle with fear and anxiety I felt my own self getting angry. Angry that our world isn't safe. Angry that the political scene is unstable and immoral. Angry that there are so few people who are trustworthy. Angry that my kids are growing up very aware of ISIS and terrorism. Feeling helpless and if I am honest a little fearful myself, I heard the whisper.

Trust me...

I alone am the fail proof trustworthy one. You can't depend on your government, your servicemen, your guns, your husband or anyone or anything. This is a time to trust in me alone. Trust your kids with me. Trust your safety with me. Trust your cares with me. Trust your government with me. Worry isn't going to get you anywhere. Frustration and fear will only make you anxious. Do not trust in anything but me. You're not in control. You're job isn't to take care of the world. That's mine. I'm here...in the moments that feel scary and out of control....I am there. I am with you. When you don't understand, I am still trustworthy. When you can't see the next step, I am still trustworthy. When you aren't sure, I am still trustworthy. You can trust. You must trust. In me. 

Psalm 20:7 - Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God. 

I Corinthians 1:25 - For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 

Isaiah 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

And sitting there with Savannah, I reminded us both what God was whispering to my heart. Trust God...He is in the middle of all our messy world. He gave His son to die for this...for ISIS, for every politician, for the LGBT community, for you, for me. Trust in your history with Him. Trust in His strength and His wisdom. Don't live in fear...that's what the enemy wants. Trust His grasp...He's holding you in his right hand.

But the enemy wants you to think that this is shallow thinking. That this all sounds so pie in the sky happy and that it doesn't solve the world's great problems. The enemy wants you to think that trusting God is for the good kids, the weak mommas, the naive, the simple, even the lazy. The enemy wants you to think that only the real life changers get out there and do anything, that only the real movers and shakers are in the middle...shouting their beliefs high on the mountaintop of social media, blogs and Fox News. But let me remind you....God makes the weak strong, God says fight the fight in your war rooms. God says put on your spiritual armor. God says get on your knees and fight the battle. God says, pray believing...pray trusting me...pray having faith that I am going to take care of things...in my time..in my way. Pray knowing you're not going to understand everything. Pray humbling yourself in gratitude that you don't have to have all the answers....Pray and defeat the evil. Quit believing that others have the answers. Start believing. Start trusting. In Him.

So when you kiss your little ones or teenagers or your spouse goodnight tonight...and you feel that apprehension hover over you for a moment...trust God. When you send your kid off to summer camp and you wonder if they will get hurt or be homesick or be accepted...trust God. When you send your 18 year old off to college, war or their first job ...what other choice do we have??? Trust Him!!! We need to drill it into our hearts and minds that the safest place we can be is a trusting place. We've got to believe that trusting Him is always the first best thing to do. We need to believe with unwavering belief that He is our best resource, our best defense, our best confidant and our best first choice.