smack dab in the face

Ok. I was just hit smack dab in the face with faith. I know what faith is. I know how to live a life of faith. It is my way of life. But let me tell ya, it slipped to the back burner for just a bit and suddenly I'm back to relying on myself to make everything happen. To make sure things go how they are supposed to. To go how I want them to go. In control...imagine that. 

And you know what it got me? A whole lot of anxiety. Stupid, dumb, ridiculous anxiety. 

Worry has been a long-time acquaintance of mine. We go way back, as far as I can remember. Used to be that worry controlled my life. And that does not make for a very enjoyable life! 

But with the constant mentoring, teaching, and living examples from my Dad and Mom, and then eventually from my husband, I was able to understand what living a life of faith really meant. There's a phrase that goes, "Let go, let God." I think that was on a magnet on our fridge in my parents' home. Or on a bulletin board or somewhere where I saw it frequently! 

It came down to this for me: I could either do everything in my power to make something happen and then sit back and stress about it, or I could all the same things but give it over to God to let Him worry about the outcome. He's in control anyway. What's going to happen is going to happen whether I waste my time worrying about it or not. 

And the fact of the matter is this: if I am worrying my little heart out, then am I really trusting that God knows what He's doing? Even if things don't go according to my plans, that doesn't mean that it is out of God's hands. 

When my Dad was sick, God brought our family a scripture that has been one of my favorites ever since (although I will admit I have lots of favorite scriptures so if I call another scripture one of my favorites, that's why.)  Jeremiah 29:11 says this: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Now He and I might not always agree on the plans, but I do have to have faith that He knows what He is doing. He is God, afterall.

So all these little things that have been waking me up in the wee hours of the morning, the things that have been distracting me at home, the things that make me a little irritable (only a little 😉), those are the things I need to combat with faith. To do what I can and give the rest over to Him. 

I think this one right here is what caused the "smack dab" in the first paragraph of this post: 

Truth.

KC