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A beautiful, cold day! The sun is shining, the sky is robin's egg blue. The temperature must be in the upper 30's right now, but it feels colder to me because my body has grown accustomed to the warmer weather of the last few days.
My last post certainly wasn't as happy as today's weather! Many times, writing helps me to understand what is going on inside my head. I may have an undefinable feeling that bugs me, and writing about it helps me pin-point what that emotion is so that I can figure out what to do about it. That post acknowleded some feelings and frustrations that I had been hiding even from myself.
I am not overwhelmed by fear or worry, but every once in a while I run into a twinge of it. So far, when I've encountered that twinge, I've stuffed it away (hence the Tupperware analogy) to be ignored or thought about later. But then the later never seems to come. I felt like I wasn't taking the time to address those twinges and move on to a better relationship with God. As a result, my container slowly filled with bits and pieces of anxious thoughts which I had never completed before shoving them away.
A feeling of unease, of discontent, of something looming began to grow. It was the Tupperware, needing to be burped. Actually, it needed more than burping: the stuff in it needed to be scraped into the garbage disposal and the container scrubbed out for a better purpose, but I hadn't taken the time to fully acknowledge what I would find in the container.
Writing that post helped me not to identify the moldy ingredients, but to realize that I even owned a container full of something bad for me. That night during my time with God, I talked with Him about it. I acknowledged that I had a container full of still unidentified sin, and then I asked Him what I should do about it.
In my meandering through the Bible, I am at the end of Psalms, so I opened my Bible to Psalm 146 where my book-marker sat, and started reading. The first sentence read, "Praise the Lord." A tiny smile edged the corners of my mouth, and I thought, That's not the right answer. So I flipped ahead to Psalm 147; it said, "Praise the Lord." Psalm 148 said, "Praise the Lord." This was getting funny, and I chuckled to myself. I decided to flip a page or two backwards. Psalm 144 said, "Praise be to the Lord."
Okay, God, I'm getting the point! Do ALL of these chapters say "Praise the Lord"? I looked at Psalm 145; it said "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever." Hee-hee! So what do I do with this container of feelings? Do I need to air them out and examine them all? Do I need some deep theological way to get rid of them?
God brought a very peaceful answer to my mind:
"Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you." ~First Peter 5:7.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30.
I didn't need to examine them all. I didn't need to analyze. I just needed to hand the unopened Tupperware to my God. He knew what to do with it.
(And besides, His nose is much stronger than mine is, so He can take the awful smells that come out of those containers.)
My last post certainly wasn't as happy as today's weather! Many times, writing helps me to understand what is going on inside my head. I may have an undefinable feeling that bugs me, and writing about it helps me pin-point what that emotion is so that I can figure out what to do about it. That post acknowleded some feelings and frustrations that I had been hiding even from myself.
I am not overwhelmed by fear or worry, but every once in a while I run into a twinge of it. So far, when I've encountered that twinge, I've stuffed it away (hence the Tupperware analogy) to be ignored or thought about later. But then the later never seems to come. I felt like I wasn't taking the time to address those twinges and move on to a better relationship with God. As a result, my container slowly filled with bits and pieces of anxious thoughts which I had never completed before shoving them away.
A feeling of unease, of discontent, of something looming began to grow. It was the Tupperware, needing to be burped. Actually, it needed more than burping: the stuff in it needed to be scraped into the garbage disposal and the container scrubbed out for a better purpose, but I hadn't taken the time to fully acknowledge what I would find in the container.
Writing that post helped me not to identify the moldy ingredients, but to realize that I even owned a container full of something bad for me. That night during my time with God, I talked with Him about it. I acknowledged that I had a container full of still unidentified sin, and then I asked Him what I should do about it.
In my meandering through the Bible, I am at the end of Psalms, so I opened my Bible to Psalm 146 where my book-marker sat, and started reading. The first sentence read, "Praise the Lord." A tiny smile edged the corners of my mouth, and I thought, That's not the right answer. So I flipped ahead to Psalm 147; it said, "Praise the Lord." Psalm 148 said, "Praise the Lord." This was getting funny, and I chuckled to myself. I decided to flip a page or two backwards. Psalm 144 said, "Praise be to the Lord."
Okay, God, I'm getting the point! Do ALL of these chapters say "Praise the Lord"? I looked at Psalm 145; it said "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever." Hee-hee! So what do I do with this container of feelings? Do I need to air them out and examine them all? Do I need some deep theological way to get rid of them?
God brought a very peaceful answer to my mind:
"Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you." ~First Peter 5:7.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30.
I didn't need to examine them all. I didn't need to analyze. I just needed to hand the unopened Tupperware to my God. He knew what to do with it.
(And besides, His nose is much stronger than mine is, so He can take the awful smells that come out of those containers.)