Come what may...

Through the ups and downs in life...
come what may...

There is one absolute...
God is good.

The truth is,
sometimes life is just hard.

We are blessed with those who hold our hands,
who walk with us,
who share our burdens...

Yet even when we walk alone,
we are not...
For God is with us,
He never abandons us...

On snowy days,
there are seed catalogs.

On hard days at work,
there are loved ones to welcome us home.

On happy days,
our dear ones share our joy.

When we are scared,
worried about the future...

When we have done our best...

Sometimes there is not a thing we can do.

We must leave it in God's hands.

Why...
When we know His complete trustworthiness,
is this so very difficult?

To let go and know that...
come what may...
God will be with us on our journey...

Now and always,
no matter if your day is sunny or full of shadows,
I pray that you...
that I...
be blessed with the faith to believe in our Lord
and to trust him to guide our adventure.

I give thanks for my family...
My husband, my children, my parents and siblings... my aunts... my uncles... my nieces and nephews... my inlaws... my friends... the list could go on into infinity... I am blessed...

Yes...
even on hard days...
I am blessed.

Success... Thank you Duck Tape Fair Friends!

Once before,
I tried to fix that lousy dryer vent.
It had fallen off less than a week after the professionals had installed it.
Tonight,
using my free Duck Brand Duct Tape sample from the fair,
I fixed that goofy vent.
I taped the tarnation out of that thing.
I don't think it's going anywhere,
anytime soon!
I think this time,
I used the proper tool for the job!
The last attempt failed despite the vast amounts of clear packing tape.
I think it was the moisture that loosened the hold.
With a grin as I cut the tape,
I knew that wouldn't be an issue this time.
The proper tools are useful to completing a task successfully.
Wishful thinking won't make the wrong product do what it wasn't created for.
As I think of my new Kindergarten kids,
I know that it will take time to help them know what they are to do.
Kind words
and
stickers.
Demonstrations
and
practice.
They will gradually learn what it means to be a Kindergarten student.
Like clear packing tape,
bitty ones are supposed to act like what they have been created for.
One is made to mail gifts,
the other to explore and grow in grace.
If my clear tape won't behave like duck tape,
it shouldn't surprise me when my bitty new ones
do not act like my dear ones who are headed to first grade.
I know it will though,
their testing and stretching the rules
will make me shake my head and sigh.

Yet,
I know...
that their bright eyed first impressions.
The first bitty one who declares their love for Kindergarten.
They way they will learn to play games to "beat" me...
I know they will,
little by little
become
my new dear ones.
And I know...
I will grow and learn as well...
as I am given the grace to become the teacher
this unique group of children needs.

I hope that you don't give up when a symbolic "vent" falls down.
There will come a day when success will come your way.
I know it is hard to always believe this.
I struggle with the letting go.
I want to be the clear packing tape that can do anything...
I don't like limitations and imperfection...
Tonight and always,
I pray that you and I,
that we are blessed with peace.
God is like the ultimate Duck Tape...
He can fix anything.
I can't.
Maybe it would be easier to just start with him instead of only heading to him when my way fails.
Sigh...

Stop or Go?

What does following God's path mean?
Does it simply mean that we should not do objectionable things?
How do we decide what exactly is objectionable?
There is so much disagreement among those calling themselves Christians.

If we ask ourselves WWJD? (what would Jesus do)
How do we know if we are right?
Does Jesus care what kind of cereal we eat for breakfast?
...And don't forget Jesus was considered a rule breaker by so many.

Beyond just behavior...
How do know what to do in a given situation?
What does "Letting go and Letting God" really mean?

Clearly we were given minds to think...
Where is logic in all of this?
sigh...
I shake my head and am glad for God's mercy when I think that with my trouble following map quest and other forms of direction...

It should honestly be no surprise...
that I have so many questions about following God's way.

So...
since St. Michael hasn't shown up to let me know what to do,
I will walk my path today.
I will try to do what I know is right.
I will try to trust God.
Maybe..
just maybe..
I'm not supposed to hold the map.

But,
darn...
I really like to know where I'm going!
=-)