I have discovered (over and over again!) that in life, things often—even usually—do not go as planned—sometimes for the better; sometimes for the worst. Last week, a home improvement project that involved replacing flooring on our second level did not go at all as expected—originally, it seemed like the process would be pretty straight forward, but then miscommunications between the seller (Home Depot), installer and myself, led to lots of phone calls and lengthy delays. The timing was unfortunate because my husband was recovering from foot surgery the week before and still has several weeks of recuperation ahead—what we thought would be a relatively minor inconvenience to him for a couple of days turned into many days of stalled work with much of our upstairs looking like an abandoned construction zone.
During this process, I tried to remember that the way I handle adversity will be a witness to others—so when the installer looked at me after explaining the situation and realizing what I was up against, he said that he considered himself to be like a match, and would have been on fire if this had been his home! “Well,” I responded with a smile, “I have Jesus and so I can be at peace.” Wow, if I could only live this mantra more consistently!! With Jesus, we CAN be at peace, even when things around us are not going as planned, which is most of the time! Once again, I reflect on the wisdom of Saint Paul, who had more than his share of things “not going as planned”, yet knew that anxiety is not compatible with the Peace that comes from placing all our trust in God: “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) Having a certain amount of chaos in our lives is part of the human experience. As much as I try to control and reduce the chaos, I can never completely eliminate it, and that is good, because I ALWAYS have an opportunity to trust our Lord, yet again. And He will be here today just like he was yesterday and will be here tomorrow — the Source of my Peace — Jesus I Trust in You!