Oh January! That month of the year that has pushed me to the edge of early retirement every year since 1994. I don't want to jinx these last few days of said month, but I just may make it through without checking the balance in our retirement fund and calculating possibilities.
So what's different? My task list is every bit as long in 2012 as it has been in previous years. This January isn't running any smoother than past Januaries. I've run into just as many problems (if not more) with my January responsibilities as in years past, but here we are with less than a week to the month left, and I haven't walked out on the job or even cried (though, I admit, tears did threaten to trickle at one point last week). I'm actually heading into the home stretch with a more positive attitude than when I started. I'm not complaining, but what's the deal, Schlemiel?
In a word - God. God's the deal.
I kind of have a thing for books (I know, big surprise for those of you who know me, right?), and I kind of have a thing for God. Put them together, and I'm standin' just this side of the pearly gates! For the past thirty-five years or so, I've always had, what I call, a God-book going. I read God-books slowly, just a few pages a day or maybe even less, depending upon the depth of the content. This month, I'm reading three different God-books - a little of each every day: Practicing His Presence by Frank Laubach and Brother Lawrence, Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen, and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I didn't plan to read three God-books at once, it just kind of happened, but I'm thinking that God knew I'd need the encouragement that each one of these works gives me.
The funny thing is, as different as these authors are, their messages have a common thread: God is with you. He is with you in your everyday life; He is with you in the mundane and routine; He is with you in the hard and seemingly impossible; He is with you everywhere and in every situation. Open your eyes and look. So that's what I do, I look, not with one eye on my problem and one eye half-heartedly searching as I've done most of my Christian life (because if I'm not looking at the problem, God might not be able to see it - as if I'm a conduit and God can only see what I'm looking at), but with everything within me. I know that I need Him. I know that I MUST see Him. I turn my heart toward Him as often as I think of Him, and the more I turn to Him, the more I think of Him, and as I practice turning my gaze God-ward, I find the best kept secret of the Christian life: I have only to turn my heart toward Him, and when my heart's focus is on Him even in the midst of work, and people, and problems, I am at peace and all is well with my soul. Truly, all is well.
So what's different? My task list is every bit as long in 2012 as it has been in previous years. This January isn't running any smoother than past Januaries. I've run into just as many problems (if not more) with my January responsibilities as in years past, but here we are with less than a week to the month left, and I haven't walked out on the job or even cried (though, I admit, tears did threaten to trickle at one point last week). I'm actually heading into the home stretch with a more positive attitude than when I started. I'm not complaining, but what's the deal, Schlemiel?
In a word - God. God's the deal.
I kind of have a thing for books (I know, big surprise for those of you who know me, right?), and I kind of have a thing for God. Put them together, and I'm standin' just this side of the pearly gates! For the past thirty-five years or so, I've always had, what I call, a God-book going. I read God-books slowly, just a few pages a day or maybe even less, depending upon the depth of the content. This month, I'm reading three different God-books - a little of each every day: Practicing His Presence by Frank Laubach and Brother Lawrence, Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen, and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I didn't plan to read three God-books at once, it just kind of happened, but I'm thinking that God knew I'd need the encouragement that each one of these works gives me.
The funny thing is, as different as these authors are, their messages have a common thread: God is with you. He is with you in your everyday life; He is with you in the mundane and routine; He is with you in the hard and seemingly impossible; He is with you everywhere and in every situation. Open your eyes and look. So that's what I do, I look, not with one eye on my problem and one eye half-heartedly searching as I've done most of my Christian life (because if I'm not looking at the problem, God might not be able to see it - as if I'm a conduit and God can only see what I'm looking at), but with everything within me. I know that I need Him. I know that I MUST see Him. I turn my heart toward Him as often as I think of Him, and the more I turn to Him, the more I think of Him, and as I practice turning my gaze God-ward, I find the best kept secret of the Christian life: I have only to turn my heart toward Him, and when my heart's focus is on Him even in the midst of work, and people, and problems, I am at peace and all is well with my soul. Truly, all is well.
Just want to echo that!
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