We did it! The walls and floor were finished in time and some of the things moved back into place, enough so that we had the rooms and space for our son and granddaughter and my sister to come for a visit. Yeah!
We enjoyed a lovely visit and the weather was beautiful so we could be out in it everyday. It was a joy to spend the time relaxing and watching a 14-month-old explore her world. Family is important to me – and spending the time with them was precious.
Continuing the theme of abiding in Jesus and living in this moment, it was good to just take each day as it came while they were here. We could enjoy our time better and relax more, not worrying about the things that were coming up after the visit.
Babies live in the moment. We could re-learn how to live in the moment from them. Babies can trust their parents. Jade, my granddaughter, fearlessly jumps off high places into her daddy’s arms. When she needs comfort, she knows where to turn. She confidently explores her world.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God[l] and his[m]righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matt 6: 25-34)
What will this day bring? Good and bad and ups and downs. If I remain “in the moment,” the crisis can be dealt with more calmly without panicking. It has helped to have my family tell me when I let the “panicky” actions or voice start taking over. I take a deep breath and get back to this moment. (This did happen a few times as we were finishing up our project.)
I have thought about other Bible stories that illustrate people walking and abiding in God. In the next few newsletters I will take a different one and we will walk through their story and see how they “abide in God.”
What is your favorite Bible story, or Bible character?
