Spinning Out of Control or Taking One Day at a Time?

This great photo is compliments of Seemann at morguefile.com.

I was trying to think of a subject for tonight’s blog. And then it came from my lovely muse, who takes such good care of me.

Does your life feel as if it’s spinning out of control?

You’re not going in the career direction you want.

Your relationship/s with your spouse/partner, kids, friends, boss or co-workers isn’t what you want.

You get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and a piece of toast and then get yourself and/or your family ready for the day. Then you jump in the car, drive to work through awful commute traffic, park and run in to start your work day. After work, it’s the same story in reverse. By 9 p.m., you are exhausted and wonder what it’s all about.

Or maybe you’re a student. You go to school each day and wonder what the payoff will be in a year or ten.

Remember that old song, “Alfie?” Here’s a link to it if you haven’t heard it in awhile or if you’ve never heard it. Hint…you can click on the link and it will open in a new window so you can listen while you read. Pretty cool, huh? Well, I think it is!

Anyway, Alfie was a playboy. He was never satisfied with one woman. That’s all I remember about the move. If you’re so inclined, you can rent it.

One of the lines in the song is, “Without true love, we just exist.”

And that, my friends, is what it’s all about if you want to stop feeling that your life is spinning like a top.

I learned this the hard way. Two years ago I was diagnosed with an incurable illness. Then last year, my doctor found out that I also have an incurable/unfixable (is that a word?) condition. I have to go into the hospital every two/three months to be treated.

Getting this news made me stand up and pay attention. And gradually, very slowly over the last six months or so, I realized that if I want the peace that passes all understanding, I have to slow down enough to recognize it in the small things (and in the big things, too).

I’ve had to slow down so much that I hardly recognize myself. It’s called taking one day at a time. And it works.

I still plan things, but I know that if my condition warrants a hospital visit when the time comes for the plans to come to fruition, that’s the way it will be.

It’s utterly amazing what I’ve seen and learned about myself and about other people.

I had to learn to be patient with medical staff.

I found out that the major medicine I take for short periods causes massive side effects. At one time, I had 17 of them.

I discovered that a lot of people don’t like to visit patients in the hospital.

I learned that the people you love will stick by you no matter what happens. This group includes very close friends and family members.

There is more, but most important of all, I had to accept the illness.

And in doing that, I also discovered that there are a lot of folks out there who are in worse condition than I am. And they keep going. And so do I.

Above everything, I have to turn over my will and my life to God’s care every day. I have to let God lead me down whatever paths I take now or in the future.

And that, dear readers, is the secret above all secrets. You don’t have to do it alone. I Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Have a blessed day.

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Here, Kitty, Kitty…

Annie after a hard day

My lovely lady calico kitties escaped the warmth and comfort of the home I have provided for them today. I think the ghost in the house opened the door to make their escape route quick and easy. Time and again I tried to cajole them back in before I had to leave for a couple of hours.

“Here, kitty, kitty,” I called. “Come on, Annie, get in here.” “Bootsie, why the heck are you outside. You know your food and water is not out there; it’s in here!”

All my cries were to no avail. I left to do my errands, putting them in God’s care before I hit the accelerator.

When I came back, only Bootsie was ready to re-enter our home so she could take her place at the head of the bed and sleep off her adventure.

Annie, on the other hand, remained outside. She’d walk up to the door, look at me and then turn on her heel, as if to say, “Listen. You just want me to come in out of the cold. But the problem is that it’s not cold yet. So let me go my own way, and when I’m ready, I’ll join you. Oh, by the way, make sure the cat litter is scooped and there’s fresh water, would ‘ya?”

I closed the door and started thinking about God. I don’t know why, I just did. And here’s what I thought. God calls us to come into the shelter of His arms. When we’re stuck in being stubborn, there’s often a quiet little voice that cajoles us to give our problems over to God. But we’re independent and think we know best, and we often only turn back to God when our plans didn’t work out the way we thought they should.

Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we try to discern God’s will for us, feel that we know it, and follow the directions we’re given to get to our destination. And we do it without a fight. We do it because we know that God is the only one who knows what’s truly best for us.

More likely, though, we’re like my cats. We draw close to God and then turn around so we can go the way we planned. And it isn’t until the end of the day that we come back home, just like my Annie did tonight, knock on the door with our prayers and ask God to let us back in.

No matter what you may be going through at this time in your life, don’t forget that you have the right to God’s love and care. It’s the most important thought you can hold at any time during the day or night.