His Way

 Happy last day of 2021!

This is late because we slept in. I'm still trying to get over this cold I got last week. I'm on the mend now, but sleep was so nice. :)

Hard to believe tomorrow is January 2022. I don't know how those who don't know that God is in control go into a new year. I'm excited to see what God has planned. I have my own plans and goals, but I'm learning to hold them with an open hand and let God guide my steps.

I'm going to keep this short today as it's already late and I need to do some other things. And you might have things to do this last day of 2021.

 His Way

    Barefooted, Lesley wandered down the beach away from the noisy party. Her head throbbed and she felt exhausted. As she walked, only the soft sound of waves washing gently up on the sandy broke the quiet and peace of the evening.
    Stopping, Lesley looked toward the west where the sun was sinking in yellow light into the clouds just above the horizon. The sky was a rosy gold with piles of fluffy clouds giving a slight purple look to the sky. As she looked, Lesley discovered one patch of blue and smiled as she looked beyond the clouds into the depth above.
    One lone palm tree, growing at a sloping angle stood, a lonely sentinel guarding the empty beach and the one single rowboat resting beneath it.
    As the throbbing of her head continued, Lesley’s face lost its smile and she sat down where she was feeling the longing to give way to the feelings of doubt, frustration, sorrow, and despair which seemed to stalk her footsteps these days.
    “There’s not much I can do,” she sighed. “My life is a mess and even though I’ve tried to fix it, I can’t.”
    Propping her elbow on her knee, she rested her head in her hand letting the quiet and peace surround her.
    “Less?”
    The soft voice made Lesley lift her head. Mary stood beside her.
    “Do you mind if I join you?”
    Wordlessly Lesley shook her head. It felt like too much trouble to say anything.
    Just as silently as she had come, Mary sat down in the sand, her arms clasped around her knees.
    For some time the two friends sat, watching the sun sink lower and lower. The sky darkened and deepened into velvety night.
    “What’s wrong, Less?”
    With a sigh, Lesley shook her head. “Everything.” Somehow she felt as though she could pour out all her troubles to Mary since it was dark. “I can’t get a job that pays well enough for me to work decent hours. Two of the people I thought were my friends aren’t talking to me now because I didn’t agree with something they thought was good. My parents’ health has declined so much in just the last month and I’ve worried about them until I’m almost sick. I hardly have time for anything fun and enjoyable. I thought tonight would be fun. But it’s not. The music is way too loud and people are acting silly, and. . . . Oh, I’m just . . . tired!”
    Mary reached over and gently began to massage her friend’s shoulders. “Oh, Lesley,” she began softly. “I’m sorry. I know things haven’t been easy for you lately. I didn’t realize they were this hard though. What do you need?”
    “I don’t know,” Lesley began, her voice breaking. “Why do I feel so empty, so frustrated and so helpless?”
    “I can’t say for sure, Less, but maybe, just maybe you are trying to take charge of your life in your own way, in your own time, and stay in charge of it. You can’t do it. You will only continue to make yourself miserable.”
    “But what am I supposed to do?” Lesley’s voice was rising. “I don’t have time to take care of my parents because the job is totally draining me, but if I quit how will I pay the bills? And what do I do about my friends?”
    “You pray, Lesley, and keep on praying. And you take time to be still and listen. Remember Elijah? God wasn’t in the fire, the wind or the earthquake. It was after those things that the still, small Voice spoke. Perhaps you need to live Psalm sixteen verse eleven. ‘Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ Have you been living that, Less? Have you been really and truly seeking the path of life? Have you been delighting in the Lord’s presence?”
    Lesley didn’t answer. She knew she hadn’t been, but she was so busy. Why didn’t God just point out the way so she could keep going?
    “Sometimes,” Mary said gently, as though she could read her thoughts, “we have to make the time to slow down and step out in faith not knowing where we are going next. It can be scary. I know. I’ve done it. But oh, Lesley, it is so worth it!”
    There were no words Lesley could speak. She knew she needed to take the time to really seek her Lord and His way, but choosing to set aside time she could be working or taking care of her parents to do so felt–wrong.
    Without another word, Mary rose and slipped away leaving Lesley alone. One bright star peeked through the opening in the clouds and seemed to blink a friendly message to the troubled girl on the sandy beach. She must have understood it, for Lesley, looking up into the place between the clouds, began to pray earnestly for wisdom and joy from the One who offered pleasures for evermore.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed & stressed?

What do you do about it?

Are you ready for 2022?