It was the strangest thing. My pillow was lumpy. What in the world? I thought as I reached inside the pillowcase and pulled out several of my favorite scarves one right after the other—my red, green, and lavender.
“Young lady,” I called out to my six-year-old granddaughter. I lifted one in the air. “Did you do this?”
“Uh, uh…yes.”
I frowned. “Haven’t I told you that if you played with them, you must fold them and put them back where they belong?”
“Yes.”
“And haven’t I told you that we must have a place for everything and…”
She completed the sentence, “…everything in its place.”
“And haven’t I told you there are consequences for disobeying?”
But that disobedience lesson was for me, too. And dare I say, maybe for you, too? You know, when painful setbacks, hardships or even tragedy darkens our days, we often do the same. In desperation, we stuff the heart with fear, anxiety, discouragement and distress.
But God, who observes our heart that’s lumpy with things that don’t belong there, is loving, gentle, yet firm: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Father, how I needed that command to be courageous. To be strong because of your power that’s in me. To be confident because of your strong arms to hold me. I will put all in its place—my heartache in your healing power, my stress in your promise of peace, and my fear in your reassurance that you will be with me wherever I go. In Jesus’s name, amen.
• What is stuffed in your heart lately?
• What needs to be released yesterday?
• What keeps you from being completely free?
Janet Perez Eckles
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