Last week didn’t go exactly as I planned.
This week isn’t going exactly as I planned, either.
My husband, 17-year-old daughter, Christa, and I traveled to Washington, DC last Friday so Christa could compete in a volleyball tournament with her club team. We started off the trip by showing up at the Denver airport — only to find out that our flight left from Colorado Springs. Did I mention that we live in the Springs?!
Can you say “stunned”?
We arrived home Monday around midnight in a snowstorm in Colorado Springs (right airport). Our car was still in Denver. Tuesday, I discovered an odd lump on my daughter’s dog, Jo. An unplanned trip to the vet resulted in an even-more-unplanned surgery being scheduled for Jo tomorrow (Friday). And all sorts of concerning possibilities being discussed.
Yes, I know Jo is “just” a dog. But she’s our dog. And I’m worried.
In the midst of all this, I’m on deadline. Well, deadlines, plural. And I’m unpacking and doing laundry and telling myself it’s okay and crying and trying not to cry and you know … doing life.
What I want to do is trust.
And to do that, I need to slow down, which means ignoring the laundry — yep, it’s still here. And ignoring the deadlines — just for a moment or two. And tell the worry it’s not the boss of me. And I must choose to trust.
God got us through the mixed-up airport fiasco. Yes, it cost us some extra money, but the most important thing was getting to DC. And we did that. And my daughter was happy because we got on a flight with some of her teammates and her coach. And God knows we love Jo — and He cares about what we care about, including our dog.
In Your Words: What do you do to keep worry from crowding out trust?
In Others' Words: Crowding Out Trust https://wp.me/p63waO-2zv #quotes #BillyGraham Click To Tweet 'When worry is present, trust cannot crowd its way in.' https://wp.me/p63waO-2zv #quotes #BillyGraham Click To Tweet
Comments 22
Just a dog?
Without my dogs, especially my PTSD service dogs, Sylvia and Ladron, I’d be dead.
Too ill to continue. Praying for you, and for Jo.
Author
Hi, Andrew: I don’t think of Jo as “just a dog.” I know some people might.
And I know service dogs are invaluable. And I’m thankful you have Sylvia and Ladron. What does Ladron mean, by the way?
Ladron means ‘bandit’. Appropriate name.
Prayers would be cool. Barb is sick and I blew out a knee.
I’m afraid worry is an old friend. Praying helps—giving the problem to God, even if it means having to give it to him it over and over, minute-by-minute.
Praying for you, as you’re on deadline. Praying for you and your family as you wait through Jo’s surgery. And yes, praying for Jo.
Author
Thank you, Angie. 🙂
I’m sorry you’ve got all that going on right now and will step up the prayers. Why do they call it “deadline”? Why don’t we change it to “lifeline”? I do best handling worries by remembering all the victories He has orchestrated before, which is what God tells Israel to do in their journeys as they faced scary adversaries. It still works. Sending you strength and blessings today. Let us know about Jo.
Author
Yes, Dee — that’s such a reminder — to remember what God has done before. Thank you!!
Wow. I needed this, Beth. I can totally relate to worry and stress, and “crying and trying not to cry” some, if not most, of the time.
Thanks so much for this post!!
Odelia
Author
Odelia — What a beautiful, poetic name! Love it.
I’m glad you were encouraged by this post.
And I want you to know that I just stopped and prayed for you today.
Oh yes, yes.
Author
🙂
Funny, this morning’s devotion in “My Utmost for His Highest” was about this. I’ll send you a snapshot of it. 🙂 Praying for a better day and that Jo’s lump is not what you fear.
Author
Pat: Looking forward to seeing the post from “My Utmost for His Highest.” 🙂
Oh Beth, you told me you’d had a bad week. I’m so sorry. We had a sweet little yorkie for 14 years named Charleigh. She had surgery for breast cancer but lived years beyond that. We went to church one Sunday and when we got home I noticed she didn’t greet us or bark when we came in. We found her lying in her little bed already gone. I hated that she died alone but we had no idea. Old age just got her. They are a real part of our family. I’ll be praying.
Author
What a sweet name: Charleigh. 🙂
And how wonderful that she lived so long after her diagnosis — and yes, how we love our pets. Thanks for your prayers, Gail.
I’m worried about Jo too. I sure hope she’s okay. It’s comforting to think about God caring about the people/dogs/things we care about.
Author
Thanks, Kim. God does care. After all, He created animals and called them good, too.
“…telling myself it’s okay and crying and trying not to cry and you know … doing life.”
Sometimes I forget I’m not the only one who does life this way.
I often forget to remind myself that these unforeseen days are no surprise to the Father. It’s so true that weathering them in the right direction will require telling “the worry it’s not the boss of me. And I must choose to trust.”
Truly sorry for the confluence of events, Beth. You are wise to slow down and regain your bearings. And, truthfully, your taking a stand is giving me courage today.
Praying for peace that surpasses understanding amidst all the undone things. Lord, help us be anxious for nothing because we’ve surrendered everything into Your hands. And we might need extra help with that last part.
Author
Thank you for your understanding, Bernadette.
Truly, writing it all out — being honest — helped me. It was choosing to trust in an out loud sort of way.
And thank you for your prayer. 🙂
Hugs to you, Beth! I hope you find some rest in the midst of all that crazy. And I hope you don’t find it the way I recently did: by hyper-extending my knee. Yep, four weeks of propping it up and icing it and generally taking it as easy as possible gave me plenty of time to recharge and connect deeper with God. Now that my knee is almost well (today’s the best it’s felt since the incident), I have the challenge of carving out rest-and-connect time without acquiring a new injury. However, I am thankful for the injury, because it has helped me realize I’d let rest slip to the wayside a bit. I was still connecting with God in my daily devotion time, but those moments of rest and reflection deepen that connection for me. I’m working now to figure out how to make the time (because I certainly won’t just find it) for those little moments throughout the day… and hoping they add up to something amazing, by the grace of our great God.
Author
Andrea: I’m so sorry you hurt your knee! And I’m thankful you’re on the mend at last. Hugs to you, my friend.
Thank you!