Is Your Sink Overflowing?

     Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7  

     

     

     I don’t know about you, but I’m absolutely frazzled to the max right now. You’d think with Christmas behind us and all of the decorations put away life would have settled down. But it seems there’s always something to take its place, something to keep me in a constant state of anxiety.

     

     

     As I was thinking about all that needed to be done, I was reminded of something that happened several years ago. I was rushing around trying to get everything done before I left with the kids for an appointment. As I ran through all of my chores, trying to do several things at once, I decided I needed to wash out my bathing suit. I’d let it soak until I got home and then rinse it out. As I started running water in the sink, I made a fateful choice to start a load of laundry before I walked out the door.

     You can probably guess what happened next.

     I got a call from my husband several hours later asking WHO left the water running in the laundry room. I shrieked when I realized I’d never turned it off. As a result my husband walked into water rushing out the back door when he came home from work. I thought I was going to be sick.

     My patient hubby cleaned up all of the water before I got home, but the damage had already been done. Water had flowed into the air vents in the laundry room and bathroom, and warped the hardwood in the dining room which sits directly behind the laundry room wall. I despaired, but my husband got busy seeking professional help.

     He asked a friend in the heating and air business to come and take a look at our vents. After careful inspection, he determined 

there was no damage and we didn’t need to do anything. Whew!

     Then he called a contractor friend who’d helped build our house and asked about the hardwood. Having experienced something like this before himself, he said to wait it out, the wood would eventually dry out and settle down to its original shape. He emphasized the fact we would need to be patient because it could take up to two or three months for this to happen. Ouch!

     But you know what? Both of those contractors were right. They looked at the situation and gave their expert advice as to what we needed to do and the answer was nothing. All we had to do was wait.

     Now, waiting is not one of my spiritual gifts. During the time we were waiting for the floors to regain their original shape I was a little anxious, wondering how much it would cost for us to have those floors redone. The thought continually running through my head was, how could you be so stupid, Carol?

     But it wasn’t stupidity that put me in this predicament; it was busyness. I rushed through my morning wondering how I was going to get everything done, while God waited for some alone time with me. Obviously it never happened.

     Maybe if I’d taken the time to be still and wait on Him my mind wouldn’t have been so distracted and I would have had the presence of mind enough to remember to turn the faucet off. Maybe. I know God doesn’t guarantee we won’t have problems in this life, but if I gave Him a chance more often, maybe my life would run more smoothly.

     In the end He took care of everything. The floors became straight and smooth again and the air conditioner didn’t give us any trouble. Again, all I had to do was wait and trust. He had it all under control.

     Today as I look over everything that needs to be done, I feel more at peace. Why? Because I got up this morning and gave God priority. I’m trusting He will take control of the situation and keep my spirit at peace so I can face my husband with a smile tonight instead of a complaining spirit, as I’ve done every other night this week.

    

     Is your to-do list out of control? Do you feel as if you’ll lose it if someone asks you to do one more thing? Give it to God and see how He can take your worries and turn them into victories.

     Thank you for leaving your comments last week and entering the contest for Ann Voscamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. The winner, chosen by random.org, is Margie Houmes! Please send me your address via fb message and I’ll get your book to you as quickly as possible. Congratualtions Margie!