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Day 164: Pray and Remain Calm!



August 26, 2020


I wish I had started a journal at the beginning of 2020.  The plot twists and turns to this year have been unforeseeable and memorable.  It has been the kind of year that makes one long for “the good old days”.  Gatherings with extended family, teaching Algebra face to face, sports, wandering aimlessly through Target and going to the movies are all things that I used to take for “granted”.  I could not have even dreamed up a scenario that would have made them all impossible or unsafe.  Even now there is a massive hurricane churning in the Gulf that will cause life altering devastation wherever it makes landfall.  When God allows these kinds of strange and challenging times, He is trying to draw us nearer to Him.  It would be easy to give in to the urge to “run around like a chicken with my head cut off”.  Yesterday, I cried twice before 9 a.m. out of frustration with our new “learning management system” at school.  Apparently the younger you are the easier it is to understand.  I am thinking of having my 2-year-old grandson explain it to me.  I definitely felt prayer work for me instantly as I went into my classroom (where I can take off my mask when alone) and prayed for God to calm my heart and clear my brain of the negative “I can’t do this” mentality.  I found instant relief from the tightness in my throat and gained clarity in my mind like clouds giving way to a sunny day.  By the end of the day I had learned a lot and felt more “at peace” with the new way of doing things.  God is always there to offer us peace.  Psalm 105:4 says: “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”  John 16:33 offers this:  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Pray and remain calm!  Smile and be joyful!

Perfect song for today:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sx8wTnnfSc

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