It was a manic Monday, at least for me. I’m not sure anything could have prepared me for the stress, anxiety, and sheer panic that came rushing in on Monday afternoon, and ALL of it was so unnecessary.
Let me back up a bit. I’m a fairly organized person. OK, those of you who know me well might be chuckling a bit at that statement knowing that you are probably more organized than I am, but still, there is order to my chaos. I make sure of it. I know where everything is pretty much at all times. My car is clean. My bed is made. Etc, etc. I don’t generally misplace things. So, when I do, I panic because I can almost be certain that if I can’t find it, it’s really gone and not just lost.
After my manic Monday this week and after reading the above paragraph, I’ve realized that it is actually my confidence that has been misplaced. In large part, it is in myself and my ability to maintain an acceptable amount of order in my life, without which, I become quickly derailed.
After spending a lovely few hours with a good friend of mine, I drive home only to realize that my purse had not make the return journey with me. And, I panicked. Like sheer panic. I lost it. I’m crying, I’m freaking out, I’m scared, and I have no idea what to do. I don’t lose things, and certainly have never lost my purse before! I drive back to her house to retrace my steps, all the while on the phone with my calm and incredibly wise husband, who is trying to talk me off the ledge.
“It’s OK, Cherie. Everything is going to be OK. We’ll find it, or someone will return it.”
He was right. But even if it didn’t turn out that way, everything would still be OK. And this was the truth that I was painfully missing. My confidence, my security, and apparently my sanity was wrapped up in a small handful of material possessions, and the losing of those possessions revealed so much in me. Where did/does my trust truly rest? In my possessions or in the One who has given me everything I call my own?
Such bold conviction.
Turns out, my absentmindedness/mom brain had simply forgotten to grab my purse off of the floor before leaving my friend’s house that day. I didn’t drive off with it on top of my car (thank goodness). No one found it and stole my identity. I simply forgot it. Painfully human moment right there. It took me a good 3-4 hours to gain a better perspective that afternoon, and I’m happy to say that I arrived at a much healthier outlook before my friend found my purse safe and secure in her living room. However, a valuable lesson was learned that manic Monday.
Stuff is just stuff, and stuff is replaceable.
Prayer is powerful, and asking for others to pray for you in time of need is HUGE.
Trust in the Lord, not in things. Things are temporary and can never satisfy. Jesus is eternal, and your cup will never run dry when you lift it to Him.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
Psalm 20:7
Just a bit of context here. Chariots and horses, while a thing of the past, were vital in their day. Modern-day translation? Houses, cars, bank accounts, purses…some trust in these things, but WE (let’s put a stake in the ground today, shall we?) trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Well said Cherie! A powerful reminder. (Glad your handbag was safe & sound too)