May 25 – “A Pacifier”

Stress, stress, stress.  Today was one of "those" kind of days.  At least to start out.  It began innocently enough.  I did the next lesson in my Experiencing God notebook.  Good stuff.  Chris started watering the grass and wanted to know what my plans were for the day.  I actually had one.  I needed to work on the sermon, because I would need Thursday to work on the Home group Bible study and Friday to be up at the school and Saturday for the rummage sale, part two at the church as well as our family cookout for Memorial Day.  It takes me long enough to prepare on an easy week, so I knew I would need every minute I could get.    Then I got some phone calls about Seaside Christian Academy.  Some last week of school issues had come up and needed some immediate attention.  So I had to put on my Interim Headmaster hat and come up with some ideas for solving those problems.    Then I remembered that we had some bills to be paid this week, so I had to stop and write those. That meant making sure the checkbook was balanced (which it was, by the way).  Minor frustration that comes up once or twice a month.   While I was back working on the Visual Verse for Sunday the doorbell rang.  It was our grandsons Jachin, Micah, and Josiah and their mother.  They have been receiving food from folks at their church since Josiah was born, so they decided to share some of their bounty with us.  Of course that meant I had to horse around with the guys for awhile.  And then I even got to hold little Josiah while we all ate.  I got pretty good at eating with my left hand.    I accomplished quite a bit on the sermon, and by late afternoon I was about as done as I could get for today.  I could feel myself slipping away in my concentration.  So I decided I needed a bit of a stress pacifier.  I went to the garage and broke out a power tool.  It was time to cut the shelves for the new shed.  I set up in the back yard, measured a few times, and powered up.  Didn't take long enough.  I was looking around for something else to cut when Chris came out.  And she reminded me that she wanted to refit the landscape timbers that Hurricane Ike floated from the back yard to the front.  And that meant we would have to cut them to fit.  Power tool.  Of course it also meant we had to dig in the dirt and cut back grass before we could actually get them placed.  By the time we finished those cuts, I was drenched with sweat and pretty well spent.  We sat down outside to cool off, and Mom came out to join us.  It was nice in the shade with the Galveston breeze blowing.  A sense of accomplishment, a cool breeze, a cup of water, and the prospects of watching the Biggest Loser season finale.  It's amazing what a simple power tool pacifier can do for one's stress level.   Psalms 62:1-2 says, "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."   Father, thank you for being my rest.  You are a so much better pacifier than power tools, as awesome as they are.  Amen.