a soul vacation

    Lately on Joyce Meyer's show, Everyjoying Everyday Life, she's been preaching all about rest; letting your soul go on a permanent vacation. She's so cute up there lounging under an umbrella, sipping out of a coconut with big bug-eyed shades. But she makes her point well that we can have rest in our souls even in the midst of everything else around us. There is something so relieving about realizing that my circumstances can't bother me unless I give them permission to do so.


exhibit A...

splendid. a day in the life of Katie.

this is me attempting to transfer 8 potted plants from the kitchen to the dining room by dragging them across the room on a chair. As you can see, I didn't fully evaluate my options before attempting the transport. It was actually much worse, but in my spasm, I tried to quickly repot the plants after the catastrophe. Looking back, I believe I was confused in thinking that plants are like fish...if they're out of their pot for even a minute, they'll die. In the terror that followed the prospect of murdering my vegetable garden, I scrambled to get them back into their pot. It was only after they were safely tucked into their pots that I thought to take a picture.
    Anyways, the moral of my story is not that Katie needs to consider her various options before taking action, but it was my response to the situation. After looking up and audibly screaming, "GOD, what am I supposed to do!?!", I realized that even in my frantic moment, I was at a crossroad. I could choose to respond to the emotions that had instantly rose up within me. It was tempting, because 1. I was staring at a huge pile of dirt on my kitchen floor, and 2. my beloved garden was potentially destroyed. BUT I decided that God was granting me a moment to put my faith into action and find humor in the situation, rather than beating myself down.
    Now, in the scheme of life, I'm sure we'd all agree that this crossroad is not one that has lasting reprecussions. However, I know for a fact that my reaction in that moment would have determined my attitude, which very well could have possibly progressed throughout the rest of my day. Instead, I burst out laughing and told God, "well, You made me."
    Satan would love to use little moments like that to kick down our door and hit us while we're down. He'll take any victory he can get, even if it's as simple as being grumpy about a garden taking over the kitchen. Don't let him steal your peace. Peace is such a precious gift that we all have the privilege of inheriting through Jesus. So rather than letting your flesh react, sit back, take a sip of the coconut juice, and remember: your soul's on vacation.