Things That Go BUmp in the Night

God, peace, inspiration, lessonI had just drifted off to sleep when I heard a noise that startled me. “What was that?” I said. My husband thought it must be something outside. He wasn’t worried so I went back to sleep without giving it another thought.

The next morning when my husband opened the pantry door he knew what had made the noise. Somehow items on a wire rack on the top shelf of the pantry had shifted, causing a domino effect. A few items were on the floor. Among them was a jar of olives with the lid popped off. Liquid from the jar was pooled on the floor.

The cleanup could have been much worse as a large glass bottle of maple syrup had also fallen but remained intact.

I wondered if this situation could hold a lesson for me. If I was alone in the house and heard a strange sound in the night I may have worried about it. Knowing my husband was beside me and not concerned gave me peace that everything was alright.

What I sometimes don’t think about is that God is beside me at all times. The Bible tells me that when I pray I will experience God’s peace. No matter the situation, he is available to get me through it. When he is watching over me I don’t need to worry about things that go bump in the night.

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 NLT)

Out of My Control

prayer, God, inspiration
image from bing.com
In the early morning hours, we drove to an airport shuttle service. We entered the lot and followed another vehicle to the appointed row. After parking and unloading our luggage we walked stand by the couple from the other car.

The husband was removing the luggage and the wife paced anxiously behind him. We said, “Good Morning,” to them and the only response came from her. She said, “We’re running late. I hope we don’t miss our flight.”

The shuttle bus slowly worked its way down our row, picking up groups of people along the way. The woman became more agitated, constantly muttering about missing the flight.

A few more such comments were made as she took her seat on the bus. Just before we exited the lot, she realized that her purse wasn’t with her. Calling out to the driver, she said she had left her purse in the car and we needed to go back. The driver obliged but of course this delayed all of us in getting to the airport.
We were flying on different airlines so don’t know if she ended up missing her flight. What I do know is that she reminded me of a very important lesson.

It serves no purpose to worry about things I have no control over. What I need to do is to take care of the small details that are within my control. In this way I will cause less stress not only in my own life but also in those around me. When I do my part and then leave the rest up to God, life runs much smoother.

A wise man once told me, “It’s no use laying awake at night worrying about your problems. God’s up anyway so give them to him.” This advice has served me well. It is amazing how much better I feel when I pray and leave the things out of my control in the hands of my heavenly father.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Luke 12:25 NIV

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