Good Intentions

I love the New Year because it feels like a fresh start; a new mercy that brings with it new goals, refreshed priorities and good intentions. However, my ambitious endeavors are often side-lined because I have children!

This morning my alarm went off at 6 am. I hoisted my pregnant body out of bed and pulled on my tennis shoes. Mentally and physically prepared to hit the treadmill (not that it's doing me a whole lot of good - someday I'll post a belly shot). In the thirty minutes that I walk (uphill at 4 mph - be impressed!) I read my Bible and work on my memory verses and pray in the quiet of our little back room. It's the perfect start to my day. When I get done I make the coffee and the oatmeal and David's lunch. I feel like I've already accomplished so much. But, back to this morning, 6:08 to be exact, I hear that one word that drives all my plans into the ground. "Maaaaa-maaaaa!" I opened the door to Alayna's room and she holds her arms out to me from the crib. "I hold you," she says. I picked her up and she laid her head down on my shoulder. "Rocky," she says. So, instead of sweating it out on the treadmill and getting a jump start to my day, we rocked and sang and snuggled.

The truth is, man plans his ways, but God directs his steps. Good intentions are what they are even if they never amount to anything. Don't be like the guy who says, tomorrow we'll go to this town or that town and do business and make a profit (James, the Bible). You do not know what a day may bring forth.

I talked to a guy last night from my water aerobics class. He's always had back trouble and it had been bothering him a lot of late. When I asked him how he was feeling last night he said the MRI revealed a tumor on his spine and he was going into surgery the next day. This man just recovered from prostate cancer and has lost three family members in the last year to cancer. You never know what a day may bring forth.

From one extreme to another - God is still in complete control. Wherever you are, in whatever circumstances - whether frustrated because your morning plans were "messed up" by a toddler or something more extreme, rely on the One who is in control.

"It is through problems and failure, weakness and neediness, that you learn to rely on Me. True dependence is not simply asking Me to bless what you have decided to do. It's coming to Me with an open mind and heart, inviting me to plant My desires within you." --Jesus Calling, Sarah Young.