There are at least two big problems in my life right now trying to keep my attention. When I think about them very long, they start me on a downward spiral. Today both issues demanded my attention, but today I determined to use my God given freedom to redirect my thoughts. I have the power of choice given me by God, and I can choose to think of Him whenever I would like. This morning before anyone else was up, I came to His presence and He blessed me with the reassurance that His very presence is with me. It is with me when I think about Him, and when I don't. But when I do, and do often, the blessing starts multiplying. I did think about him often in the morning, but soon the little problems piled themselves onto the big problems, and I felt snowed under. Without realizing it I became problem-focused, and forgot the Presence of God was with me. It wasn't until the evening came that I remembered to be Presence-focused again, and when I did, the joy that He knows, and that no problem is so big that it can separate me from Him, came back. He knows the path I need to go on, and He is going with me, even though the trail is full of trials. All I had to do was think of Him, how much He loves me, He'll never leave me or forsake me, He rejoices over me with singing, He knows everything about me and still loves me. Praise God! The problems are still here, but I'm not focused on them. I'm focused on the Presence of God.
Monday was President's Day, and Rob had the day off from work. I'm so glad because I wasn't feeling sick at all. We decided to drive around the southern half of the island. Last time we tried to do this, it was a very raining day, but today the weather was perfect, sunny and warm with fluffy white clouds. Our first stop was Umatac, an interesting village full of history. In the local language, it is spelled Humatak. Ferdinand Magellan and his sailors brought first European contact to the island in 1521. It is thought they landed in Umatac Bay, but I just learned in further reading that the site is disputed, and might have been further north. I wish I could say that this is a good story, but it leaves me very disturbed. There was thievery, fighting, killing and burning of the settlement, not so different from stories of first visits in other places around the world. It wasn't mentioned in the article, but I'm guessing that the...
Awesome thoughts to ponder as I have begun my day. To use our power of choice to "gird up the loins of my mind" Thanks for sharing!
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