harmony

Sometimes early in the morning voices and bodies file into the kitchen. Five bodies besides mine, each with his or her own motives. It is truly cacophony and I find myself in their midst, part of the inharmonious choir of self will.

It is not a beautiful sound, for one will not be happy with the given breakfast, another may dawdle, still another may use grievous words and for a moment I am no help. What am I doing? Sometimes I am thinking about ME. Living in the quiet of my mind where shamefully words like sacrifice, service, and duty have been hushed. They've been replaced with "I wanted to do..." or "Will I ever get to..."

I feel like Jonah-motivated by self-will. I have headed to Tarshish many times myself. And I never made it there either. The One who loves me so much has always allowed a storm to threaten and then had something swallow me up in a protective hold until my heart turns from its selfish desire and gets back on course with His will. Thankfully, I am regurgitated from the hold, and although smelly and not too appealing afterwards, I am free!

So this morning as Tarshish appears enticingly in the peripheral view, I quickly arrest the thoughts that would cause my mind to wander. Once they're imprisoned, I gather that cacophony of voices into a cozy room and we read out loud the Words that bring peace. Writing our thoughts about those Words in journals that are kept bundled together in a special corner of the bookshelf. Peace comes as we share thoughts, discuss the message, and try to help little ones put the message into a picture. He comes and stills us and we learn to harmonize.

Isaiah 26:3--"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."