Anymore I do not mess around with stress. It’s like I know to go straight to God and fall down before him and lay my burdens where they go. Last weekend was a wonderful time of Christian fellowship with other women close to my age. Miles’ mom invited me to with her on a retreat that was being put on by her church. We had sessions on friendship and care for the soul. The word I came away with from there was “abide”.

I feel like God calls us to moments or stretches where he is asking us to stick closer. He calls us back from letting us play for a while feeling relief from the world’s cares. But then those moments and stretches come back where we’re reminded of our personhood and ultra-dependence. When you learn the lesson I don’t think you forget it. We perhaps might let it fall to the back of our mind but God is merciful to move it.

When I get like this I’m learning I don’t really want to talk much. I can write like it’s second nature in my journal with my prayers. But what I mostly want to do is lean in close to the heart of Jesus. I needn’t be like the beasts who tear and flail and run on instincts without an inner ruler. It is a wonderful gift that God gives us his presence and asks for nothing in return. Our hearts, our minds, our souls, our every part of us is his.