the holidays.

oh, the holidays...so many mixed emotions surrounding this "joyous" time of year.

often times it seems that rather than bringing joy and peace, i end up stressed, anxious, and generally not so happy. :-( why does that happen? essentially, it seems that this is caused by me taking my eyes off of jesus and putting them onto myself and my immediate circumstances. i am definitely one to want an immediate resolution to any minor challenge in my personal life, and i generally try to figure out these solutions on my own.

unfortunately, this is not the way life works. god is faithful and has a plan, but his plan may not match mine. and often times his timeline is not mine either. i am reminded of isaiah 55:8-9: "'for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the lord. 'as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"

apparently god has his own way of doing things. that does not mean i just sit on the sidelines, take a back seat, and wait for him to miraculously intervene. but perhaps it does mean trying to avoid going in circles trying to figure things out and instead to do what i can to do as 1 peter 5:7 suggests: "cast your cares on the lord because he cares for you."

so simple, so true, yet so challenging.