Day 16: In the Stillness

Sometimes it is frustrating being a woman. As stereotypical as it sounds, I really do find myself subject to hormonal mood swings depending on the time of the month. On a day where nothing bad has happened, I feel grumpy seemingly without reason. The fact that I have no good reason for my bad mood makes me frustrated, and the fact that I can't shake it makes me even more grumpy. It's a vicious cycle. The only things I can do are to eat chocolate, to hold my tongue lest I say things I don't mean, and to pray. Out of the three, I am finding the last to be most successful today.

When I woke into a bad mood today, I decided to skip my morning run. Pushing myself to exercise when I did not even want to be awake turned out to be beyond my willpower today. I compromised by rolling out of bed when all I really wanted to do was reset my alarm and go back to sleep. After dressing, eating breakfast, and making a cup of coffee, I headed out to my yard to sit on the swing and pray.

In the stillness of the early morning, I began to lay my burdens at the feet of Father. Sunrise streaked a blue patch of sky as the swing gently rocked me. My coffee cup was an oasis of warmth in the chilly September dawn. In the quiet, in the stillness, I knew that He was God. I asked Him to walk with me through my day. I told Him about my job and asked for His help in doing my best work today. By the time I returned to the house, my heart was lighter. I still have to deal with the burdens of life, great and small, but God meets me in the stillness. I am not alone.