This quarantine is breaking my heart.
There are things I want to go do, people I want to hug, and places I want to go.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”-Psalm 34: 18
My spirits are crushed. I’ve been asked if I am okay. My answer is I don’t know. Can you define the word okay for me? Okay defined is, “all right; proceeding normally; satisfactory or under control.”
According to the definition, my answer is no. I don’t feel all right. This situation we have here is anything, but satisfactory. I feel very rattled. Like I have lost something near and dear to me. I have lost the last six weeks to be with my friends. I feel like I have lost a family member. My friends are my adopted family. They (my friends) will be the ones who will pick me up when I fall. So how do I handle it when my situation is not satisfactory? I bake. I bake when I am upset. Or mad. Or stressed. Or whenever I feel like. I am baking more these days because I am upset. I’m upset that I can’t go grab coffee with friends, upset that this year isn’t turning out how I thought it would.
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”-Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
There are so many verses in the Bible about how God directs our steps. He directs our steps to what is best for us. Maybe it is best for us to be inside, to spend time with our families, to learn something new.
I was asked a couple weeks ago, what my coping mechanism is? My answer is look for the joy in every day. It’s been hard for me to do this week (and its only Tuesday). Let us be honest, we are not ALWAYS happy. Do you know why that is? Happiness depends on our happenings around us and right now, nothing is really happening around us. Joy on the other hand is ALWAYS available.
“I have told you these things so you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will be complete!”-John 15:11
Joy is always behind the scenes it available for the taking. You just have to accept it. I am also focusing on God’s faithfulness. Looking back at what He has brought me through and looking to the future when I can get together with my friend. Oh, what the reunions!
The Back Drop to My Life Painting 