What did I wear today?

I have heard the word “overwhelmed” several times today, and one of those times was from these lips on my face! I know that you, dear Reader, have your own overwhelmed moments, so let’s talk about it. I took an LSU (life stress units) test awhile back and found that I was, on paper, near collapse! Divorce or death both takes the same toll on your physical and mental body. Having to deal with the “remains of the day” makes it even worse. Trying to get things in order is not easy, and then when you have someone that has become invalid and needs constant care then you are in even deeper. Sometimes it feels as if you can’t get your breath.  Losing someone you love is horrible anytime of the year but having the loss of my dad so close to Father’s Day was not an easy one to handle. This morning when I woke up and remembered what the day was I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to church, didn’t even want to go. I decided it was the right thing to do and that if I didn’t go and take my mother my dad would know it from heaven and be disappointed in me. I helped mother get ready for church and then went to try and put myself together. I put on a camisole and slacks and suddenly it hit me, the way I could go to church and feel my dad… I walked back into their room and opened his closet. Hanging there right in front was the shirt in the pictures I have posted of him, the red one, and the bolo tie he loved to wear, the one with the Presidential seal and Eagle on it. I took the shirt off it’s hanger and put it on, yes it hung down dress length on me and the sleeves had to be buttoned tightly and pushed up my arms but when I put it on and hung that bolo around my neck I felt good, I had a little piece of my daddy with me and I was ready to face the day. Those are the things I know about, but there may be those of you who have lost your job which is major because the bills continue to come in the mail or on-line, and you are expected to find a way to pay them. Knowing your car payment is due and without a car you can’t get a job…then the groceries are running out, the kids are hungry (ready to throw up your hands, or be grateful that your situation is not that bad?) I am the poster child for the “sandwich” generation…my parents, now just my mother is here and she needs help, I am not complaining at all just saying, my children and grand- children have things I need to do for them and I am in the middle. In my family I try to be peacemaker and sometimes the person in the middle gets smashed. So do I understand? A resounding YES! What is it we have missed? For one thing we haven’t written the Word on our heart so we can be reminded so I will put it here for you and me both! 1Peter 5:7(New KJ) Casting all your care on Him for He cares for you! Did he say ALL my cares? Now look at it in the Message translation; 1Peter 5:6-7 So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. That’s even better! Be content with who I am, that means not to look at YOU and wish I had your life instead of mine! He will PROMOTE me at the right time! YEA! God’s strong hand is on me, wow, I am so blessed. You have to KNOW the promises in order to appropriate them, or use them for your self. Philippians 4:6-9 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. The WORD says, don’t fret or worry,instead, pray! Then put GOOD things into your mind. Why dwell on something that is over and done with that you cannot do one thing to change? The point is this: You are worried, overwhelmed, don’t know which way to turn…Go back to the Word; Casting ALL your cares on Him, He cares for YOU! If you, like I, feel that I have held on to too much without turning them over to HIM to take care of, then read this column again and practice it! I promise you, everything will be fine, I will pray for you!