From now on, our troubles will be miles away…
I have to admit I sang those lyrics this week and said a prayer, “Please, Lord, let it be soon.”
It has been a tough week. I’m not asking for much, just a little peace.
If I could describe my week, I would say that I know what it feels like to live inside a snow globe and have people picking it up and shaking it … over and over.
Here I am, trying to do my best to have a Merry Christmas while people and aggravating stuff are shaking my snow globe with issue after issue.
If you think home ownership is fun, try home sellership. I hope you read that with every bit of sarcasm with which I wrote it. Shake that snow globe!
Photo provided by Janet Hart Leonard
I ran into T. J. Maxx this week to find the perfect gift for my granddaughter. Happy Day! I found it. I got up to the checkout, and lo and behold, there were 15 people in line with not just one or two items but a full cartload. I left without the perfect gift. I can only hope that it will be there when I go back. Shake that snow globe!
I went to a big new store for the first time to purchase a couple of gifts. I patiently(?) stood in line only to find out they do not take credit cards unless it is theirs. I used my debit card, but I had forgotten it had been canceled because it was “compromised” when I was paying $1 to watch my 12-year-old grandson, Aiden, play in the Nationals Football Championship game in Florida. Nothing says “Merry Christmas,” like a fraud alert from the bank. I left my items and also left with my embarrassment. Shake that snow globe! Being THAT lady who holds up the line for impatient shoppers, I wanted to shout, “I have money but no PIN!” On the way home, I might have told the Grinch to get out of the car!
Later that same day, Chuck and I headed to Newfields to see his son perform with Rockapella and see the Christmas lights. We left the house early because we knew traffic would be bad. We had no idea it would be “let’s wear even more on Janet’s frayed nerves” bad. Let me say we saw more red brake lights than Christmas lights. Do you know what you can do with that snow globe … shake it!
I can usually hold myself together, but finally, I had a come-apart this week. Chuck put his arms around me and reassured me that soon, my troubles would be miles away. I told him I just wanted people and stuff to leave my snow globe alone. I was exhausted from it being shaken.
I wasn’t asking for peace on earth, just peace in my life. Is that too much to ask for?
If you think God doesn’t have a sense of humor … stay with me on this.
Before writing this column on Friday morning, I began reading the Psalms, and the first verse I read was Psalm 16:8. “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” I hope it’s not sacrilegious to start laughing while reading the scriptures, but seriously, God’s timing could not have been more perfect.
I could imagine God standing beside me in the big new store and telling me, “Janet, your troubles will not shake you forever. The bank will provide you with a new debit card with a PIN, and I will provide you with peace … amid your unsettled circumstances.”
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of my circumstances. I can see the snowflakes beginning to settle. I can see a SOLD sign in my future. I can see the Grinch packing his bag of issues and leaving me alone.
And guess what! My new debit card just came in the mail. Now, to add my PIN.
As I write the ending of this week’s column, I am listening to Emily P Freeman’s Quiet Collection App on my phone. She begins reading today’s scripture … Psalm 16. See the above scripture. I can’t make these coincidences up.
And with that, I finish my writing and take a picture of my favorite snow globe. See the snow all settled on the ground. That tells me that soon, all my troubles will be miles away. And yes, I’ve found my Christmas peace. I found it in Psalm 16.
Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.