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If you know me at all, you will know that toddlers are my favorite people. I would choose a toddler over an adult any day. Toddlers teach me lessons and provoke thoughts I may have missed if I were not in their company. And 3YO Eliza teaches me plenty …

In spending time at our house each week, she loves to go play in our bedroom at night. With a small flashlight, we make our way to our bed, she turns on her flashlight, and we make shadows on the ceiling. We raise our legs and shake them around, form animals, and with our shadows – we make up stories.

The other night, after much laughter, she asked me if various other shadows on the wall were scary. I explained they were not as they were the lamp, the furniture or something else in the room.

She quietly began to sing:

“When you get scared that you want to roar …
Take a deep breath and count to four …
1, 2, 3, 4.”

(from the PBS program, Daniel Tiger)

Sure she changed the word “mad”, from the original song, to scared. However, it still made perfect sense. I soon realized she truly was not scared but wanting to play act and sing her song.

The day had been an overwhelming one to me as I watched world events unfold. As believers we are called to grieve for those experiencing suffering, loss, injustice, and death.

The sad estate of our world had me down on my knees and praying, more like begging if I am honest, for the Lord to be merciful. We so need Jesus as He is our only answer.

For years, I have had a calendar with throw away pages – I get a new one each year as a Christmas gift. Each page has a photo and a Scripture. I can’t even explain what these calendars have meant to me, each and every year. They always speak just what I need. My Bibles are filled with various pages from different years, each one delivering a message to my heart exactly when it was needed.

In the midst of my tears for our world, as I was washing dishes, I read the verse –

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

And the tears flowed again with the realization of how deeply we need to hold onto the Lord in these days we are living. He has overcome. In Him alone, we will find our peace. Yes, even in the midst of the chaos.

Jesus told His disciples then, and us now, we will have tribulation in this world. Days of unparalleled sadness, grief, or loss. Each generation would (and will) experience these days, for the enemy of our souls is always at work here on earth.

But we also have this hope …

The hope of peace, because Jesus is with us always. We can experience peace even when surrounded by evil in this world.

His peace filling our inner being will remain tranquil in the midst of upheaval and uncertainties. This peace will be brought about in our lives by the working of the Holy Spirit. By God’s mercy and grace, He reminds us to grab hold of His promise and remember that He has overcome this world.

Eliza and Daniel Tiger brought a powerful lesson this week …

“When you get scared that you want to roar …
Take a deep breath and count to four …
1, 2, 3, 4.”

Yes, take a deep breath, count to four, and remember His great and precious promises to us.

We are in the world – but we are in Christ.
We will have tribulation in this world – but we will overcome through Christ.

 



We often receive the encouragement to tell our stories, and surely, we all have stories which should be shared. In her post, A Time to Be Quiet, Leslie Crawford brings wisdom in reminding us to recognize that not every story is ours to tell. Read her post in full HERE.

 

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(Photo of my calendar)
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