I stood on the deck overlooking Table Rock Lake as a pontoon boat motored by.
It revved and choked and whirred and roared and the lake started dancing! The waters lapped onto the shore and wave after wave swayed the dock so it rattled and squeaked.
As the water stirred, I listened and wondered how long it would last.
As I did, I thought how much I wished I could run down, sit on the edge of the dock, and feel the whirling waters tickle my ankles.
A few years ago, I sat—did I say “sat?”—I meant, I was stuck in front of a little girl and her daddy on an airplane. We’d been glued to the tarmac for 45 minutes when we were told for the fourth time that we were delayed again. Ugh.
I blew out a frustrated breath and fumed about everything that was wrong with this airline. I just knew that the past 45 minutes would turn into another 45 minutes and then into four hours and five hours and then … deep breath … I’d miss my connection, be stuck in Chicago and, well, that’s enough. You get the idea. I was not a happy woman.
What would happen if you just got still? Would the world as you know it fall apart? Would you?
Sometimes we stay busy to outrun our fear of failure or keep us distracted from thinking. Sometimes, when we are overwhelmed by sorrow or stress, we just long to fix something, clean something … you know, do something!
Do you ever choose a word for the year? I do! I pick one so I can take the whole year to learn it, live it, receive it, and understand it!
So, what was my word for this year?
Happy.
Not long after I picked that word, though, I broke my finger and my hero dad passed away. Those aren’t exactly ingredients for happiness, huh?
A broken finger was a painful annoyance, but losing my dad broke my heart. Even so, in the midst of it all, I am still learning what it means to be happy.
Before I lost my hero dad, I had no idea grief would make me feel fatigued and hollow. There were many days I thought, “I can’t do this” or “I can’t face this.”
And then, I thought about my mom.
The strength I see in my mom is beyond what I imagine possible. Dad was her best friend. For 55 years, they did life and ministry together. Now, she is alone.
