Can You Say Shopping?

I still have Christmas shopping to do.  Yes I do.  I still have Christmas shopping to do.  Do you?

I hate shopping.  I mean, I really hate shopping!  I don't like grocery shopping, birthday shopping, Christmas shopping, clothes shopping, or any other kind of shopping for that matter.  Just so you know, I do like to give to others, but I'd rather do it without much shopping involved.  Browsing and looking, now I like to do that.  When I see something as I'm perusing that I just know a certain person will like, now that's fun.  It's just that pressure of having to find something for each person you have to buy for that they will like.

Yet, I'm not panicking.  Amazing, huh?  The older I get, the more laid back I get, and that truly is a good thing.  I can credit a lot of that to my hubby.  He is very laid back and helps keep me from coming unglued.  Thanks, Big Daddy!

Also, the Lord has done a great work on me in this department.  He has used my husband, as I mentioned before, as well as others to help me with this.  He has used many situations and circumstances to help me see that anxiety and uptightness are fruitless and a waste of time.  He didn't give me some great teaching or amazing revelation that just made this part of my personality mellow out.  The Lord has brought the right people in at the right time to demonstrate the "proper" way to handle some things.  They didn't preach to me.   They demonstrated by their own actions.  Many times they didn't even know they were teaching me or that I needed to be taught.  They just behaved and acted like they normally would, and I observed.

Many, many times, the Lord has used circumstances to help me see that anxiety is fruitless.  Time after time something occurred that I could do absolutely nothing about.  No amount of worrying or fretting would ease the frustration or improve the outcome.  There was absolutely nothing I could do, plan, prepare, or change that would make the situation change.  The only thing I could do was wait.  But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.

Waiting was exactly what I needed.  Waiting brought the change and the strength that I needed to help conform my personality to the Lord and His ways.  Obviously, the Lord still thinks I need a lot of change because I'm still waiting on a lot of things to unfold.  I know, however, that I can trust Him!  No matter how frustrated I get or how discouraged I become, I find that within days my faith and strength have returned.  As hard as it is, waiting has a lot to do with the woman I've become.

Scriptures for reference and study: Philippians 4:6-9; Isaiah 40:31