One, two, three, breeeaaaatthhhe

Ok, I've had a little time to calm down now, and the counsel of a great local on-air personality and another really good friend. Thanks Jamie Allman on 97.1 Talk FM in St. Louis for helping me to see that my attitude is not the legacy I want to pass on to my kids, and for sharing some really positive points that I hadn't even thought about.

My dear friend and sister-in-Christ, Stephanie helped to tilt my world more toward center when she emailed a photo of her cuddly puffball of a dog, Chloe. How can anyone stay mad at the world when you see a face like that? She also called and gave me some wonderful and Godly insights. Praise God for good friends and spiritual mentors. Thank you, Steph!

As I read through my earlier rants, I realize that they were born out of anger, and that I should have stopped and counted to ten (or maybe ten thousand) before I put my thoughts into print. While I still believe in the essence of what I wrote, I know now that I should probably have said it a bit differently. The words and the context really don't reflect my faith and are not the kind of legacy I want to pass on to my children. If I offended anyone, I apologize. Rants are rants, and should probably be left in my head most of the time.

So here I sit on an absolutely gorgeous fall day as the trees cling desperately to their leaves as the breeze does its best to tear them down. As beautiful as they are, those leaves have to be surrendered in order for new growth to take place. Kind of an analogy on our lives, isn't it? When we hang onto the things of this world, no matter how lovely they are, we fail to let God work in our lives. Sometimes He has to sweep away the good stuff with the bad stuff in order to reveal the nature of His wonderful plan.

Today I am thankful for one last beautiful day before winter sets in, for my job that allows me to sit here by this window and enjoy it, and for new beginnings, no matter how painful they sometimes are.

May God bless your day.