We have had two beautiful, mostly sunny days in Edinburgh since being back, and I have to say it is just what we need to get acquainted with our new "home". Today, before setting out to have lunch and a walk in the Princes Street Gardens, I sat at one of my new favorite cozy coffee shops, drank my Earl Grey tea, and watched Micah sleep. The one word that kept coming to my mind as I savored the peaceful moment was contentment. I have been told numerous "you can learn a lot from your children". I just wasn't aware that it would start when they were four months old! She has been dragged across the Atlantic ocean three times, taken all over Tennessee, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and she manages to do it all through naps, laughs, occasional cries, playtime and feedings.
I know she hasn't had a choice in the matter, but she has been one consistent blessing to Kirk and me through the many transitions we have encountered. This is not my attempt at bragging about my baby, though she is pretty amazing :) - It is simply a realization that she can go with the flow of the day, without a set routine (yet), and she is getting what she needs in the midst of it all. Whoa! That can preach! To all of us moms (or anyone else, really) who find it hard to "go with the flow" because of a need to maintain control, take courage (or comfort, or whatever) in this thought- Our Father is pretty good at giving us what we need. I do not aim to talk as though I am a preschool Sunday School teacher who is patting kiddos on the back and cheering them on. I truly believe that He is watching out for His kids, and that He is here-with us-to bring peace through uncertainty, change, heartache, loneliness, health issues... all of it. He's here and He is much better at taking care of our colorful, though often messy, lives than we are. My favorite passage touches on this very thing:
Psalm 91 (taken from Bible Gateway)
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
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| View of "Old Town" from Princes Street Gardens |
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| Another view from the gardens. Edinburgh Castle is in the background. |
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| Bundled up and loving the day! |
Thanks for the teachable moment, MG! May His peace keep us all steady, hopeful, and in "go with the flow" mode. And when we forget to let Him do it, may we take a huge grace bath and keep on goin'!
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