Wisdom in the Glovebox

I have a little devotional book called Jesus Calling. It's small, it fits easily in the glove compartment of my car, which is where I keep it. I'm terrible about Bible study or daily devotional (working on it), but I can handle the two minutes it takes to read a pocket-sized bit of wisdom.

And because God is awesome like that, often what comes up on each morning's reading is exactly what I need to hear. Because sometimes God has to smack me upside the head with some obvious before I get it.

Lately I've been a wee bit stressed at work. We have a brand new curriculum, a brand new report card, and we're all working a mile a minute just to figure out what is going on. I'm living day to day, and for someone who revels in calendars and plans and lists, this is not my happy place. I can't see the road in front of me, I just know I'm on a barreling train and there's no getting off anytime soon. It's daunting. I thought nothing could be more stressful than last year, but I was apparently wrong.

I've been fantasizing about what it must be like to have a different job. One where lunch breaks last an hour (not 20 frantic minutes), where it's no big deal to pop out to run errands or squeeze in a doctor's appointment, where I'm not waking up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off (at an already-ungodly hour of the morning) already stressing about the day. A job where work stays at work while I can come home and devote myself to being the best mom and wife and human I can be. Waah waah,  you get the point.

And then I read this:

Sunrise over the school. My kairos moment.

Rejoice in Me always! No matter what is going on, you can rejoice in your Love-relationship with Me. This is the secret of being content in all circumstances. So many people dream of the day when they will finally be happy: when they are out of debt, when their children are out of trouble, when they have more leisure time, and so on. While they daydream, their moments are trickling into the ground like precious balm spilling wastefully from overturned bottles.

Fantasizing about future happiness will never bring fulfillment, because fantasy is unreality. Even though I am invisible, I am far more Real than the world you see around you. My reality is eternal and unchanging. Bring your moments to Me, and I will fill them with vibrant Joy. Now is the time to rejoice in My Presence!

Philippians 4:4, 12; Psalm 102:27 

So there I have it. Man, this is a tough one to walk in. It is so hard to live in the moment, the kairos time. It's hard to remember that at the end of the day, only one thing is Real, that the rest of this nonsense happening around us really doesn't matter. Because I'm down here in the fray. And things look complicated and overrun and scary. I gotta be honest, I haven't been getting a lot of that vibrant Joy lately. And I don't really know the secret to slowing down, giving it up to the Guy in Charge, stepping out in faith, being present for the kairos. But I'll try. I can at least do that. However imperfectly.

Excerpt from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young