46. Is It Just Me?

The next block in the Bible Sampler quilt:

Forest Paths quilt block

Is it just me, or is the world really going off the deep end? I picked up my iPad just now to start writing, and this clickbait flashed on my screen: Apple News: “Why wealthy parents are giving up custody of their kids” I don’t even want to know.

The news networks present a world in turmoil. I hereby declare this blog a politics-free zone, so that lid stays on that can of worms. But social media aside, just being alive has its calamities. I’ve had my own personal experience with cancer, and with a school shooting. My beloved, faithful dog was bitten by a rattlesnake just last week. Emma made a full recovery, I’m happy to say. Life is messy.

The simple act of reading the Bible has had a surprisingly calming effect on me. Before taking this “challenge” on, my thoughts were more preoccupied with the craziness I saw happening and reading about in the news. I was disturbed by others’ poor decision-making, and troubled by the suffering that followed. I can’t explain how reading the Bible balances me out, it just does. Especially the book of Psalms.

David was a man after God’s own heart, yet when we read his writings, it’s obvious that he wasn’t “rejoicing in the Lord always”. Instead, he was all over the map emotionally. His verses swing from highs to lows, then back again. What a relief. I don’t need to get myself pumped up in order to enjoy a relationship with our Creator. God made us in His image, with a full range of emotions after all. He purposely included fear, anger, and sadness, along with happiness, in His creation. He can handle any mood we bring. Maybe David was the apple of God’s eye because of this authenticity.

The quilt block goes with this phrase, “. . .For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills”. The world and its fullness are His. God needs nothing from us in order to keep His plans moving forward. He wants us to join Him in His plans, so that we can benefit. So I’m not advocating cultural apathy. I engage in the culture wars where I am able. It’s like the old Shake and Bake commercials. God is in charge of the outcome, and He lets me take some credit just like that proud kid who says, “and I helped!”