Yesterday was a very eventful day. With prayers, I took care of several pressing issues. Also had a chance to talk with a friend. We talked for almost an hour and it was a very encouraging time. After that it was about 10:45. I finished making pudding, took a shower, and made pizza before it was time to head off to Charlotte for my chiropractor appointment.
For some reason, I was extra nervous about the trip to Charlotte this time. As the day went on, it seemed like there was good reason to be nervous. We almost had an accident before we even got out of Shelby. Someone was impatient that we were going under the speed limit. He went around and cut in front of us, narrowly missing the passenger side of the car.
On the way to Charlotte, traffic was heavy. People were driving like nuts. It does help if people look before they change lanes or zoom into parking spots. While we were in Charlotte and leaving Trader Joe’s, someone apparently was hurrying into a parking spot before someone else could get it. But he (or she?) didn’t even give time for the car next to him, which had just parked, to straighten out his vehicle or for us to back up if need be. He just zoomed in between us to get the parking spot as fast as he could.
On the way back from Charlotte, people were still driving crazily. Twice Christy was about to pull into another lane and didn’t see the car there because it was in her blind spot. She did see it in time though.
Also, when we left the chiropractor, the van seemed to be having issues. The engine shook, and Christy said it was acting like it wanted to turn off. It did the same when we started it up at Trader Joe’s and again a couple of times on the way to Kings Mountain. I don’t think I was ever so glad to get to church.
By the time I got to church, I was a jittery mess. My nerves had really had it! I tried to read a book to calm them down, but I just sat there feeling like crying. At a stopping point, I put the book away. My heart was still beating fast and my head was throbbing, so I put my head in my hands, but only for a minute lest someone think something was wrong.
After putting the book away, I went and sat back down again. Behind me, Evangelist Norman Stevens was telling some stories to one of my friends. He told about some things that had happened to him. He was asking God why they had to happen that way. God reminded him, “In everything give thanks.”
I started laughing. I hadn’t asked God why things happened that way, and I was trying to calm down. However, I certainly was not giving thanks. So I took a minute to do that. How much better I felt as soon as I laughed! And more peaceful after I had given thanks for the events of the afternoon!
By the way, when we left church, the van started just fine. The engine didn’t sound really good, but it soon sounded better and gave no trouble at all the rest of the way home.
It surely does help to give thanks.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)