Getting Drug Through Life Like a Dirty Blanket

I wake, plan, rush, work, nurture, help, drive, rush, drive some more, cook, clean up, visit, talk, laugh, help some more, forget a lot, plan, work, and then it's done. The day is over and as I rest my head and my soul exhales, it hits me. I did my day without Him. I thought about him, I think.  All of today's living and I did not acknowledge his presence or his majesty; I did it without trusting him for his provision.Discouragement and guilt settle into the deep places. With a grieving heart, I close my eyes. Again.Have you ever felt like your day drug you around behind it, like a child dragging her blanket? You had no say in it all and now you're just a dirty mess. It wasn't the day you wanted, but somehow it got away from you and then got a hold on you and you're waving the white flag, ready for it to be over.Where was Jesus in it all?He was waiting. He was working and doing his thing, but he was waiting. Still and quiet, he invited you to join his day, but the urgency of your day was screaming for your attention. The kids, the job, laundry and errands, drama and relationships were demanding your time. You couldn't ignore your responsibilities.Did you forget?No part of your day came as a surprise to God. In fact he ordained much of it for you and designed you perfectly for the tasks he gave you, for the children he blessed you with and the job he provided. He was not waiting for your to drop it all, forget your family and job and run away with him. He was waiting for you to join him in his version of it, to acknowledge him in it all.acknowledge: (verb) recognize the fact or importance or quality ofTrust in the Lord with all your heart and  lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  (direct your paths)  Proverbs 3:5-6Wisdom for those who wander, who are distracted and overcome by this life, whose focus has become the urgent instead of the Father. Wisdom that my soul can press into and be transformed by- if we choose.  Leaning on our own understanding drags us down crooked, unmarked paths into weariness and frustration. Yet, God is telling us that when we choose to trust and depend on his understanding and plans, when we acknowledge Him, he directs us. He makes the path clear and straight.Trust and acknowledge. Trust that his plan is the best because it comes out of his perfect love for you. Acknowledge that he is the author and perfecter of it all, the giver of every good gift and source of your strength.I know that I am a girl in need of a straight path, a day that does not drag me through the dirt.When God says that he will make our paths straight, he does not say that the path will be level because he may very well be leading us up a mountain! His Word to us does not say the path will be smooth and free of obstacles.  In fact he promises that in this world we will have trouble. As we read all of God's word, we learn that we have an enemy lurking in the darkness with plans of his own.He does say that he is good and that we are blessed when we take refuge in him.Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8How can we acknowledge him as we walk down our path that he has given us?

• Start your day in prayer, praising him for who he is and thanking him for life.
• Ask him for wisdom and direction.
• Watch for his hand in your day. He is working.  Thank him as he provides, corrects, comforts, and guides.
• Journal at the end of the day, thinking back to all that God did.
• Bring your worries and anxieties to Him, acknowledging your need for him to work in your life. Then trust him to straighten your path.

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3