Oh my gracious……what a day!!!  So very unexpected!!!  I was glad for the day, because it is Friday, and this is the beginning of a 3-day weekend, (something I didn’t remember until Wednesday!)!!!  But I had to get through it, first!  If you know me, you know there have been some serious battles: one of which has to do with work ~ and I won’t go into details, but  I dread going to work these days; please keep me in Prayer. 

So, I got through this morning’s run.  And on the way back to the ‘garage,’ I was letting my mind wander, thinking about some things I would like to have happen in my life.  As I was ‘roaming,’ I thought about how I would like to relax and rest this weekend.  As I was thinking about it, a The LORD spoke and said, “do you rest or relax?”  Most of the time, I’m running here and there trying to get this and that done; some things are for other people, but I usually am literally running at high speed ‘getting things done,‘  stressing out about one thing or another.  Mind you, these stress factors are important!  I don’t worry so much about supper, or what to have for supper:  it’s more like, “how do I pay my bills after the this last bus check?,” or “where do I need to look for a summer job?”  Even then, my next thoughts are, “GOD has gotten you through all kinds of things and has provided even when there wasn’t a job, so why be so concerned?”  But I am me, and I have responsibilities.  I am also human, and these thoughts can not help but cross my mind ~ something the enemy knows as well.

So, there I am thinking about this rest and relaxation thing………no, I do not really rest or relax.  Rest comes when I finally get to bed, and fall into a deep sleep.  However, even though it is a deep sleep, it’s not really a ‘restful’ sleep.  I wake up still tired, and I haven’t done much relaxing either.  And I heard HIM say, “No, there hasn’t been any real rest and relaxation.  You stress out too much,” (which is also something my daughter tells me!), “you need to rest and relax ~ in the Arms of The LORD!”  Yeah, buddy!  That would be sooooo nice!!!  But as I thought about it, I realized, (again!), that I really do need to do that.  To quit stressin’ and let GOD handle the situations.  After all, HE knows best how to deal with the stuff, HE knows what’s going on, HE is in control, HE provides in and through all situations!  I tell others about all of this, it is time to start believing and living this for myself!

So, I go home and spend a few ‘relaxing’ minutes with my daughter, not bothering to get upset at the things that have yet to be done!  I get a phone call about going back to work early to do a run I had wanted to do.  I rush getting things ready ~ mainly getting a load of wash in, and getting some nourishment and water ready for the afternoon since I wouldn’t be coming back until after the last run.  The LORD had laid on my heart to get a card for a particular individual, and I wanted an 88 cent drink for later that afternoon on my regular run; I get in the truck and Pray, “LORD, I don’t have much time before I have to be at work.  If YOU want me to do this, please let me be able to find a card, the drink, and get in and out of the store quickly.  I made it to work with my purchases and about 5 minutes to spare!!!

During the time in the truck, I forget whether it was on the way home, or back to work, I was listening to K-Love and the DJ was talking about the winner of American Idol and the song, “GOD of This City,” which the singer has sung before.  I misunderstood part of what she said, but the message was the same.  A Christian won this award.  I gave all the Glory and Honor to The LORD, for HIS Great Works.  Then during the 1^st part of my mid-AM run, I was thinking about what I thought the DJ had said.  And as I thought about it, this, The LORD reminded me of a few more things!  How long has this show been on?  And how do the people act on it, especially the judges?  How many of the people that participate and watch this show need The LORD?  And there have been at least three, (probably more ~ I don’t watch the show, so I’m not really sure; just going by the testimonies I have heard!), people on the show this year alone, that are Christian Worship leaders / singers at Church!  And they have sung Christian songs!!!  What a Witness!!!  How great a Testimony!!!  And GOD knew and ordained the whole thing, years ago!!!  “What the enemy meant for evil, GOD has turned to good,” I thought!  How many people have left that show depressed and broken, because of the words spoken to them from the judges!  Yet GOD is the giver of Hope, Strength, and Salvation, and HE has given millions this message through the songs of those who are faithful to HIM!  There are multiples of people who would not watch a Christian station, or a television Preacher, but who would watch American Idol!!!  GOD will use what ever vessel HE can, to get HIS Work done!

That was one of those, “you know that you know that you know things” that, for me, became Faith becoming Sight!  As I thought about the Truth that had been revealed to me, tears of joy and gratitude began to fall as I began to Worship HIM and Thank HIM for all that HE has and is doing, even as I drove the bus down the roads!!!  The rest of the day was just as terrific!!!  We serve a Wonderfully Awesome GOD!!!  Most of the time, we are so busy with our lives that we do not think about what HE is doing around us.  We are to ‘caught up’ in our daily lives to see how HE is working things out around us.  Yes, it may take time for things to come about, (look how long it was before the flood came, before Moses saw the Promised Land, before JESUS was born, and even now, how long it will be before the Rapture takes place!), but GOD is Faithful, and HE has the perfect timing for all things.  Oh, how I need to remember that!!!  May we all learn to Rest and Relax in The Loving, Perfect Arms of our LORD!