Page 290 began with the usual early morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep tasks.  As I went about my morning work, I found myself praying about communication styles and how they influence the manner in which we relate to God.  The sky was filled with stars when I left the house early this morning, but the moon didn’t rise until sometime while I was going about my early tasks.  Today was an interesting day on the solar and lunar schedules as the moon rose in the eastern horizon about an hour before the sunrise and set in the west about an hour before the sunset.  With the new moon fast approaching, there was just a sliver of moon visible when it finally made it up over the horizon.  The moon was present in the sky overhead all day, but there wasn’t enough of it reflecting the light of the sun for it to actually be visible in the bright daylight.  As I took the trash out, it was an interesting sunrise as there was more color in the sky to the south and west than there was to the east.  Today’s photo was taken at sunrise this morning looking to the south and a little west.  Not only did the sky light up with color, but the trees are finally starting to show some of the color change of fall as well.

As I went about my early morning tasks, a poem showed up in my mind again today.  As I look back over the past few years, it seems like these flare-ups of the PTSD symptoms I’ve been diagnosed with, probably along with the seasonal effects of SAD, somehow crack open a wall to the poem storage in my mind as it is when I am dealing with these symptoms that most of my poems have shown up.  While not pleasant to live with, it is good to know that God doesn’t waste anything as I’ve watched Him use some of these poems in incredible ways.  If you follow my blog writing, you’ve probably already seen the poem, “Just a Moment“, that I posted earlier today.

As I worked on some prayer ministry correspondence, I got word of some maintenance issues that needed taken care of.  After evaluating the situation, I put on my plumbers hat and went to work taking care of a couple water issues.  Most days I have an idea of what I hope to accomplish, but many of them include a surprise or two that is just part of the nature of my job.  When the surprises come, I can either address them cheerfully knowing they are a part of my work, or I can become irritated that my plans are being disrupted.  It is kind of that way in our spiritual life, right?  Or is it just mine?  We have a plan or idea of how things should go but as much as we want it to be, it isn’t always identical to God’s plan.  When God “surprises” us with something that is a disruption to our plans, do we do His work cheerfully as we ought to or do we become irritated that something got in the way of what we wanted?

By mid-afternoon my mind was fading fast and it was time to call it a day.  I stopped for a late lunch on the way home then took my meds and a nap to finish out the afternoon.  There are issues that I feel I ought to write about, but with little clarity of mind and no clear direction from God to do so, I think it is best to leave those topics until He makes it clear there is something He wants me to say.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Not everyone communicates most effectively in the same manner.
• It’s one thing for me to understand my preferred means of communication.  It is a different, and better, thing for me to work at understanding the preferred communication styles of others.
• Realizing that people communicate differently helps me to see how people relate to God differently, and then work with them to help them use their communication preferences in their conversations with God.
• I find the interaction between the sun, moon, and stars fascinating and they always leave me in awe of a wonderfully creative God.
• The sun provides light, but the varying degrees of moisture and density of the clouds turn the light into the beautiful colors of a sunrise or sunset.
• God provides His light within us, but it is the personal characteristics of each of us that turn His light in us into a beautiful tapestry of humanity.
• Sometimes the things which cause discomfort or pain in our lives are the things God wants to use to minister to others through us.
• God’s plans are never disruptions no matter how much they may feel like it.  His plans ought to be the purpose of our life.
• When my plans become more important than God’s re-directions, I am headed for trouble.
• Sometimes emotions lead us down paths that aren’t ours to take.  It is always best to walk the paths God leads us on rather than the ones our fear or anger direct us to.