Listening to the harsh winds blow as I write this, I am reminded of the
struggle it is to stay centered, to maintain inner sholom, to feel His
presence. . .

We all have those times when life seems easy, well at least things are going
pretty well. But sometimes more often, if we don’t work to see past the
difficulties, we can succumb to the harder times – money issues, car
trouble, relationship challenges, health scares, troubling national or world
events that make absolutely no sense. . .

Just as the wind is rattling the eaves and I am so grateful to be inside
cozy and warm, so too life can thrash around us and thrash us around if we
don’t stay firm in our relationship with our Abba through Yeshua. My home
doesn’t move because it is on a strong foundation. So too the deeply rooted
trees in the yard, the rock ledge. Just as these, if we are strongly
grounded in His love, His Word, His strength, His awesomeness, our troubles
tumble off of us helping us to regain our centeredness.

When we are in a season of challenges, it’s not easy to do what I just
suggested. We are often in our heads, our thoughts defining our reality
which can create whole scripts of negativity if we’re not careful. It’s as
if our vulnerability allows the evil one to get the upper hand, causing each
small setback to build on the one before, creating a sense of
disequilibrium, feelings of anxiety and fear of what will happen next. How
will I be able to pay that? Why is he so mean to me? ISIS. . .

Life is chaotic, but we can be reminded to take a deep breath and focus on
our Abba. Pray, individually and with others. We can close our eyes and
praise Him for all that is good that He gives, remember that this time of
discontent and discord will pass. We can help the process by focusing on the
beauty of His created world. Even during the harshest of weather, windows
allow us a peak at His perfection. We can listen to beautiful music, smell
amazing fragrances, focus on giving to others, love, be kind. By focussing
on Him, on nature, on beauty, on others and not on ourselves during these
times, we can respond positively to the inevitable difficulties in our
lives.

The winds will blow, but as we are rooted deeply in Him, we can bring forth
arms to love rather than to flail or to shield ourselves from perceived or
even real attacks. To do so when challenged demonstrates the deepest
foundation of our Abba’s teaching to us of the power of love.  Giving love
and being able to feel loved, especially when experiencing life’s exigencies
or when drawn into our own or others’ negative thinking, demonstrates our
strongest connection to Him. We reinforce this commitment in our prayers to
Him, praise and worship, and in turn He pours His love on us unconditionally
to remind us of His presence. As we live in that space, even the hardships
are seen differently, less all consuming, and sometimes we can even see a
bit of good there somewhere, if not right away, eventually.

The winds may blow, but may you have a week of shalom, fruit from the tree
of our Abba’s love.

Shabbat shalom.