The sun is shining somewhere!

This morning in my very long (3 mile) commute to work I was feeling sorry for myself. If you don't live in Michigan or the midwest you might not realize that we've been under, well grey skies for what seems like weeks now. We get the occasional sunny day followed by rain, rain, and more rain. So for the 3 mile trek into work and then the 3 mile trek back home (because I left my laptop at home today) I had a little pity party. I wondered why I have to live here, why can't Michigan be beautiful like other states, and when is the bloody sun going to come out!

Then I pulled into my driveway and noticed that my lilac tree had actual buds on it. Not just leafs but buds and these buds were still growing into something beautiful in the midst of this grey raining season. I got back into my truck and began heading back into work when DCB came on the radio singing "Glorious" and through the lyrics I was reminded that God makes everything Glorious. Everything. Not just some things in some states in some countries or even some continents. EVERYTHING!

It was at this point I was reminded of a conversation I had with one of my old VP's from Zondervan, Scott Bolinder. We were walking into work together one morning very similar to today and he said "isn't it beautiful out" which I didn't understand and kinda looked at him with a puzzled look. This is when he said "just because we don't see the sun doesn't mean it's not shining". He was right, a few weeks later I was on an early morning flight and it was cloudy and raining and I just was not looking forward to flying in that weather, but then we broke through the clouds and I saw the sunlight. It was beautiful.

It was a gentle reminder that while I can't always see God's glory right in front of me does not mean that it's not there!

A voice in the conversation

Recently I began to notice that I'm becoming more and more frustrated by the voices chiming in on my thoughts posted on FB. I try to not be a close minded person however when someone doesn't have a history or knowledge of something I would think they might listen in and hear what all the voices are saying. However this is not the case with certain people. Instead they come charging in and try to make their voice heard, they make sure it's louder than the voice next to them, and even try to sound like the authority voice of the conversation.

For the record I do post on FB and even on here as a way to vent. As a single person I'm not able to go home and share those frustrations and conversations the way most people are. That being said I know I leave myself open to having others join in and I welcome that.

But, I am not one to argue until I'm blue or argue for the sake of arguing. I believe what I believe, these beliefs are most generally based on my faith, my personal understanding, and through being educated on a topic. I will be the first to admit that I jump into conversations all too often, but in my frustration I have started to see myself. So, if I can attempt to change the way I listen and communicate maybe you can to.