The Roses Outside Our Window!

"Life wouldn’t be worth living if I worried over the future as well as the present”

(W. Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965), ‘Of Human Bondage’, 1915)

Invariably our every waking minute is plagued by anxiety and we agonize even in our dreams. Worry sometimes appears to have become synonymous with our very existence. We spend our days in a blurry rush, from one fretful thought to another. This belaboring of the point perchance is a reflection of what used to be mine own disquiet with stepping into the unknown.

I have always been a worrier, my father would say in jest that I worried because I had nothing to worry about; under the weight of this crushing load I have often envied that resilient quietude that my husband possesses. My dear mother also had the self same disposition of tranquility amid the tempest (God knows she was buffeted by many a tumultuous wave). And often I wonder why that quietness and peacefulness has so eluded me.

I must confess that the stillness of heart hasn’t eluded me, on the contrary I have hid myself from it. And in so doing I have cheated myself the joy that is indeed my portion. However there is hope for me yet and there is for you too even if you traveled long on that vessel called worry.

I read an online devotional yesterday and it was not merely inspiring but challenging as well. The passage of scripture was an account of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and the subsequent years in the wilderness. The narrative of their constant complaining irks us and we are all too quick to criticize the shortness of their memory of God’s goodness. It wasn’t long before I realized that in accusing them I am only indicting myself because I am just as guilty. God has in the past accomplished near impossible things in my life yet I look to things in the future and worry. This worry ,I know, is but grumbling in disguise. I need to believe, we need to believe that He who wrought great things in the past still has the power to bring to pass far greater things in the future.

If I stop here I won’t be sharing the lesson I learned; because there were some soul searching questions at the very end of the aforementioned online devotional that opened my eyes to a condition I hadn’t seen. Those questions, it seemed, were intended solely for me; “What were the reasons behind the Israelites' chronic lack of faith? What are the wonders God has done in my own life? Why is it that I fail to trust God despite evidence of His goodness and power?” The answer rang loud and clear, Discontentment. I never fully appreciate the goodness of God’s gift, I am forever seeking after fresher bestowal. I must clarify that I am an exponent of dreams and visions for our tomorrows; however we must understand that it is but a fine line that separates dreams and discontentment. We do have the right to dream but it is definitely not God honoring to be discontent.

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today" (Dale Carnegie).

Hope these words of wisdom will egg us on to be grateful to God for all His blessings; will encourage us to live this gift called now and here.