Ever feel like your world is swirling?

Now, I’m not talking about any huge, dire piece of news that alters the course of your life as you know it; not tragedy, sickness, calamity or such.

I’m just talking swirling.

Fires to put out; people to call; decisions to make; responsibilities to tend to.

A too-full plate that includes screaming items beckoning for attention; awaiting a decision.

~ Do we send our 12 year old to his beloved church camp tomorrow although he is still dealing with a lingering cough, due not to anything contagious, but to minor lung damage? Will the doc give him another round with an inhaler? Will it help? And will we even be able to get in for an appointment on a Monday after half of Lansing waited all weekend to “call the doctor in the morning”?

~What do we do about replacing our now totaled 1999 Buick? Our daughter Kenna was in an accident in Charlotte, NC early last week. All people are fine. Two cars are not. Her ‘other mothers’ (my Proverbs 31 sisters) have stepped in to offer a shoulder and direction at the scene; serious lovin’ and even a temporary loaner.

~What do we do about our other two cars here at home, on their last legs…er….um…tires? Both were made in the last century (literally!) and have over 200,000 miles each.

~School starts in 4 weeks for us. I’m teaching speech and creative writing at my kid’s junior and senior high co-op. Might be nice if I got my lesson plans together, eh?

~Other swirlings this week:  a devotion to write; an article due; flower bed to weed; a house to clean; stray garage sale items to donate; a mom needing a ride to the car repair shop….

On and on it goes.

So I’m trusting in God to bring calm to my chaos. I’m straining to hear his quiet voice in the rant and the ruckus.

Things could be so much worse, I know. But sometimes you can’t see past your own life’s swirlings.

My mama always said when you were down in the dumps, remember there is always someone who is even further down.

(Although I used to wonder who was at the base of the “downed dump” pile. Wouldn’t they be at the bottom? Or was it a rotating pile and the guy that hit the bottom was only there long enough to spot someone further down? Oh the wanderings of my grade-school mind! No wonder my teachers said I  “thought”  too much!)

Anyway, today I will peel my eyes off of my self. I will find another soul who is in need of some cheer.

I’ll idle my crazy day for just a moment to bring her a smile.

And maybe that way, I’ll find calm in my chaos.

It is true the only calm is in the eye of the storm.

How about you?