Write Plan B First

A Shelter in the Time of Storm by Pamela Mytroen

 A Shelter in the Time of Storm 

My phone vibrated in my pocket and whoop, whooped. "Tornado Watch. Funnel Clouds are in the area and could develop into tornadoes. Stay alert and take cover as danger escalates." I swivelled my shopping cart back to the entry of the store and parked it. Bursting out into the open area of the mall I searched for my husband. Where would we go? Where could we take cover? We were in a mall in Branson, Missouri and there was no basement. I paced back and forth in the corridor looking for him, going over my options. We could go down into the theatre, I reasoned, since it was a few steps below ground level, but still not far enough below ground to be protected from a tornado.

Finally I spotted my husband in a store across the way and I zoomed over to him. He chatted with a salesman. They had their backs to a huge window. Wind whipped the trees into arches that touched the ground, but they seemed oblivious to it all. I tugged on my husband's coat sleeve and mentioned the tornado warning that had blared through my phone. The salesman chuckled. "Oh we don't pay much attention to those warnings. They are non-stop at this time of year."

I looked at the trees bending beneath the fury of the wind, and then I glanced across to the store I had just stormed out of. People chatted, picked up merchandise, set it down, and strolled around like they were enjoying a walk in the park, even though their phones were also spewing warnings like popping corn in a theatre.

"But where would we go if there was a tornado?" I ventured, always the cautious one.

"Well, we would just crouch down, I suppose," he said in his slow drawl. He returned to his sales pitch.

I relaxed a little, seeing everybody go about their business like they were at the fair. But the next day we learned of several tornadoes, one that had left fatalities in its wake and of another one close by that had devastated a city.

It's true that when you live in Tornado Ally, you don't heed the warnings until it's too late. They are too common, too everyday to stop and take notice. On one hand people do not pay attention to warnings of imminent danger, and on the other hand, I seem to create imaginary situations to worry about as I think about my family, my job, and my health.  My pendulum swings to the worry extreme while other's pendulums swing to the careless and carefree side. While some people die of a tornado by not heeding the dire warnings, I might die of high blood pressure by worrying about situations that are barely a fist-sized cloud in the sky.  


The stress from my job and family situations had been building like black angry clouds, and swirling into tornadoes of anxiety. After much prayer, the Lord showed me that I was trying to meet everyone's expectations, which was impossible. He showed me that I needed a new mind-set. He whispered that it was okay to fail, to do my best and to stop striving. While I still tend to shoulder people's troubles, I'm learning to push my computer chair away from the desk, and take a break from the never-ending lesson planning. I'm learning to stop thinking about what could happen to my job with a new manager coming on board; I am learning to let go of the sky-high expectations my students place on me; I'm learning to fail and accept that I can't be perfect and I can't please everyone. I'm learning to stop worrying about my family, and their health, and be thankful instead. Switching one set of thoughts for another takes  self-discipline. I am amazed at the freedom and the space in my mind that was once taken up by stress and anxiety.

My daughter texted me as I was writing my blog and said that her two-year old dropped a can of Pepsi on his bare foot. She thinks his toe might be broken. Off she goes with her children into town on unplowed gravel roads while the snow is coming down. I could worry but I'm letting it go. I can't take on the burden. Instead, I find myself saying, "Thank you Lord for my daughter being a good mother. Thank you for doctors being available and for the wisdom they have. Thank you for watching over them."

As much as it takes concentration and hard work as I pour myself into my jobs and ministries, I find it takes far more focus and strength to shut down my OCD brain, to back away, take a break, call my friends, take time for coffee, and to intentionally focus on beautiful and praise-worthy things.

So today, in the midst of storms because there is always a storm brewing somewhere, I choose to be thankful. To be balanced. To hunker down and "take cover" when need be  - whether my grandson's toe is throbbing or my job is in jeopardy - and then to continue on my way, with His peace and joy. He is my shelter in the time of storm.


"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind," Romans 12:2b.

Pamela Mytroen

   

Letting Go and Giving Thanks by Karma Pratt

Giving thanks in all circumstances is not something that has come naturally to me. As I've grown as a Christ follower, I've slowly let go of old feelings and beliefs. I've experienced a softening around the edges, and allowed God's grace to sink deep into my bones, transforming me from the inside out. This process of becoming has turned thanksgiving  into a permanent fixture rather than an optional "when I feel like it" approach to life.

Part of God's work in my life has been to guide me in letting go of my need to control outcomes. This has helped tremendously when it comes to giving thanks in all circumstance. I have become a "recovering know-it-all", as Sarah Bessey writes in her book Out of Sorts. In the past I always felt I knew the best way in every circumstance; it was my way after all! Believing that I was in control, and succumbing to stress and anxiety whenever things weren't going according to plan - these were some of my go-to beliefs that got me through my days. Those days seemed more like nightmares at times!

Having children effectively cured me from my know-it-all-ness. No longer could I be certain of anything in life. My tiny humans set their own schedules from the beginning, and, when my expectations and their needs collided, their best interests always took precedence over mine.

God is so good! He knew exactly what motivation I needed to look past myself and grow a heart that desires to put others' needs before my own. In serving others, I am ultimately serving God. He started with lessons learned through family relationships, and has continued to expand and refine my heart to help and serve in other ways. He paved the way so I could see the blessings even when things weren't going "my way". In the words of singer/songwriter, David Bracken, he "scaled me down".

My touchstone Scripture verse is:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.
~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust and thanksgiving go hand in hand. The more we trust God with every part of our lives, the more freely we offer our thanks with joy.

Truth exemplified: I do most of my writing in the evening after the kids are in bed. I value my creative down time, and do my best to protect it from interruptions. Last night, however, I was interrupted by a sick child with a sore throat. He needed comfort and cuddles more than I needed to stay connected to my computer.

So, I let go of my plan, washed it away along with everything else in the day, secure in the knowledge that God had me exactly where He wanted me in that moment. I gave thanks for the opportunity to provide the comfort and reassurance my son needed, and trusted that the writing would happen as it was meant to. Learning to let go has been one of the greatest gifts God has given me. It's one of the ways He's helping shape my life as a writer. It's my prayer that we may all learn to let go, and become truth bearers, not for our benefit, but for the benefit and glory of God.

What have you had to let go of in your writing journey?