Consistency

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. Who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. Who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever. Who made the great lights—His love endures forever. The sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. The moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-9 (NIV)

When I describe my job to people, one of the things I always say is that every day is different. I do so many things, historic preservation, education, and research, and then, there is always the supervisory part of my job to keep things stirred up. When I arrived at work this morning (eight minutes late because I could not get out of bed after a very restless night), I looked at my calendar jam packed for the morning, but clear in the afternoon. I thought I could leave early and go home to rest.

This year’s bout with asthma and allergies is really kicking my butt. Starting about 10:00 at night, I cough non stop until 2:00 or 3:00 when I finally fall into a fitful sleep punctuated by coughing spells. Last night, I slept with a cough drop in my mouth to help, but despite it at one point coughed so much that I thought I would choke on the cough drop. I actually prayed, “God just let me choke and die now because I don’t think I can take any more.”

But, I lived only to endure a dreadful stomach ache, a side effect of the antibiotic. Really, my stomach hurt so bad today that if I had not known the cause, I would have gone straight to the emergency room. It felt like it would explode. So, my goal was to get through a few meetings and head on back home.

Yet, one thing led to another and soon, I was working through lunch and hard at another project. Before I knew it, six o’clock arrived, and I was still on the phone with a coworker.

Despite my hectic and changeable day, some things remain constant. Rounding the turn onto my street and seeing the familiar scene of my house with a deep pink sky in the background. The horses were already tucked into their stalls with their grain and hay.

The dogs were eager for me to come home and as usual, Sky stood beside my car with her dog dish in her mouth. As if I could forget to feed her! And as she always does, Lucy barreled past me into the house almost knocking me over and scattering shoes every which way.

There was laundry to wash and fold, dirty dishes in the sink, and glass to cut. I was glad for the routine to take my mind off my day. One more thing in my life remains constant, God’s love for me and His power over my life. When I am in the midst of a wild day with many decisions to make, it helps to know He’s got a plan for my good and He never changes. The same God who hung the moon and stars in the sky knows what tomorrow will bring so I don’t need to worry. And hopefully, I will sleep dreamlessly tonight after a dose of the cough syrup I bought on my way home.