Around the beginning of November, I buy a few ladies magazines that have those beautiful pictures of nostalgic and romantic holidays. I look at the details, such as the table settings, the flower arrangements, and the recipes, of course, while I imagine bringing that picture to my own home.
I do the same thing with fashion magazines. I look at those slim, well-tressed women, looking off into the distance as if they expect Richard Gere to arrive any moment in his limousine. That old Pretty Woman movie still draws me into a fantasy of choosing anything I want to wear, and it would look made-for-me-perfect.
The power of imagination can steal so much time. and, time is something we can't recycle. We can't re-live, or rewind and tape over. I've had an issue with time for as long as I can remember. Am I really making the best choices with my time?
Does God really want me to sit here and daydream, or should I be cleaning the bathroom now? That kind of back and forth thinking can jab at me like a pinch.
This counter-productive second-guessing shows me how powerless I am over myself. Left to my own devices, I think most of my time would evaporate into what-ifs and should- haves.
God provides the wake-up call when I go to the kitchen where my tested-and-true, expectant recipes await the mixing and baking again, As soon as the aromas of rum cake and carrot souffle take flight, I'm already thinking ahead to tomorrow and the family, and the fun.
Thankfully I've been shaken out of my preoccupation with my "self," to get busy to serve the people I love, the ones He's given to me as my family.
Over the years, I've learned the hard way that God is in control of my life, and my time really isn't my own time. It's really God's time, and I need to ask Him how He wants me to spend it. I am cooking up gratitude today, mixed with confession and forgiveness, and hope that the Lord is the stronghold of my life, and Thanksgiving can be a daily occurance if I trust Him.
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