A World of Chaos

Every morning I wake up to a world of chaos. My chaos is different than yours and the way I deal with it is different as well.

This morning my chaos was started in the form of a little while dog that really wanted to be released from her kennel. It meant choosing to get out of bed to go and open hers. Once she was “released” the excitement doubled. Charlie loves this time every morning because she gets to get her favorite toy to then jump on our bed to say good morning. This routine has been in play since we adopted Charlie, but the versions of her excitement change often. It is a crazy but wonderful way to start the day.

What would happen though if Charlie were a human? Would I have as much patience with her and would I think it was such a wonderful way to start each day? Obviously a human wouldn’t be let “free” from their kennel, but what if all the other aspects were true? I find I give the animals in my home more grace than I do the people in my life. That is an awfully sad thing to say, but I reason it with my animals don’t know any better while people should.

My children this morning decided to have an argument about dirty dishes that were supposed to be clean. My eldest loves to school my youngest in the importance of doing things right the first time (probably due to all the times I had to teach her the importance). The problem is she will start to get herself worked up about it while my youngest has an attitude of indifference. He really could care less if something isn’t perfectly clean, in his mind he got the job done, so move on. As the “conversation” gets heated, I feel the temperature rise with my patience. It ends with two people annoyed and one young man knowing he should care, but can say he probably doesn’t. The chaos of this morning, if I chose to allow it to could paint the picture for the rest of my day. It takes an active decision to let it go for this moment of chaos to not bother further.

1Corinthians 13: 4-7 is why we should chose in a world of chaos to be a steady “eb and flo” kind of person. It is not a choice that is easy, but when chaos is going on all around what is the point in added to the fire. People who are in the midst of chaos are looking for a solid stronghold to cling to. Christ should be their answer, but sometimes it takes a person who is trying to learn and be like Christ that they see first. That person can then lead them to Christ and the stronghold that He is. Christ is love and He shows us what to do in the midst of confusion and turmoil:

Love suffers long and is KIND; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the TRUTH; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1Corinthians 13: 4-7 We are not Christ thankfully, and so all we can strive to be is like Christ. People just know that in the calm of the storms they are searching and grabbing for something, anything that is calm. We see this in social media, we see it when people don’t want to leave their homes because the world says it’s not safe to. Christ walked into may situations in which chaos ruled, fear abounded and life was not ok. Wherever He went though people could feel the peace and love that exuded from Him. He didn’t get caught up in the latest conflicts, instead He stayed true to who He was which was love. Shouldn’t we follow in His footsteps? Until next time:

And still, after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, “You owe me”.

Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky

Hafiz

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