day 152: just what I needed

This week had been a downer for me.

Lots of reasons, no need to hash them out right now.

I was just feeling stuck in a rut.

And then I went to bed last night, pulling myself away from the there's-a-tragedy-on-tv-and-my-eyes-are-glued-to-the-screen syndrome, watching the events at the Indiana State Fair unfold. Just a few miles away from there, the heart-wrenching stories of injuries, reports of lives lost and scared faces made my heart ache even more.

This morning, when we all roused out of bed to get ready for church, the girls flipped the tv on, longing for some cartoons, but the local news channel was what came up. Still playing that same video, telling the same story, giving recent updates. I told the girls about what had happened, how sad and scary it was.

McKinley, my eternal optimist, said, "Well, Mom, it's really not all that sad."

When I asked her what she meant, she explained, "Cause Mom, it's a good day if those people knew God cause they got to finally go and meet Him."

Why do we as humans always have to look at this world with such a negative lens in place? Why can't I be always exchanging that lens for the positive one, where I think and say things like that?

An hour or so later, after a much-needed hug from someone and friends who saved me a seat in church, the band began to play a song that has been quietly playing away in my heart ever since I first heard it. One that's simple yet powerful, quiet yet quite loud to my soul.

Minutes after our car tires were parked on our garage floor back at home, the phone rang as I so desperately hoped it would. Because I so desperately needed to hear that voice. And he may not have realized it, but he spoke words to me that I so desperately needed to hear, words that would set this week apart from being stuck in a rut anymore. (I love that man.)