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More years ago than I care to remember, I walked into a cute little duplex on South Montgomery Street in Starkville, Mississippi, and perched myself on top of the world.  It was my freshman year in college, and I was on my own for the first time in my life.  I had to answer to no one, could come and go as I pleased, and the arrangement of the furniture was totally up to me, except for the porch area apparently, which was donned by my neighbor’s couch.  Eighteen years of wishing, hoping, longing for independence, and here I stood.  I was finally in charge of me!

I have a sweet friend who said, “I’m dry, and I know it. I keep asking the Lord to bring me out of this wilderness. I tell him, ‘Lord, I’m ready. I’m tired of wandering. I’m just ready to be done.’” I thought about what she said for a long time. 

Have you ever experienced a season where you feel completely overwhelmed? Just too much to juggle and not enough rest. Thoughts that race continually. Feeling like you are treading water and not getting anywhere, no matter how hard you work or how much you try. Stress and worry at every turn. No end in sight to the daily battle of just trying to keep going.

My little crew and I have visited New Orleans, Louisiana, quite a few times through the years.  There have been a couple of family trips, business adventures, and airport departures/returns. Many of those trips left us with stories to tell and memories we had rather forget.  There was that time when our family was departing a trolley from the rear exit for some fun at the Children’s Museum, and the trolley door closed on my arm which was reached out holding 4-year-old Emmett’s hand.  He was the last of the Coopers to exit.  The door closed after the rest of his family had left, leaving him stuck inside the trolley all alone without his people.  Panic rushed throughout my entire body as I gripped his little hand tightly, looked through the door at the fear in his eyes, and yelled, “I’m not letting go.”  Continue reading

Just a mere three weeks ago, we were all living an incredibly different day than we are today.  Just three weeks ago, our kids were starting their spring break, and we may have been kicking off our vacations from a fabulous destination or from our own beds as we slept late.  Some of us were not on break, so we were rising to go to work to face another week of the hustle and bustle.  We were probably all perfectly confident in our toilet paper supply, and we saw no reason to stop by every store to be sure our stash of rice and dog food were up to par.  Here we are today, though, living a much different life in a much different world with no clue what tomorrow or the next day will bring.  If we’re not extraordinarily careful, we might let that completely overtake us.