Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you! Today I actually accomplished something as I made Al’s cookies and also some choc O Henry bars. We are both doing better and enjoying more soup that was left by our door! Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Sometimes our usual routine flies out the window when sickness hits and God has much to teach us as our life slows down and everything changes. When we came home from N.C. we weren’t expecting to get sick but rather to pick up where we left off.  I grocery shopped right away, paid the bills, washed clothes etc, and a day or so later started feeling not so good. That changed everything for since we live in Senior living, we are especially careful not to mix with others when we are not well. There are lessons to be learned as I’m sure so many of you have also been through the isolation times during covid, and found out new things about yourselves. I asked the Lord what was He trying to teach me and that I would to be a willing learner.

First of all, I realized I had to listen to my body, which I sometimes ignore. My body wants to get well and it is doing all it can to heal itself and I need to cooperate. That meant sometimes taking 2 or 3 naps a day as I had so little energy. It meant drinking lots more water than I ever care to drink, eating healthily. It meant also asking advice of others of what supplements to take and following their advice. In our Christian walk, it isn’t always easy going and doing whatever we feel like? It is listening carefully to His voice and finding out what He knows is best for us. It is welcoming those who He sends into our lives to help us grow.

I quickly found out that I didn’t need to accomplish so much all in one day but to slow down and enjoy what I was doing. The truth is I didn’t have energy to do more either. But I had time to smell the roses! enjoy each meal and savor each bite. We don’t have to rush through life but let each day unfold, knowing that God has a plan for us. Let us be in the present moment and enjoying His presence with us. If we have a long commute to work, even that can be a time of sharing all that is on our hearts with the Lord as we give Him our day. 
Life was certainly less distracting as I wasn’t running to my exercise class, shopping, or going to meetings. I had all this extra time to just be with the Lord in quietness. Sometimes we need those getaway times to go on retreat and just be together with the Lord. I think those with especially demanding jobs need those times even more, to dial down, and get renewed.
I also found I didn’t have to be concerned about appearances like keeping up a perfect apt and I just settled for comfy clothes (PJ’s) and a very casual hairstyle. The Lord isn’t concerned with the outward for as it says in I Samuel 16:7, “For man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”
Hopefully, I have learned new things from being sick that will carry over in my life as I am getting healthy again.
Challenge for today: What things have you learned in alone times?
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy