Dear Reader:

I must confess that I am a closet worrier who can go “willy nilly” on you in a skinny minute. I am all over the place in my visualization about a problem.

Sadly….one drawback to imaginative people is that we can use this wonderful attribute in quite a detrimental way… when we let our imagination embellish problems beyond common sense and reasoning. Being creative means we have the ability to create more  (What if?) scenarios that border on the ridiculous.

Personal case-in-point: While on our Ya retreat (last week) I told the girls since I didn’t have any big plans for this summer I had made a personal financial promise to myself to pay off the balance on one credit card that had gotten too high, start paying off my equity line and have a good start (by the end of the summer) of being back on the “black tar” road and no longer on the “red” clay one.

I knew I had a plumber scheduled to come yesterday and I had already worked myself into a “What If” frenzy. There was a plumbing problem on both sides ….one in each bathroom. Sunday night I tossed and turned wondering if either or both of these problems could spell disaster. Plumbing problems, from personal experience, seem to invariably plummet into more costly fixes than originally thought. (like renovations)

But that wasn’t what was keeping me up….I arrived home to a “dead” air conditioning unit on my side. Ouch! I was worried about the B&B side air conditioning unit since it was a lot older getting through the summer, but instead my newer one proved to be the culprit. It was so hot…. and all I could imagine was the heat/air repairman telling me I needed a new unit.

So when the sun peeked into my bedroom Monday morning I was awake and exhausted. I called a heating/air company I used before but it would be Wednesday before they could come. Half an hour earlier than expected….the plumber, who my yard man Ernie, had recommended showed up.

I apologized to him for having to work in the heat on my side….and he asked me what was wrong. I told him the fan wasn’t turning on the unit and it wasn’t cooling. “Well then, he said, “we need to fix that first don’t we?”

Puzzled, I stared at him….”Aren’t you the plumber?”

“Yes“ he replied, ” As well as a certified contractor in HVAC….electrical and plumbing.”

“All I could do was nod as he went to his truck to get the right tools. None of the plumbing problems were “serious” and the air conditioning unit just needed a new starter for the fan and a couple of other small replacements.

What a God Wink! I needed a plumber and a HVAC contractor/repairman and I got both in one. I am very cool as I am typing my blog and have no drips or pressure problems any more with my water and faucets.

All that worrying for naught! When will I ever learn….I must be the slowest spiritual student around….maybe that is why God is holding me back for some more renewal lessons. I get so far and then slide backwards!

Harriet Lerner once quoted:   “Anxiety is extremely contagious, but so is calm.”

What I have learned through my garden and back yard is that stillness and calm go hand in hand. In order to calm down we must get rid of all the mental clutter and find a clearing.

The title photo is now one of my favorite places to go….mainly because it is on the edge of the woods behind my house and thus shady. I can go there, listen to the birds, the fountain, feel the breeze and know God is there.

“Stillness is not about focusing on nothingness; it is about creating a clearing. It’s opening up an emotionally clutter-free space and allowing ourselves to feel and think and dream and question.” (Brene Brown, PHD)

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So until tomorrow…Don’t give up on me, God, I may be slow in turning over my cares of the world to You but deep down inside I do believe, at the end of the road, You will be waiting for me.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Delight of the Day: Lisa (Hollow Tree Nursery) calls this maple a Swamp Maple....I just call it beautiful. I can watch it grow from my clearing in the woods.