sometimes/always

A new blogger friend, Megan, has recently taken to writing these sometimes/always posts, and I thought it would be fun!  Feel free to steal the idea :)

Sometimes: I try and get up early to exercise/do something productive/get to work early.
Always: I snooze till I "have" to get up.

Sometimes: I want to put all my laundry away as soon as it's done.
Always: Some/all of it waits to be put away (on my chair or in the basket) until I get tired of seeing it.

Sometimes: I wish my roommate's cat would be less needy.
Always: I give in and at least let him lay next to me...

Sometimes: I forget to read my devotional in the morning.
Always: I can tell a difference in my thoughts/attitude/feelings when I do.

Sometimes: I wish I could spend a whole year traveling the world.
Always: I realize I can only handle leaving home for short spurts. I am a homebody.

Sometimes: I want to paint my fingernails.
Always: I remember how quickly they chip/how annoying that is, and opt not to.

Sometimes: I go to coffee shops and think I'm going to try something new.
Always: I order what I know I like.

in the fog

On the second flight on my way home from NY, we were about to land in L.A. when I noticed that we were flying blindly through the layer of fog.  For a moment, I felt my stomach turn with the realization that the pilots couldn't see a thing.  Of course, I quickly remembered the gadgets and gizmos with radar that keep the pilots not only flying in the right direction, but also keep them from crashing into other planes, much to my relief.

In that moment, I realized that faith is a lot like flying in the fog.  You can't see right in front of you, can't see for sure that you are headed in the right direction.  But you have tools to make sure you get to the destination promised to you.  You have God's word that you can lean on even if you can't see the next step in front of you.  You know that if He's promised something, He'll get you to that promise.  We have a choice to use the instruments God has given us to get there or we can just freak out.

I'm glad the pilots don't freak out when they fly into the clouds.  They remain calm and trust in the tools they've been given.  Could you imagine the havoc that would ensue if all of a sudden they got on the intercom and screamed, "We CAN'T SEE, we can't see!!! We're gonna diiiiiiiiiiieeeee!"?  And yet, sometimes, I have that kind of reaction when God removes my ability to control or see the path I am taking to the fulfillment of His promise.  Instead of letting the fog drive me to fear, it should drive me to rely what He's given me so I can arrive with grace.  A smooth landing, you could say.

I love when God uses little pictures to teach lessons, don't you?