Snow Saga

They make it look so easy! It was not that easy!

We are currently on our fourth snow day. Unlike some others, I am not going stir crazy yet, which is surprising for me and my people personality. But I am happy to say my house is clean, my laundry is almost finished, and I've had several rockin' dance parties with my kid.

After all the cleaning craziness, I had filled our garage with bags, awaiting the time when the garbage man would deem it safe enough to venture out to our street.

Well, this morning was the day.  I awoke to that high pitched beeping sound that could only be the garbage truck. I sat straight up in bed while Brady murmured something about the garbage guy being here.

This Mama runs down the stairs, throwing on various sundry snow clothes. Grabbing all the bags, I ventured into the snow in pajama pants, untied snow boots, a big unzipped winter coat and a crazy top bun.

There he was, standing by my neighbor's driveway, getting ready to load another bin. I clomped out into the street, glancing back at my garbage bin. No use. It was snowed in, poor guy. No time to get him out before the truck left.

Imagine my crazy self, carrying six full bags, stomping down my driveway. I kept yelling numerous times:

"Excuse me?"

I expected the guy to hear me over the loud garbage truck. This did not occur. He didn't even look my way. I tried a few more times and then I saw the side of the big blue truck.

RECYCLING.

It was the wrong truck. I had worked myself up, gathered all my bags, thrown on all my clothes, and run out there like a crazy woman for the wrong truck.

Now before some of you start to criticize that I didn't have any recycling - that is not the case. I recycle often. But just not today! I needed the GARBAGE TRUCK! Not the RECYCLING TRUCK!

No wonder that guy ignored me (there's part of me that thinks he really did hear me but didn't want to acknowledge the insane snow monster trudging through the snow). He knew he couldn't help me with my garbage. He was there for a different purpose.

How many times have you panicked about something...in fear and trepidation? You heard it coming, knew it was coming - so you dug in and prepared for a disaster? You threw yourself into anxiety or worry because you were going to miss it, or it was coming and you had to be ready?

Then everything turns out exactly the opposite of what you expected.

Now, I know there isn't much crisis involved in missing a garbage truck (although my husband might not like me storing all my trash in the garage next to his tools), but there is something to be said about the way we work ourselves up and panic only to find there was no reason to freak out in the first place.

Matthew 6 warns that we cannot add a single day to our lives by worrying. And we spend so much time doing it! According to a survey, we spend 6.5 years of our lives fretting. WHHHAAATTT?? Imagine what you can do with those 6.5 years? I mean, you could build a BOAT in that time! (Don't ask why a boat - I guess I was just reading about Noah the other day)

I still struggle with worry - I'm a planner, so I like to think ahead. I like to think things through and complete things with excellence. But if I focus my mind on Him and know that He has control of the outcome of my world, it doesn't matter if the garbage truck comes or the recycling truck comes. I can trust Him with the PROCESS. He takes care of the outcome, and no matter what it is, He's going to work it together for good.

And really, if I wanted to know for sure, I could have looked out the window first.

In those panicky moments, I've started to slow down, breathe, and really listen to what He's trying to tell me. There may be chaos in my world, but sitting down and praying helps me hear Him. There may not always be in peace in my world, but there's ALWAYS peace in Him.

For those of you "worrying" (STOP IT! NOW!) about whether I was able to get rid of that garbage or not, I can proudly say I dug my bin out of the snow and rolled him down the driveway with the other bags to await the great Oz. Problem solved. And so what if I missed it one week? The world will still turn.

But I will say, I should have taken a selfie this morning. You guys would have had a great laugh.