Goodnight and Sweet Dreams!

I lay awake in the wee hours of the night, somewhere between sleep and consciousness, with my thoughts drifting to the spiral of “what if”…..

‘What if’ can bring past regrets, thoughts of people I knew and wondering where they are now. How would my life be different? Having me doubt my reality. My brain also replays past events with things I said or did that I regret and wonder how I could have changed the outcome. ‘What if’ things had been different?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” … “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6: 25-34 NIV

‘What if’ can also be the worries of the night. ‘What if’ cancer, death, illness, or betrayal? Worries in the night about my husband, my children, or myself.

‘What if’ disaster lurks around every thought, fear and dread seep into my soul and fills me with terror at the mysterious “what if”….

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NIV

But what if I change the dialogue with my brain?

‘What if’ I choose instead to step into the plan God has for my life?

Step into the peace and joy that Jesus brings.

Step into the power and strength of the holy spirit in my life.

To see lives transformed and families changed by the grace, love, and mercy of God’s love?

‘What if’ I look for the joy, the blessing, the hope of a bright future instead?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV

A wonderful woman mentor in my life once told me “you can’t stop a bird from landing on your head but you can stop it from building a nest!”

So today I am going to take a deep breath, roll over and dream of the world of possibilities with a new version of “what if”. Good night and sweet dreams!