All the Noise, Noise, Noise

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

Some verses speak to me right away; others I dwell on during the day and as I'm reflecting back on my day, I see how God was speaking life to me all during the day. This verse spoke to me right away, but the world got in the way and changed how I view the message from today. How? News articles. Yep - those pesky pop-ups when you're perusing the daily news online. The one that caught my eye was a 'now trending' article on MSN health about a new study just published linking a skin condition to a higher risk of Alzheimer's. The condition? Rosacea. Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear today. For all the doom and gloom going around, all the uncertainty, all the strife, I needed to read that article. I have rosacea! I've dealt with it most of my adult life. And my mother has a form of dementia, not necessarily Alzheimer's and it wasn't 'early onset'. My mother kept her mind active her whole life. She was resourceful, smart, always reading and learning new things. I understand she has diabetes which has probably contributed, but I never thought in a million years she of all people would get dementia.

So then there's me - ack! No doctor I've talked to even knows how rosacea starts, what causes it or what causes breakouts. I've learned over the years what works and what doesn't, but it's always there. Now along with a familial history of diabetes and heart disease, I get a slightly elevated chance for Alzheimer's. Not how I pictured me in my golden years. So of course I looked into another article about how to lower your risk for all kinds of conditions, including forms of dementia.

As I was reading that last article, I thought about my daily verse and that's when I realized God has already taken care of it. Ain't he something? Freedom isn't just about doing what you want or having the ability to do what you want. It's freedom from worry, from pain controlling you, from stress, from fears about what may happen tomorrow, next week or 50 years from now. As the spirit of the Lord dwells in us, we dwell in him, and in him is peace and freedom. Real freedom. I don't need to stress about what may or may not happen in the future. I can prepare today, do my best to take care of myself, do my best at my job, do my best with our finances, do my best taking care of our children, do my best at being a friend. Then today will be over and I start again tomorrow. Taking each day as it comes and making each day count. In that alone there is a sense of freedom and relief. Knowing God is there to help and catch me adds a level of peace my human brain can't even understand but somehow does.

Tune out the noise from the world and listen to the One who created the world. He's all the news you need.