"It's Just Rain Buddy!"

I woke up this morning to a pretty good & steady rain. My dog buddy, for whatever reason is afraid of rain. Maybe it's because it's associated with thunder and lightening so often in the past. At any rate, the sound of rain terrifies him. This morning he was at my bedside real early, moaning & whining with his paws up on the bed. He was completely stressed out. My first thought was, "buddy, lay down! It's just rain so quit stressing out boy." Then it hit me. How many times do I allow things that can seem so silly, to stress 'me' out? How many times do I take it on myself? Buddy was doing what was natural to him, he came to his daddy. He was asking me for comfort. I am reminded yet again, that when I feel anxiety for what is seemingly silly, I need to take all of them to the Father. I am so glad the Father's response is not like mine was to Buddy. His first response is NOT, "well Rodney, stop it! It's just rain." I am grateful that if it is big to me, then it's big to the Father. God, in His very nature is the fullest definition of peace. He is the God of peace (Phil 4:9). He is the Prince of Peace! (Isaiah 9:6). The Holy Spirit provides and produces this peace in us as we call upon Him and follow. (Gal 5:22). I read that "75-90% of all doctors visits are for stress related ailments & complaints" Wow! That was an eye opener for me! So, if you are feeling stressed, let's take this approach and always start with running to our Savior who can "give us a peace that surpasses all understanding". Let's do like Buddy, & start at the feet of our master. Let's run to our loving, compassionate, comforting Father, Jesus Christ. For He says to us in our stress, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."John 14:1 Have a great day! Rodney Holmstrom

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