My friends drove me home from the airport, and as I approached the front door, I plunged my hand into my seriously overloaded purse, searching for my keys — but without success. Another friend came to my rescue with an extra set — but then the mystery of the missing keys began.
You see, I had spent a few days with my aunt in Ponce Inlet, Fla., a shell’s throw away from Daytona Beach. We had headed to the sea in the mornings, plunged in the pool in the afternoons and feasted on fried seafood in the evenings.
When I called her in distress, she found the keys in her condo and mailed them to me — but a week later, they still hadn’t shown up. The online tracking number reported “delivered,” so at that point, I did what I routinely do when possible adversity strikes — calmly made a list of options, jotting down probable causes and outcomes.
And if you believe that, I have a lovely patch of swampland in Florida with your name on it. In fact, my vivid imagination — helpful when writing novels but troubling for everyday life — churned out an image of a nefarious stranger pilfering the package from my mailbox and sneaking into my house in the dead of night.
Panic-stricken, I had a telephone meltdown with my sister, who kindly tried reasoning with me, just as Jef would have.
“You don’t know for sure the keys were stolen,” she said. “They could have gone to the wrong address.”
She also reminded me — as Jef would have — that I needed to remember God’s promises. “You have to cleave to the Lord,” she said. “Try reading Proverbs, the third chapter.”
I grabbed the Bible, but before perusing even one word, I had the door locks changed, and arranged to have my car keys reprogrammed.
By day’s end, I was emotionally exhausted, but when I finally read Proverbs, it assured me, “Thou shalt walk confidently in the way, and thy foot shall not stumble: If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear: thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet.”
There it was, in black and white, the promises from God I keep overlooking because, you see, I’m famous for fretting about nearly everything.
As I was heading to the car dealership, that little voice inside — either God or my mother, I’m not sure — told me to cancel the appointment, which I’m glad I did. It turned out the package had the wrong address on it, and was on its merry way back to Florida.
“Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked falling upon thee, for the Lord will be at thy side …,” the Bible said.
I could almost hear my husband seconding that thought while reminding me, “Lolo, lean on your faith.”
That’s what I’ve written on the whiteboard in my study, along with “God, help me” and “I will get through this.” All affirmations that come from the Lord — and are the keys to surviving times of distress.
