Warmth

This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
You have planted much, but have harvested little.
You eat, but never have enough.
You drink, but never have your fill.
You put on clothes, but are not warm.
You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
Haggai 1:5-7

I never thought much about heat before I was diagnosed with cancer. It was one of those necessities I took for granted. Pregnant or breastfeeding for over five years straight, my furnace was functioning quite well! Now I am a lover of wool socks, slippers of any kind, color or shape, turtleneck sweaters, no matter how scratchy. Warmth takes priority. After my treatment in November, I read the minor prophets, and suddenly identified with these verses from Haggai. In many ways, it is a reflection of so many small failures in my life to date: gardens planted and then overrun with weeds; meals made and barely enjoyed in the rush of everyday evenings; money loosely budgeted that slips through my fingers like sand. I resolved to give careful thought to my ways, our ways as a family. Months before the New Years flurry. I need to revisit those thoughts, implement them, wield the insights He provided during my days of solitude and spiritual neediness.