Now listen, you who say,

"Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 

 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

James 4:13-17

No matter where today finds us, the Word above is clear.

We do not control tomorrow.

God does.

To some this may cause fear, the calling to let go of the confidence we have in our calendar or our planner.

To some this may bring relief, knowing that God already has a plan for all the question marks looming overhead.

As we sat in the jail cell last night with so many broken women wearing their orange scrubs and looking as if all sense of purpose in this life had been ripped away,

it occurred to me that if it is true that life is a vapor (and I believe it is because the Bible says it is and I've witnessed how fragile life is on too many occasions), then

the time these women spend behind bars is less than a vapor.

It's not even a whole puff of smoke.

Looking at trials as less than even one puff of smoke makes everything we face a little easier.

Knowing that even in this "wisp of mist" we endure - God is working - makes even our trials  bearable.

He is with us..no matter what we're facing.

Today, my plate is full.

Yours probably is too.

We can stress this morning, or we can rest in the knowledge that God is already in our crazy moments of today.

He's already in every second that holds more than our little minds or emotional stability can bear.

There's something incredibly humbling about knowing that no matter what we've planned, it can be changed.

There's also something very freeing about this same truth.

Today, my hands are open to God's will.

My heart is open to His message.

My eyes are open to His desires.

I know He controls every aspect of my life even if I've made a thousand plans.

I know I am but just a vapor.

By knowing and believing these two things, I can face today fearless.

I can face today with a smile.

So can you!

Emmanuel!

He is with us.

From one vapor to another, have a great Friday!