Getting a late start this morning, I walked into our den/office, and had momentarily forgotten that I’d been doing tax prep in there yesterday, while our leak was being addressed.

(Good news! NOT the floor, but the washer hook-up! The wall was wet behind the washer/dryer, but it’s a small area and easily repairable/replaceable.)

Hot tea in hand, I stopped and looked at all the sorted stacks of paper and receipts, feeling a sense of despondency. Oh, how I hate this time of year! But, it was kind of funny, too, because (and very oddly) I woke up thinking about a book I read as a child:

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

I loved that book, but am convinced that the title came into my head, not because of my love for it, or anything in the storyline, but because the title reflects the actual state of my mind. I’m viewing my life, in this moment, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Kevin R. Garman, and, now, it’s apparently the state of my house, too!

You know, even when our files get mixed up, or tossed about like a good salad, there’s a filing cabinet still around somewhere, just waiting. My sofa and game table and desk are still there underneath all the stacks of paper, right where they were before the flurry.

And with my mind? God is right there where He’s always been, too.

He’s the constant. He’s the anchor. He’s the rock.

It may be a twister in the confines of my brain, but He’s unaffected, just waiting for me to join Him in the calm. I’m so, so thankful for that.

And, incidentally, to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. So very nice of her to hang with me all these years just to give me this helpful reminder.

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:4 ESV

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 ESV

“I am God—yes, I Am. I haven’t changed. And because I haven’t changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven’t been destroyed. You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven’t done a thing I’ve told you. Return to me so I can return to you,” says God-of-the-Angel-Armies.” Malachi 3:6-7 MSG

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8 ESV