Trusting 101

Recently, I had some big, red, super-itchy insect bites on my face. I wondered what I had wandered into. Mosquitoes? Fleas? Bedbugs? No, Oak Leaf Itch Mites. Since they are small enough to go through window screens, it is recommended, among other somewhat extreme measures, that people stay inside and keep their windows firmly closed until the fall.

I can do that.

*****

Recently, we had to replace our furnace and A/C. The package included a “smart thermostat” that also measures air quality. For weeks it read, “Good.” Then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, it said, “Poor.” The reading has continued to fluctuate from “good,” to “fair,” then “poor,” and back again. Online reviews say this is a known problem with this thermostat. The thermostat’s instruction for “poor air quality?” “Open the windows.”

What am I supposed to do?

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, 
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to you.
James 1:5 NIV

Ask, then apply that wisdom. Look at the problem from a place of calm, not fear.

Windows open or closed? There are so few perfect summer days that it is a shame not to let pleasant breezes in. And they don’t say the mites will blow in, just that they might. (See what I did there?)

Stay in or go outside? I’m working up to taking 5000 steps a day for my health. Health is a priority and that much stepping can’t be done inside.

Be afraid of a bug that only makes me itch? Fret about the air quality because a possibly faulty thermostat tells me to?

Worry, or trust the One Who controls the creatures, and the air – and takes care of me?

Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10 NIV

Kinda feels like a no-brainer, right?

*****

Peace has in it trust in the Lord,
that He governs all things,
provides all things,
and leads to a good end.
Emanuel Swedenborg