Alpha and omega 4.3
The subtitle
What does the subtitle of today’s post mean: Alpha and Omega 4.3? Alpha = the first day. Omega = the last day. August is the fourth month from last year that we’ve explored in an alpha and omega way. That’s the 4. The three previous parts about August were subtitled Alpha and Omega 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2. Now we’re finally at 4.3—the last August-centric post.
Alpha and omega recap
Since April, we’ve been looking at the Alpha and Omega Days of different months, asking and answering this question. How did the first day and the last day relate to each other? We’ve looked at March, which was Movie Month; May, which was Impact Month; and July—Freedom vs. Slavery Month (and Door Month). Last year, August was Foretelling Month. In part 7 thru 9 of this post, we dug into the poem I wrote to Brandon on August 1 for our silver anniversary and what it foretold about this year. Very revealing.
Today on Choosing Peace you’ll read about plumbers, “food heaven” and anxiety.
August 1—the alpha day
The new season
After journaling about the poem Silver, I described my work day.
Tuesday, August 1
Journal entry
…Today was my first day of a new season at St. Matt’s, with me alone in the building. The Lord sent people there today—all glory and praise to God—two plumbers, Joyce Taggart and precious Kathleen (my new mom). Christopher [—a homeless man with schizophrenia—] also came by, but I did not let him in. One of the plumbers said, “That guy is off his rocker.” Indeed. Joyce picked up her [flower] urn and took it to the florist. Then she brought me chicken salad and a brownie from McAlister’s. Delicious! We ate with Kathleen in the Parish Hall. What a sweet time. I was so thankful. Sam sent [Brandon and me] a Happy Anniversary e-card. She is so thoughtful. My heart started racing at the end of the day. I must ask my friends to pray for me.
The problem and sprinkled blessings
How did the first day of August foretell future events? Despite the many blessings of this work day, I clearly had a twofold problem. Because I was alone at St. Matt’s, my anxiety returned. Could God solve both parts of this problem? Absolutely. But I had no idea how he would do it.
Some of my sisters in Christ at St. Matt’s—Joyce, Kathleen and Sam—played a vital role in sprinkling Day 1 of this new season with blessings. Would blessings at St. Matt’s play a part in the solutions to my twofold problem? Yes. More on that later.
Poured and dipped blessings
That evening, Brandon and I enjoyed a long silver-anniversary dinner, eating fondue at The Melting Pot. Did I journal about the food? Most definitely. Cheddar cheese with all the special seasonings for the first course and bananas foster for the dessert course—with two more courses in between. We call it food heaven. I wrote, “Everything was delicious and very special. We talked about our favorite memories.” Blessings, blessings and more blessings.
August 31—the omega day
Marvin and the retreat
Big things happened right before The Omega Day of August. On August 29, Brandon applied for us to adopt my dog, Marvin. The next day, the Holy Spirit planted the seed in my mind that Marvin could be with me at work.
Thursday, August 31 (part 1)
Journal entry
I was so excited about my Writing Retreat. Today was a beautiful day of anticipation. Work went well. I emailed Gail my request to have a dog with me at work for security and peace of mind. Before she read it, she came up to the church. I made my request…. She’ll think about it. The Lord’s will be done.
Sam brought me lunch from McAlister’s. So good. She also brought me a goodie bag for my [Writing Retreat], with brownies, lemon cookies, nuts, Peanut M&Ms and more. Wow! What a thoughtful gift. She prayed for my weekend as we knelt in the Nave. I was so blessed by her visit.
Kneeling to pray in the Nave is special every time, but Sam’s prayer on August 31 was extra-special because of our friendship and her heartfelt words. These beautiful altar flowers were left that week from the previous Sunday.
Next, I journaled about Paula’s visit to St. Matt’s that afternoon.
Thursday, August 31 (part 2)
Journal entry
As she was loading her SUV outside, I saw a dog running around with her. I stepped out and asked [Paula] if that’s her dog, and she showed me her dog set-up in the back of her SUV—rubber mat, blanket, water bowl and a very happy dog. Wow! She had her windows down a bit. God was showing me [that I can] do this. Thank you, Lord. I’m at peace.
The foretelling
Two things swirled through my mind on August 31: Marvin and my retreat. The Holy Spirit gave me a glimpse of his plan for Marvin & Me. What a sweet story. And Sam blessed me with a prayer about my Writing Retreat, plus a bag filled with goodies to take with me. Praise the Lord.
What was my twofold problem that needed to be solved? The problem that presented itself on August 1—our silver anniversary? Being alone at work reactivated my anxiety. Did the events on August 31 foretell the solving of my problem? They sure did. I was starting to understand the Marvin part—even though we hadn’t met; but I didn’t know what would happen during my Writing Retreat that weekend.
Healing on the third day
In this post from last September, I described the wonderful healing the Lord gave me.
Tearing down the stronghold
Jesus helped me tear down the stronghold of fear. How? Releasing anger. Receiving a truthful saying about God’s protection and faithfulness. Praying specifically to end fear. Reading and drinking in an important scripture. Experiencing a song about the truth and faithfulness of Jesus, my Savior.
When I started writing about fear on the third day of my Writing Retreat, I had no idea that the Lord would release me from this stronghold that had reappeared the previous month. I had no idea. And the word faithful swirled through it all. God was faithful. He gave me the retreat—with focused time to accomplish something important—something much deeper than what I’d planned. He gave me his inspiration and his instructions. He answered my prayer about closing The Door to Fear. He gave me a vital scripture. And he gave me two songs about his faithfulness. I ended the post about pride with “My Redeemer Is Faithful and True” and I ended the post about fear with “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” God is so good! Here’s my new mantra again. I hope it helps you too.
“Lord, I’m in your hands and you are faithful.”
I followed the Holy Spirit’s lead and he showered me with blessings—with truth, his presence and his healing.
More reading
For more, walk slowly through the section called Fear 2.0 in this post. You’ll read about the five things the Lord helped me to do during my Writing Retreat. Each of those five things played an important part as I laid down my fear and God healed me from my anxiety.
Do you struggle with anxiety? If so, read part 8 of Tearing Down the Barriers to Forgiving in addition to the section mentioned above.
The unfolding
The Alpha and Omega Days of August told a great story from my life about God’s foreknowledge, compassion and love. August was Foretelling Month.
The Alpha and Omega Days of August foretold resolution and healing.
On August 1, my twofold problem was clear. My anxiety had returned because I was alone at St. Matt’s. On August 31, Marvin and my retreat swirled through my day and my mind. The next day, as I drove to a farm an hour away for my Writing Retreat, I had no idea what God had in store. When I drove back home on Labor Day, I didn’t realize that my anxiety was truly gone. But it was. And that’s one of my favorite aspects of this story. God healed my anxiety seven weeks before Marvin started going to work with me. And the Lord Almighty gets all the glory.
God didn’t change my circumstances first.
He changed me.
I hope the new song by CityAlight, “His Glory and My Good,” shown below, will speak into your life like it does mine.
The blessings in the solutions
Earlier in today’s post, I asked this question: Would blessings at St. Matt’s play a part in the solutions? Yes, indeed.
Solitude
What were some of the St. Matt’s blessings in the solution to my solitude? Seeing Paula and her SUV’s Doggie Den gave me great encouragement and A Kiss On The Head from Jesus that said: Frankie Ann, you can do this. And this bears mentioning. Paula comes up to St. Matt’s every week because she leads the Altar Guild. August 31 of last year was the one and only day in seven-plus years when I saw her dog. Hmmm.
Gail and the rest of the board of directors said yes to Marvin coming with me to work. That was crucial.
And everyone has embraced Marvin being there. People stop by and say, “I wanted to see Marvin” or “I brought Marvin some treats.” They love him, even though he watches them silently from his kennel (with its door propped open). I understand why. He brings a quiet, warm strength to our little office. He’s peaceful, attentive and precious. So many blessings—the people, the timing, Marvin—with God’s hand in it all. For the wonderful Marvin & Me story, read part 1.
Anxiety
What about my anxiety? How did blessings from St. Matt’s play a part in the solution? While I was on my solitary Writing Retreat, the goodie bag from Sam reminded me how much people love me. During my first meal on the retreat, I enjoyed one of the brownies she gave me. And here’s a Day 1 journal entry snippet: “I shared photos with Brandon and Sam. I know people are praying for me. Thanks be to God.” The love, treats and prayers nourished my heart, my body and my soul. I experienced the love of others, in addition to God’s presence, very tangibly.
Healing
And God healed me.
The anxiety activated by solitude at work
was healed during my first-ever solitary retreat.
Peaceful Readers, I find that to be truly remarkable—beyond anything I could’ve asked or imagined. As I reflect on that strange and wonderful reality—a serious problem being solved during an extended, three-day mirrored environment of solitude—I smile and nod my head. God’s ways are higher.
And he reminds me through this story: I am here. And you are mine.
I will bless the LORD at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1, New Heart English Bible
Coming next: We’ll explore the Alpha and Omega Days of October. Come back next time for our life group’s discussion about dark spiritual forces, plus Halloween and the World Series.
Thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Romans 16:25-27
Song: “His Glory and My Good” by CityAlight
More: To stay current on recent posts, sign up for my monthly newsletter.