Everyone has trials at some time or another. Sometimes they are determined by our season in life:

• Moms dealing with sleep deprivation or disobedient children
• Career women working an unbearable job or for an unreasonable boss
• A wife in a tough marriage relationship
• Older women with health issues

There could be financial challenges, loneliness, fears, or a multitude of other such problems. And who knew we would ever be part of a pandemic and its ramifications? 

This is not the start of another self-help book. I’m not trying to tell girls to wash their faces or trying to empower women to reach their goals and fulfill their dreams. 

Goals and dreams are nice. They are a big part of what makes us human. We are creatures bearing God’s image, and we are never satisfied to stay the same. We are always striving to grow. We want the next promotion at work, the next baby to make our family complete, the next financial milestone to be reached. Our goals and dreams can be very good things.

A Ferris wheel goes round and round. Up to the top you ride feeling the wind in your face and seeing all the sights. To the bottom you go, hearing the giggles of delight and smelling delicious popcorn and cotton candy. Just as you really begin to enjoy yourself, you feel it come to a stop. As you exit through the gate, you consider purchasing another ticket because it went by way too quickly.
​
All of that would be true if you love rides and heights. I however, do not. The scene that I just described takes on a totally different tone and emotion for me. 

Eve looked at Adam as they walked through the beautiful garden and thought how wonderful life was. It didn’t just seem perfect—it was perfect! The best thing about it all was their direct communion with God the Creator. Everything was new and wonderful. Adam and Eve were given total liberty in the garden except they were not to eat of the fruit of one tree. With access to a whole new world, surely being forbidden to eat of just one tree wouldn’t be a problem—or would it?  

Eve was perfect after her creation. No other human has been perfect except for Adam and Jesus. 

Sometimes I feel like my tongue has a mind of its own. No matter what truth about God I’m meditating on that day, or how much grace I have to be thankful for in my own life that week, I always find it monstrously difficult to hold my tongue still when people and circumstances give it an opportunity to dance. After all, I’m entitled to my opinions. Expressing what I know and feel about other people falls under free speech, right? It can be so liberating—so gratifying to allow my words to flow uninhibited. ​

​S-T-O-P! Oh, I should not have said that!

• Does my face show the terrible selfish response that is running through my mind?
• Does my tone reflect the rude and frustrating way I am handling this situation?
• Can anyone sense the impatient way in which I am facing this crisis?  

Do you ever find yourself thinking these thoughts? Do those convicting questions run across your mind on more than one occasion during your day?

I have found myself camped out here lately. My words and attitude have gotten the better of me and have left me with a huge load of guilt. Since stopping this trend of sinfulness was my true desire, I sought out an acrostic to give me some direction. 

The little girl peaked out through the reeds to keep a watch on the basket in the water. It was the cargo inside the basket she was concerned about. Inside was her baby brother. The Egyptian king had decreed that all the boys born to the Israelites were to be killed. Her family was trying to save their little baby, Moses. As Miriam was watching, the Egyptian princess came to the water with her maids. She saw the basket and the baby. Her heart went out to the little one. Moses would be hers. What could Miriam do? She ran to the princess and asked if she needed a mother to nurse the baby. Because of her quick thinking, Miriam was able to go get her own mother to be the nurse for their baby Moses. Although he would be reared in the palace as the son of the princess, many years later Miriam would reunite with her brother to help with a very big task appointed by God.