My Ford Escape has had the same license plate the entire time I’ve had it. It was looking pretty beat up, so when it came time to get new tags, my husband thought he would just get new plates. I must admit they look nice. Clean. No dents. However I see a couple of issues with the addition of these new license plates.

First of all, it makes the rest of my car look pretty bad. You see, my car is nine years old. There are dents. There are scratches. There are discolorations. My car looks pretty tired compared to the new license plates all shiny and new.

And then there is the difficulty in remembering a new license number. A couple weeks ago after grocery shopping, I placed my items in my car and then took the cart to the corral. As I returned to my car, I noticed the license plate. The first thought that ran through my mind was, “I put my groceries in the wrong car!” Now I know that isn’t possible, but it’s what I thought.

If you haven’t guessed it yet, the letters on my license plate are ZYD. With this blog post, my Blogging from A to Z challenge is complete. I’ve run the race. I’ve made it to the goal. I’ve completed the task at hand. Well kind of, sort of.

You see, only part of the challenge was to write about the letters of the alphabet on my own blog. But there was more. I also needed to stop by five other A to Z bloggers each day, read their post, and then make a comment.

At first, I was diligent. I chose five blogs that I thought I would enjoy reading and return to visit each day. I took the time each day to read some great blog posts. Some inspirational. Some about cooking. One about a move their family was making. After reading these posts, I would write my comment and I prayed for these individuals who had written these blogs.

Then the trouble started. I got a job. My brain and my body weren’t ready for that one. But still, that’s no excuse.

There also were others stopping by to read my blog and then I wanted to visit their blog in return. Suddenly I was reading between 8-10 blog posts per day. Overwhelmed is an understatement for what I was feeling. I wanted it all, but couldn’t possibly do it all.

The best thing about this whole challenge is that I found some wonderful blogs that I thoroughly enjoy reading. I’ve had the opportunity to “meet” (if you can say that about an internet friendship) sisters in Christ who live all over the world through this challenge. I also believe that some non-believers have read some of what I had to say and if a tiny seed has been planted, then it’s worth it all.

I’ve been challenged for certain, but not for the reasons I thought I would be. It was easy to come up with something to write about. That has never been my problem. I write every day, so that wasn’t the challenge. The challenge for me has been to keep all the plates spinning and still come out on the other side without a plate falling.

You know the feeling. Balancing work with volunteer roles with family life with daily errands with “what to make for dinner” with my personal time with God with leading a Bible study with caring for myself with loving on others with anything and everything else that is thrown onto one of those spinning plates. Phew! Looking at it this way really puts it in perspective!

So how do I do it? When I try to do it on my own, I am not very good at it. In fact, I might even say I fail. But as I give each one of those plates to Jesus, I release that part of my life to capable hands and He keeps them spinning.

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know that I love music. Music speaks to me and today I want to share a piece that I have loved from the moment I heard it, because it puts all of my thoughts and feelings about this plate balancing thing into melodious words.

“Refuge” was written by a young musician Luc DiMarzio. Luc leads worship for one of the multi-sites at the church I attend and is talented in many ways. I pray that you too will find refuge in Jesus and that you will allow His strength to carry you through your day.

Refuge

I can’t live my life alone so many times I’ve tried.
I am weak but I can see Your strength can change my life.

In the shadow of my day, be my rock be my escape.

You are my refuge;
You calm my doubt and cure my pain.
You cleanse my sorrow;
Your grace erases all my shame.

I can’t do this on my own, the truth is rarely clear.
When I’m weak it’s hard to see if You are really here.

In the shadow of my day, be my rock be my escape.

You are my refuge;
You calm my doubt and cure my pain.
You cleanse my sorrow;
Your grace erases all my shame.

In the darkness in the flame, the beauty of Your name.
Mountain valley or plateau, no other name I know.

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.[i]

This is the only recording that I know of for this song…enjoy! Click here to listen.

It doesn’t matter what you’re going through in life, Jesus can be your rock. He can be your escape. Find shelter and rest in Him. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1 – NIV)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

[i] Refuge, Luc DiMarzio