What's up with needing so much COMFORT?

Being in a new town, a new house and at a new church, has caused me to start thinking of the things that bring me comfort. When in unfamiliar settings all around you - ya just need this - let me tell ya.

Little girl has the standard stuff to make her world feel secure and happy - blankie, Baa-aa (this is her stuffed sheep her Aunt Jennifer gave her), her favorite DVD and her usual bedtime books that she is used to hearing every night. These things all bring a sense of "sameness" to her world and bring some happy balance to her I would like to believe.

Adults are a little trickier to provide comfort. My typical forms are my friends. People are what make me comfortable, and oh yeah, routine too. Did you guys know that one was coming? I receive comfort from the predictable and from faces I know, from seeing Little Girl run around with all her little buddies she knows and loves so well, and from feeling "a part" of something - needed by something.

You can't always feel all those happy things 3 days after you move somewhere new. I am fully aware of this. But - can't I just wish that it could magically happen for me this time anyway?

When I can't find comfort on those things - I tend to start other projects that will bring me a little security and joy. I just hung our family picture in the hallway and my favorite clock with a coffee cup on it in the kitchen. I also watered our strawberry plants and talked with Little Girl about how we will get to pick them in the next few weeks. I just drank out of one of my favorite coffee cups this morning - ya know the kind with the thick rim like you would drink out of at a diner (thanks Julie B for my mug!) And, of course, I've been setting up my kitchen. This brings quite a bit of peace to my soul since I live in the kitchen and once their is order there, well, there can be order everywhere.

I officially only brought a "few things" from my big ol' house into this tiny apartment since I knew it would be much smaller. Well, it is much, much smaller, because I can't fit much more than half the stuff I brought into either my pantry or my kitchen itself. Pray for guidance here. I simply can't throw things away, and I believe that creating a rat problem in our storage unit by housing food for 6 months is strictly prohibited. :-)

As I am typing this post, I am realizing that I have not listed my Bible or the Lord as something that brings me comfort. Now, don't get me wrong - he does bring me great comfort in times of trial and tribulation or anytime that I call on him for help really, but I will have to admit, when I am in this sort of situation, I tend to look very "outward" for things to bring security and for things to make my life feel balanced again. This is a common mistake plagued to many mothers and busy wives out there, but today I am going to make a conscious effort to reach out to him for the help he so wants to provide me right now. I have stumbled upon, in all my unpacking, my devotions that I have either started or been wanting to start, and today I will choose to start there. Start with Jesus. Start with my Best friend and I'll just bet he will make all the other stuff fall into place as I am praying it will.

Thank you Lord for this day. Thank you for this new opportunity. Thank you for this new life. Bring me YOUR comfort today.

Oh yes, and P.S. Lord - Please help me stop finding comfort in cookies and chocolate. Amen.