Thursday morning I woke up with a bit of a cough. It didn’t bother throughout the day and I didn’t think much about it. By evening, my voice was gone. Not because I overused it or coughed unendingly, it just gave out.

Friday was a quiet day. At least for me. Talking took a lot of effort to project loud enough to be heard. It was easier to not talk. It surprised me how much I use my voice in the simplest things. I couldn’t interact with my 9 week old granddaughter except with smiles and nods. My three-year old looked at me oddly many times throughout the day and responded with a whisper to my attempts to communicate with her. The 9 month old responded to smiles and squeals and I could still do that.

Sometimes when the things we use the most aremissing, it upsets our basket. I found myself almost relieved that I couldn’t talk. It was okay to have a quiet day. I find these verses to be a great point of meditation on this introspective day.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

No matter what you might be facing today, the God of peace is still on the throne. He is waiting for you to come to him with all your cares. Fix your thoughts where they belong!