A Message for Me

The morning my husband and I had to wait for a table at a Dutch restaurant in Holland, Michigan, I did a bit of shopping in the little gift shop.  As soon as I spotted a red mug with white lettering that said, "KEEP CALM AND KLOMP ON," I knew it needed to go home with me, though I didn't know when I purchased it what klomp meant. But the meaning I attached to it was "keep on keeping on," a reminder I need to receive most mornings.

Later, I learned that klomp means one wooden shoe and that the plural of the word is klompen. Many people wear wooden shoes for work and for dancing, and a sales clerk in one of the stores where the shoes are sold assured me they are very comfortable though they do not appear to be. 

Now that I'm back home, I often enjoy drinking my morning coffee from that mug. And whenever I read that message, my mind interprets it as KEEP CALM AND DANCE ON! I don't actually dance, but I do try to keep my steps quick and my heart happy (and calm!) as I go through each day.

As I sip my morning coffee and read the Bible, I like to reflect on what King David said to his son, Solomon, who would soon assume the throne and begin the enormous task of building the temple the LORD had commanded him to construct, using the materials David had amassed for that purpose. 

Be strong and courageous and do it. 

Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, 

for the LORD God, even my God, 

is with you. 

He will not leave you or forsake you, 

until all the work 

for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

1 Chronicles 28:20

My lengthy to-do list is "nothing" when compared to Solomon's. Yet, I feel much less overwhelmed each time I remember that the same God who was with David and Solomon (and untold numbers of people throughout the centuries!) is with me, too. Knowing that calms me down and motivates me to keep on keeping on.