“Dear God, how are you?  So I feel the need for us to talk, but I don’t know what to say.  So maybe you can start off this conversation, like you have so many.  You always seem to know exactly what to say to me,” I say with great anticipation and a side of uneasiness.  Hmmm, I must be feeling that I think he’s going to say something I’m not ready to hear.  However, that has never been the case and it never will be.  I do know that much.

“Be calm,” he says to me.  “Isn’t that the saying you used to have on your coffee cup?  Keep calm and carry on.”

“Yep, that’s it.”  That’s a good word.  My insides feel like a pinball machine with balls shooting around and hitting planks right and left.  Eeeesh.  I think it’s nerves.  “Calm is what I need, and what I will do right now, Father.”

“Now the issue is to know what it is to be calm,” he says.  “Calm comes from trust.  You know I’ve got your back. You know I’ve never led you into harm. You know I love you and would not change that behavior now.  I’ve got you.  You can rest. You can be calm.”