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A Tidbit of Peace

I work in the investment profession, so when craziness infects the financial markets, I know I’m in for a challenging day. So on August 8, I caffeinated thoroughly before going to the office. The markets were in freefall and I knew my day would bring extra challenges.

The day’s hecticity exceeded my expectations. The phone lines sang in chorus. My inbox listed, threatening to capsize under the weight of urgent messages. Staff members marched through the halls, their steps a quicktime cadence. The engine driving office pleasantries sputtered and died, starved for air.

I pulled my prayer beads from my purse and hung them from the corner of my monitor.

“Be with me today,” I prayed. “Be with all of us.”

It was late in the day before I turned my attention to the incoming mail waiting on my desk. I was tired. My brain ached like an overused muscle. Nothing in the day, so far, had made sense.

I opened an envelope from a client. She’d mailed a payment for our services, wrapping her check in a sheet of notepaper before tucking it into the return envelope we’d sent her.

I studied the paper. The woman’s name was neatly printed across its top. Across the bottom a pretty row of grape hyacinth, red tulips, and daffodils graced the page. I permitted myself a moment to admire the flowers, whose rendering reminded me of a botanical illustration.

I realized the flowers were all spring bulbs. No random mixing of sunflowers and irises here: these flowers, if planted together, would bloom together. They belonged together.

The flowers made sense.

I plucked my prayer beads from the monitor, felt the smooth stones, fingered the cross that hangs from them.

And I offered up thanks that God is in control, even when Wall Street is spinning like a kamikaze.

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
 ¹⁴ The LORD sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
¹⁶ You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Psalm 145:13-16 (NASB)