When I was a little girl, I used to go and stay with my aunt for a week every summer.  My aunt loved birds and would feed them right outside her kitchen window so she could watch them.  She even learned how to replicate some of their birdsongs.  Her favorite was the cardinal.  Every time I see one, I think of her.


I inherited her fascination with birds so if you come and sit with me in my backyard, you'll see my birdfeeder and birdhouses.  I look forward to spring when the sparrows build their nests and I will soon hear the baby birds chirping their song.


This year was a little different.  Instead of building their nest in the spring, they came in the summer.   I thought it was a little odd but it wasn't long until I heard the babies singing.


The other day I noticed the roof to the birdhouse was giving way and was only hanging on by one corner.  Not good.  I had visions of the last corner letting go and that precious little family plummeting to the ground.  Last night we had a bad storm and I was afraid to look outside.   Thankfully it was still there hanging by a thread.


I went out to investigate and as I got underneath it, I didn't hear anything.  I pulled the branch down and peered in.  Nothing was moving so I thought maybe the little birds were big enough and flew away.   I decided to take that house down and replace it with another.  As I set it on the ground, I lifted off the roof and to my surprise, there were three little birds fast asleep!   I was horrified because I didn't know what to do.   How was I going to fix this? 


The key word here is “fix.”   Earlier this morning I was struggling with a couple of situations happening to people I love.  I was tormented with worry because I couldn't do anything to fix them.   I sat there and prayed asking God for His help.   He reminded me of this  verse:


“Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”   Matthew 6:26 NLT‬


At first  I thought He was talking to me about the birds but then I realized He was talking to me personally.  He was trying to help me see that there are certain situations only He can fix and therefore, worrying is pointless.  He cares about my loved ones so much more than I could even imagine.  He has always taken care of them and He always will.  My job is to pray and leave it in His hands unless He tells me otherwise.


So back to the birdhouse.  At first my mind started racing frantically with “What do I do?” but then I heard that verse again about God taking care of the birds.  I ended up putting super glue on the roof and hammering in the old nails the best I could.  After the glue set, I carefully put it back in the tree.   I checked 30 min later and it's still there with the mother bird flying in and out caring for her babies.


If you have been following my journey, you know there's a moral to every story.  This one is about hope.  Hope that God is in control and I don't need to worry.  Hope that He will fix what needs fixing in His way and His time.  Hope that I can believe even when I don't understand.  Hope that He will always bring about something good.  And hope that He will make a way where there is no way.  I know it's not easy to stop worrying but with hope, it's possible. 


Father, help me to remember how much you care about everything that concerns me.  Bring back to my memory all the times You worked everything out.  Help me to let go and lay my worries at Your feet.  Thank you for loving me even when I doubt. 

Reset

By Eileen Glotfelty • August 15, 2025
Recently I returned home after being away for a few months. It felt strange to walk into my own home. I wasn't accustomed to what should've been normal. That soon changed. The next morning I was at the kitchen sink and went to turn on the garbage disposal only to find it not working. Usually if it's jammed, you can still hear the sound of electricity but there was not a sound to be heard. My first stop was the circuit breaker box. Nothing was tripped so I moved on. As I stood in front of the sink, I knew what needed to happen next. That involved me kneeling down on the floor and looking for the brand and model number. I thought long and hard because after two knee surgeries, this was not a good idea. I did the next best thing…I called my sister for help. I wish we had a video camera, then again it was probably better that we didn't. She has a bad knee but that left her with one good one. She made it down onto the floor and got a picture of the label. We googled the unit to troubleshoot the problem. It turned out we needed to find the reset button on the bottom of the disposal. Easier said than done but we did it and power was restored. It needed a special wrench to unjam it but Amazon saved the day! Now why would I go on and on about a jammed garbage disposal? It's not about the fact it was jammed but that it could be reset. After that incident I was talking to my daughter and I heard myself say that I needed to push the reset button in some areas of my life. I wish it would be as simple as pushing the button on a garbage disposal but when you need a reset in life, it usually involves a long process. The areas I need to reset didn't get jammed up overnight. It took years of making excuses and wrong choices. The result of these choices found me powerless and stuck in a place I didn't want to be. As I thought about this, I looked up “reset” in the dictionary. One definition caught my eye. It said, “an act of fixing something in a new or different way.” That's what I need…a new way, a transformation. I don't know what the reset is going to look like or where it will take me but I do know that God made a promise. In Isaiah he says: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. I know it has to be His way, not mine. That's where the power is. That's where I can move forward. With His power, nothing is impossible. I've wrestled with Him for many years and it was a waste of time. It will be a daily surrender to His will. I'm not going to dwell on the wasted time and say, “if only.” Instead I'm choosing to dwell on and be thankful that His mercies are new every morning. That is my reset button.

In the Midst of Chaos

By Eileen Glotfelty • July 30, 2025
“His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3 Another word for whirlwind is chaos. That's a word I know well. From the moment I was born, I lived in a chaotic environment. Chaos continued to follow me as I grew up and finally into my own family. The funny thing is, I never recognized it. I thought it was normal and I learned to thrive in it. Left unchecked, chaos will take its toll. It attacks our nervous systems and spreads havoc physically and mentally. So how do we stop it? First, we stop and do a life check. This is when we take a long hard look at what's going on in and around us. Much of our chaos is caused by our response to our circumstances. For example, when I get caught up in someone else's drama, I create chaos in my own life. It's especially hard if the drama is going on under the same roof. I've had to learn that people will figure things out on their own and don't need me to be involved. As a fixer and a rescuer, that was an important lesson to learn. When it comes to faith, I've realized that when I jump into the chaos and try to fix it, I'm thinking that my way out is the only way and pridefully, the best way…even better than God's. The arrogance of it brings me to my knees. So now, I look at that verse from Nahum and I ask God to show me His way. If it's chaos that's out of our control, God's way is the only way out. I always wondered what it meant about the clouds being the dust of His feet. As I thought about it, I could see that clouds don't stand still. They move. The dust of His feet imply movement as well; so I think it's safe to say that God is on the move in the midst of the chaos. As I write this, I am over my head in chaos. It feels like a never ending battle. After reading that verse, I decided to take some time and see if there was any “dust.” It didn't take long to see it. God was moving through this storm. It wasn't the direction I would've gone so I almost missed Him. I don't know exactly what He's doing or where this is going but just knowing He's moving gives me the strength to hang on. Lord, when I get overwhelmed with the chaos, help me to see that You are on the move. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Even Though You Can't See Me

By Eileen Glotfelty • June 25, 2025
Over the past four weeks, I have traveled from California to Wyoming to Colorado. All had something special to see. California had hot air balloons floating over the vineyards. In Wyoming there were tumbleweeds, miles of prairie and horses being ridden through downtown streets. Both were fascinating but the scene that captured me most was in Colorado. My family's home overlooks a plain that runs over to join the Rocky Mountains. As beautiful as that is, nothing can compare with one specific mountain that rises taller than the others. Pikes Peak stands 14,000 feet above sea level and its presence commands a sense of majesty. Every morning as I stood there taking in its beauty, I would remember the words, “I lift my eyes up to the hills where my help comes from…” For me, it wasn't just a mountain, it was a revelation of the presence of God and I needed that reminder. There have been many times that I've prayed and prayed about a person or situation that weighed heavy on my heart. Most of the time it involved circumstances that were beyond my control. I knew what I thought needed to happen and happen quickly but it didn't. It seemed like my prayers fell on deaf ears. On my last day in Colorado, I went to look out the window to have one final look at that majestic mountain. To my dismay, the mountains were covered by a dense fog that made them invisible. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't know they were there. As I stood there wrestling with disappointment, I heard these words, “even though you can't see it, it's still there.” I knew this wasn't just talking about the mountain. God was letting me know that even if things aren't working out the way I want and I don't understand, He is still there behind the chaos and behind the doubt working to bring about His perfect plan…in His time, not mine. Now it's a matter of trust. Will I choose to let go and leave it in His hands? Will I choose to trust Him when I don't understand? And will I choose to believe that He has a good and perfect plan that surpasses anything I could imagine? This is a question I may have to ask myself every day in every situation. In my heart I want to so I'm choosing to lay the struggles at His feet. He'll take care of the rest.