DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
Monday, March 9, 2026 by LAURA EDGE

PLEASE WELCOME

LAURA B. EDGE

MY FAVORITE BIBLE VERSES

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

(John 16:33 NIV)

(In context: John 16:16-33)

From June to November, Houstonians keep one eye on the weather and hope a hurricane doesn’t roll across the Gulf of Mexico and flatten our homes. Each year, at least one storm wreaks havoc on the Gulf Coast, causing varying degrees of mayhem.

Howling winds and pelting rain wipe out entire neighborhoods. Trees crash through homes and flatten power lines. Streets flood. With temperatures in the 90s, electrical power goes off and stays off for days or weeks at a time.

I’m from Chicago, married a Texan, and moved to Houston. When I saw my first hurricane up close and personal, it was like opening my eyes on another planet. Looking out at trees bent sideways and water creeping up to our front door, I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I was definitely not in Chicago anymore.

Hurricane Alicia hit Houston the first summer in our new home.

It was August, and we lost power for ten days. Temperatures were in the high 90s. For the first couple of days, we toughed it out. We cooked on the outside grill. Listened to a battery-operated radio for updates. Read a lot. No worries.

By day four, the house was sticky hot, the air stale and damp. Time lost its edges, and schedules were gone. Mornings were spent figuring out a way to get coffee. We couldn’t open the refrigerator or freezer because we needed to preserve the cool air as long as possible. But both appliances began to leak. We spent hours mopping up spoiled, smelly, nasty food.

By the time the outage stretched to a week, it was our first wedding anniversary.

We felt emotionally exhausted and physically spent. We had only been in the house a few months and didn’t know our new neighbors well, but when they heard we were celebrating our first wedding anniversary, they hooked up extension cords from two blocks away, ran them to our house, and delivered fans to cool us off.

The house was still ridiculously hot, and we were still miserable. But that gesture from our neighbors meant the world to us. They couldn’t fix the power, but they fixed our spirits.

Their kindness reminded us that we are without power every day. We have no control, can’t change the wind or the rain. We can’t lift trees from power lines or will the lights to come on. But we can share God’s love and be light and power to others. We can reach out to help when opportunities present themselves.

Because Jesus is still in control, even in the midst of a hurricane. And He is all the power we will ever need.

ABOUT LAURA B. EDGE

Laura B. Edge is the author of the Christian memoir, Heart of the Matter: A Journey to Faith, and sixteen nonfiction books for children and young adults. She loves to read, travel, dance, and watch football games. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin and studied abroad with the American Institute for Foreign Study in London, Paris, Rome, and Athens. Laura has taught reading and writing in middle schools and at a community college near her home in Kingwood, Texas. Learn more about Laura at www.lauraedge.com.

https://www.facebook.com/laura.edge.7

ABOUT HEART OF THE MATTER: A JOURNEY TO FAITH

Laura Edge hears the words, “You need a heart transplant,” for the first time when she is thirty-nine-years-old. Her family has just returned from a joy-filled vacation to Disney World when she develops a cough. The cough worsens, and a team of cardiologists gives her news that tears her world apart. The mother of five-and six-year-old boys must trade Little League games for hospitalizations and her favorite Italian foods for handfuls of pills.

Heart of the Matter chronicles Laura’s journey as she tries to stay alive long enough to raise her children. She learns to trust God for each heartbeat and finds faith in His goodness. A survival story with a message of hope, Laura’s memoir will resonate with anyone facing life’s greatest challenges and most impossible questions.

BUY LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Matter-Laura-B-Edge/dp/B0F26S5THC/

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