If you don't laugh, you'll cry.  That has been my motto.  Well, this was one of those times.   


Recently I was on a trip down south to visit my kids for the holidays.   Since my kids are spread out in four different states, I decided to get the most bang for my buck and see as many of them as possible.   The journey began as I flew to see my son and daughter-in-law in North Carolina. From there I took a bus to South Carolina to visit my daughter and her family.  What should have been a four hour trip turned into 6-½ hrs as the bus broke down halfway there.  There's a Bible verse that says, “‭‭Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”  Needless to say, not one of my favorites.  Joy is a choice and with joy, you can laugh.  So, when the bus broke down, I decided to make the best of it, even when the lady behind me chose to change her daughter's dirty diaper and the fumes were overwhelming and when I hobbled off the bus with my bad knee to go find something edible in the dollar store.  I ended up finding a generic lunchable with bologna and cheese.   I couldn't bring myself to read the ingredients.  (Actually part of me enjoyed it but that's our secret).  What got me through was keeping my mind on where I was going…being with my family and seeing the smiles on my granddaughter's faces.  For that, I would've climbed a mountain.


The next leg of the journey involved another bus ride to Georgia a week later.  After a nice visit with my oldest son and his family, he dropped me at the airport and this was where the “count it all joy” was going to make or break me.


Since my knee was in rebellion, I arranged for a wheelchair to take me to my gate.  If any of you have flown from Atlanta, you know this is one of the biggest airports in the world.  When I arrived at the wheelchair assistance area, there were many people in front of me.  I literally sat there until 10 min before my flight was boarding waiting for an escort.  My panic level was very high even though I was assured I wouldn't miss my flight. 


When we arrived at TSA security, the line wasn't terribly long but the woman in front of me didn't have an acceptable ID and the line stopped moving.  It gets better.   We finally got around her to another agent and proceeded up to the conveyor belt where I placed my shoes and suitcases so they could be scanned.   I stepped through the body scanner and waited for my things.   My plane was now boarding.   As my belongings came out of the machine, I quickly grabbed them only to find one of my shoes was missing!  I think I went into shock.  I searched other bins coming down the belt but my shoe was nowhere to be found.   I was on the verge of hysteria.  Count it all joy?  Since I didn't have any other shoes, I knew leaving was not an option.  Thankfully, they searched the machine and found it a few minutes later but the clock was ticking.   We had to take two elevators, a train and race through hallways.  As we rounded the corner to the gate we found an empty waiting room.  All the passengers had boarded.   As soon as she saw us, the agent at the gate said, Oh I thought my ladies were going to miss their flight!   We made it with minutes to spare.  Count it all joy.


When I arrived at my assigned seat, there was a gentleman sitting in it.  At this point, everything in me wanted to grab him by the shirt collar.  Count it all joy.   Instead, I politely informed him he was in the wrong seat.  After giving me a deer in the headlights look, he moved over.  I sat down and took some deep breaths to calm my racing heart.   


I've told this story many times.  I realized I could share it with the frustration and anger that I felt at the time but it wasn't going to do me any good to revive those feelings.  Instead I decided to count it all joy and bring joy to others by giving them a good laugh…the part about my shoe was the highlight.


Life is hard.   There's no way around it.   We are all on our own journeys, some longer than others.  Our stories are being written but we can choose how they end.   If you know me, you know mine has been of paralyzing anxiety and fear.   I don't want my story to end that way.  God doesn't want it to end that way.   My pastor said yesterday we need to say this to ourselves, “I'm not where I want to be but I'm not where I was.”   A year ago, I would've never thought I would be flying all over the country let alone by myself. For me, it's about accepting the hard things I can't change and knowing I'm never alone.  It's about believing there's always a light at the end of the tunnel even if I can't always see it.  “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:5.   The light is Jesus and because of Him, I can count it all joy. 








You Are Enough

By Eileen Glotfelty • March 13, 2026
Today I had an errand to do on the other side of town. When I left my house, it was warm and sunny. As I drove toward my destination, I noticed dark, gray clouds up ahead. I had no idea it was supposed to rain. Thankfully I was in the store when the storm rolled in. It was literally a downpour complete with thunder and lightning. I remember thinking I wouldn't be going to my car any time soon. Unfortunately the extended time in the store resulted in some overspending. As I stood in the checkout line. I overheard one of the cashiers say. “I love thunderstorms.” As a child, I loved them too, especially if I was already tucked in bed for the night. I can't explain it but that was the time I felt the most safe. There was something peaceful amidst all the noise. I still feel the same way. Tonight another thunderstorm rolled in. The weather forecast said it could be severe with high winds. I wasn't afraid. In fact. If it wasn't so early, I would've jumped into bed. I had to ask myself why I felt such peace during a storm. I never really thought about it before. Was it the fact I knew that despite all the drama and noise, it would eventually come to an end? It's something I need to think about because my attitude is quite the opposite with the storms of life. I've spent most of my life just trying to survive the storms. Sometimes I've denied them, other times I've tried to run from them and there were times I tried to hide from them but each time, they stopped or moved on. I feel like I'm in a place right now where I need a reminder of safety even in the midst of a storm. Jesus wasn't afraid of the storm, He went right into it and walked on water. Peter got out of the boat and started walking toward him but as soon as he got distracted by the waves and the noise, he started to sink and fear tried to take over. Jesus was still there and when Peter cried out to Him, Scripture says Jesus immediately reached out and grasped Peter's hand and Peter was safe. So Jesus, the storm is raging all around. I'm reaching out to You. I've gotten distracted Lord. I need You. Make me aware when I'm sinking and meet me in the waves for You are my help and You are enough.

Valentine's Day

By Eileen Glotfelty • February 14, 2026
Valentine's Day has always been my favorite holiday. I remember walking past the candy shop in town as a child and seeing all the beautiful heart boxes in the window. One box always caught my eye. It was a huge red heart at least two feet long. It was covered with red silk roses and a red frilly ribbon around the edge. To me it was a symbol of love. I dreamed of the day someone would give it to me. I met the love of my life unexpectedly. He was the kindest, most loving man I ever knew. Not only did he love me, he loved me unconditionally. This was a new concept for me. I was used to giving something to get something, but with him, I didn't have to give anything. He gave of himself and didn't expect anything in return. He showed me what true love was all about. He showed me God's love. We celebrated many Valentine's Days together. There were years we didn't have two nickels to rub together and he would make me handmade cards and paint wooden hearts red with a gold, glittery “I Love You” written on the front. There was one year when the single ladies from our church volunteered to watch the kids so the moms and dads could have a night out. We didn't have the money to do anything fancy so we picked up a meal from Boston Market and went back to our “empty” house. We watched a movie, uninterrupted, and then put on some music and spent time slow dancing. It was my favorite Valentine's Day of all time. When I think back to that time of walking past the candy store, I realized I didn't need a fancy red heart to make me feel loved. I received all the love I could have ever imagined from a man who made me cards and danced with me around the family room. What I've learned is I can still have my dreams but if it doesn't work out the way I thought, God has something better, and if I can lean into that and trust Him, it'll be more than enough because He is enough. Happy Valentine's Day!

Learning To Cast

By Eileen Glotfelty • January 16, 2026
I was married to a fisherman, an avid fisherman. Almost as soon as we were engaged, he was planning our dream honeymoon on the shores of Chandos Lake in Canada. He was eight years old when his parents bought property around the lake and built a log cabin. He spent every summer there and that's where his love of fishing began. Whether he was standing on the shore or in a boat on the water, he spent countless hours doing what he loved. I'll never forget that first week. I knew I was in trouble the minute we arrived. There were two ways to get to the cabin. One was by boat (which we were towing), or maneuvering our car around boulders on a dirt road. We docked the boat at a small marina and drove to the cabin. I have to admit, my first view of the cabin was breathtaking. It was situated on a point where a bay joined the main part of the lake. Inside there was a wood burning stove and blue gingham curtains hung on the windows. My one challenge was the lack of indoor plumbing. I have to admit I was horrified when he threw a hose into the lake and connected it to a pump! We spent the rest of the day unpacking and settling in. It wasn't until the next morning I realized my husband's love for fishing was more like an addiction. I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. As a new bride, I was adjusting to the joy of waking up to find the man I loved lying beside me, only this day, there was no man. Instead I found a note and a foghorn. Unbeknownst to me, he had risen before sunrise and headed out on the lake. The note he left simply said, “Went fishing. Stand on the shore and blow the fog horn and I'll come in. I love you!” Needless-to-day, I was not impressed; however, he was a man of his word and came in when I blew the foghorn. I had never been one for the great outdoors so I had to make a decision. I finally decided, “if you can't beat em, join em.” This involved learning how to fish. The first step was going to the bait shop. I couldn't even imagine touching anything slimy so when my eyes landed on some black, rubber worms, with hot pink tails, I told myself, “You can do this!” My husband laughed and shook his head but with my rubber worms in hand, we headed out to the lake. Step two involved learning how to cast. The better the cast, the more chance of success…or so I was told. My husband happily shifted into teaching mode and explained the finer art of casting. It's definitely not as easy as it looks. It took technique and focus but equally important was knowing where to cast. After several attempts, I made a successful cast. Now the hard part…the waiting! It was during the waiting that I heard the story of “the big one that got away.” Apparently there was a large mouth bass that was bigger than the rest. He was the Grandpappy of the lake and many had tried and failed to conquer him. I don't remember if it was this first fishing trip or the next but all I know is the fish were biting and I started reeling them in with my black rubber worms. Once again, God was in control. We had been out there a little while so it would soon be time to call it a day. Suddenly there was a tug on my line. It didn't feel the same as the others. This was a big one. He gave me quite a fight and I was screaming my head off while my husband grabbed a net. As I reeled in my catch, we could hardly believe it. I had caught the Grandpappy with a rubber worm! Needless-to-say, I gloated after the shock wore off. One other thing I learned with casting my line was the importance of adding a weight near the hook. The weight enables the hook to sink below the surface enabling the success of the catch. It's the same when we cast our cares on the Lord. It's about giving him not only the situation, but the weight of it that we are not meant to carry. He says it in His Word: Psalms 55:22 NIV Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Today I found myself casting and recasting. Some things are harder to let go of than others, but as I kept giving it to him, I felt the weight lift off my shoulders My prayer went something like this. “Lord, I need You to help me. This is a big one. It runs deep. I don't want to hold onto it and I'm casting it on you.” Even though the situation didn't change, it felt different. There was peace in the waiting. One last thing…the next time we went to the bait shop, guess who bought some black rubber worms?