I have repeatedly heard and read that we are supposed to be thankful in all situations and I have never understood how that can be possible or even how it is accomplished. Yesterday the light on those questions was finally focused for me. I titled this humble pie 2, because the simplicity of the how and why seemed so basic that I had literally skipped right over it. But isn’t that our way? Don’t we have the tendency to make everything hard?!
I never realized how tightly I had shut the door of my heart, even wedging it tighter with the hurts that have accompanied the negativity in my life. It seemed to be an oxymoron to be thankful in those circumstances; never did I think, with that being the operative word, that God’s power can’t be associated with anything negative. God is positive and like a magnet He is trying to pull us through that negativity, closer to Him, but we don’t let Him. We get so wrapped up in our little pity parties. The solution is simple, almost too simple. Turn to Him and release, allow Him to pull you through the pain because to hold onto it you can’t hold onto Him. I have the tendency to try to hold onto God with one hand and my pain with the other, so picture a tug of war with me being the center line on the rope. My desire determines the strength I choose to allow one side or the other to pull harder! Instead of holding one hand of each, give God both of your hands!
Which then leads to the next simplistic answer to my question of “What if”. Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable….wait until you hear this and I hope it sheds as much light for you as it did for me! We borrow our concerns from the future when we stop focusing on today! Eegads, it is like I’ve gone to the library and check out the “what if” book. Did anyone’s mother or father say anything to you about borrowing trouble, while you were growing up? Mine did. Well, it is a true phenomenon and God’s answer to it is to rest in His peace today and when you agree to His terms, He takes whatever that “what if” is and hides it from you, masking the outcome to allow for your peace of mind and your ability to get through the day at hand. I’ll use a pretty tough example and one I’ve been able to share the experience of. When you are working with a cancer patient and they are in the midst of chemo, you focus on the day at hand, not some far off occasion. It isn’t that you are not hopeful of them experiencing the far off occasion, it is that you are able to see just how difficult it can be to get through that one day. Chemo zaps you of strength, not to mention making you feel sick. The person going through the chemo doesn’t have the wherewithal to even want to think about anything down the road, they just want to make it through the day! Remember the story about the manna from heaven? God didn’t say hoard it up for a rainy day and those that tried found out it rotted, no He said, gather enough for today. He wanted the Israelites to trust Him for the next day, the NEXT DAY! I don’t buy into the idea of “needing to know” everything. In fact, in war or other situations where a surprise element is needed, I never can comprehend how we are supposed to shock and awe someone, when we advertise we are about to shock and awe them?! Isn’t that like telling someone you are having a surprise party for them? Tomorrow is tomorrow and by focusing on it, we lose out on what is today!
I’ll end with, when I sit each morning and allow myself to be in God’s presence, I have the amazing feeling of joy. Joy in my opinion is the ability to feel that at the given moment all is right with the world, I have my needs met and am loved in the fullness of my being. Now, I want to figure out how to make that feeling last longer than just the quiet time of my morning, because as I move past that quiet time and reposition into the world, the joy that I have felt seems to fade and the what ifs seem to re-take control. While I know the answer is to keep God at the center of my day, I just need the practice of doing so!
Side note – Today - Happy 91st birthday Dad and should I not blog tomorrow, Happy 88th Mom. I am blessed to have been born and raised in such a wonderful loving home. Thank you!
Looking up! ~ Barb
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