Am I The Only One?

What exists now is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing truly new on earth.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 

 

Have you ever had to endure a situation where you felt as though you were the only one going through this?  It's a HUGELY frustrating feeling, isn't it?  After living through the stress and struggle for so long, we begin to wonder how anyone could possibly have an inkling of what we are enduring, much less care that we are slowly sinking and there's nothing we can do about it.

 

To be honest, we, as humans, aren't usually ones to come rushing to someone who is enduring a hardship, difficult time, or struggling.  Why?  Perhaps it's because they hide it well and we don't realize there's an issue.  Perhaps we prefer not to notice because we want to stay in the "no-sad zone."  Perhaps we feel drained from having just reached out to someone else struggling and we aren't ready to do that again just yet.

 

Whatever our reason, the person enduring the struggle eventually will begin to believe that they are the only one who has, is, or ever will face such a challenge as theirs.  That feeling can lead to despair!  However....God reminds us that we are NOT alone in our struggles.  Notice today's verse: "...there is nothing truly new on the earth."  Did you catch that? Our struggles may be new to us, but they are not new and they are most certainly not new to God.  Nothing surprises God!  And, as a matter of fact, God allows struggles in our lives to teach us how to help others later on who may be facing a similar struggle.

 

Yes, we will encounter situations where we slump down and wonder "Why me?" and we will begin to believe the whisperer from the pit who tells us no one cares, no one understands, no one has ever faced this, and the whisperer LIES!

 

One of the things I try to remind the Deputies and employees of the Sheriff's Department: "If I don't know what's going on with you, I can't help you or find help for you."  And it's true!  But start with God, He has more resources at His immediate disposal.  But understand YOU are NEVER alone!

Life.....Driving Me Crazy!!!!

When my heart is overwhelmed, 

lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:2 

 

If we were to look at all that is going on in your life, job, and mind...what would we discover?  I'm willing we would discover many who are either on the verge of, or already, overwhelmed by everything.  We have quite the balancing act to perform while we are on this Earth.  

 

We have family issues (finances, activities, juggling childcare, clothing, housing, food, transportation, where to we go first for Christmas/Thanksgiving, what do we need to do not to offend the family members, and on and on); 

 

We have job issues (am I doing a good job, will I be able to get promoted, how do I stay out of the gossip/politics, how am I going to afford the new insurance rates, what mood is the boss in today, how can I find time for vacation when I have projects that need my input, does my family come first or does the job, and on and on and on);

 

We have relationship issues (Does he/she like me, have I messed up, he/she ticks me off with her actions/words/inaction/silence, how can we have a relationship with my crazy schedule,  how do I deal with the people who insist on criticizing my very existence, how do I repair this broken relationship or do I even want to, is this relationship good for me or is it creating more stress than it's worth, and on and on);

 

Toss into the mix the daily items of which we have no control (traffic, engine trouble, weather, etc.) and it is amazing that we haven't crawled into a cave to wait it out.  We feel the stress and anxiety mounting with unrelenting progress and the faster we try to keep juggling everything the more frantic we become until we finally just can't take it anymore.

 

What happens when we become overwhelmed?  We begin to doubt our worth.  We begin to feel as though we are a failure.  We lash out at others because they seem to be able to handle the pressure better than we can. Our neck and back muscles  begin to knot and even the chiropractor can't unknot our knots.  Our sleep gets disrupted because our mind won't shut down, OR we can't seem to get enough sleep because we don't want to face the world any longer. Our health begins to decline. And finally, we begin to shut down.

 

So what do we do? Allow me to offer some helps, please note this is not a complete list by any stretch, but hopefully something will offer a bit of relief:

1. TAKE TIME OFF!  I know, you don't believe you have the time to get away, but you do.  So what if the project moves forward without you.  It your health declines because you won't take time to recharge, the project will still move forward without you.
2. FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANT! If your home life is in turmoil, it will bleed into your work which will cause your work to suffer.  God provided you a family for a reason, embrace them.  Make them your place of refuge!  If you are dating, your relationship status will take a toll on your performance in every other aspect of your life.  Therefore, if the relationship is building you up and making your WHOLE life better, good.  If you are left constantly wondering if this is going to work out....walk away.
3.  Take Care of YOU!  God only gave the universe ONE you!  You are the only you EVER!  Therefore, take care of you...your health, your sleep, your life, your everything.  Remember, the same God who keeps the seas from enveloping the world is the same God who holds you in His hand and knows how many hairs you have.
4. Learn To Let Go! "Life is simple, it is we who complicate it."  I love The Big Bang Theory!  There are many wonderful quotes from that program, but my favorite is from Sheldon "Life is simply the breathing, taking in nourishment, and expelling waste.  The rest is unnecessary."  If you have more activities than you can keep track of, eliminate some of them.  And, at the risk of offending parents, children do NOT need to have so many activities that you are merely a taxi!
5. Rely on the ONE Who is in Control!  God is God.....we are not.  God loves us beyond our ability to comprehend.  God is the one who should be our primary focus because He is the one with the plan for each of us.  Talk with Him.  Talk with Him a LOT!  Talk with Him about EVERYTHING! 

What If?

Why am I anxious?
Why am I restless?
    I trust you!
And I will praise you again
    because you help me,
    and you are my God.

Psalm 42:11

 

"What if?" is a question I hear quite a lot.  Do we ask this because we want to be certain?  Or could it be that we are fearful of making a decision?  Or could it be that we are just bad at relying on the love of God for us? 

 

We like to have all the answers before we decide and we like to have all the pieces in place before we move.  You have probably heard the question, whether or not you have pondered it, "What would you do if you could not fail?"  Go ahead....ponder that for a moment.

 

Now...think of how much time and energy we waste by doubting and filling the air with "What If?" questions.  Have you ever heard the song "Blessed Assurance"?  God has promised us in Romans 8:28 that we cannot fail.  Granted, there will be times when the outcome will be much different than we expected, but God will not allow us to fail.  

 

What if I encourage someone and they bite my head off?  Do it anyway and let God deal with the other person.

 

What if I offer someone guidance from my own experience and they don't take it?  Do it anyway.  And let God do with it what He will with the other person.  

 

What if I reach out to someone and they reject my offer?  Do it anyway and let God deal with them.

 

I may have mentioned this before, and then again I may not have, I crochet afghans.  They are called BUBBAs (Butt Ugly But Big Afghans) and I give them away.  I crochet them while I have quiet time and when I am contemplating.  The very first one I made I gave to my Bride as a wedding gift 18 years ago.  She enjoyed it for a while and gave it to a lady who was starting her life over after spending time in SisterCare.  Now, either of them could have laughed and rejected the BUBBA.  But they didn't.  Over time, this has become a ministry project (with a Facebook Page too).  

 

When I came to the Sheriff's Department, I kept making them.  I was terrified to give away the first one.  People would think I was weird or something (and I am weird, so there).  One of our retired Deputies was in the hospital dying, I gave his wife the first one.  Last year when Sheriff Lott took his Oath of Office, this dear lady came up to me after the ceremony to thank me for that BUBBA and to let me know that she still finds comfort in it.

 

What if I had ignored God's prompting and not given that BUBBA away?  But God promised that He would make sure I did not fail, and He was absolutely right.  Here it is 11 years and some 50+ BUBBAs later and God is still proving Himself true to His Word!   

When Should We Give Thanks?

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

 Have you ever found yourself in a rather sticky situation that you REALLY wish you didn't have to endure?  I have found, from experience, that pretty much all such situations in which I find myself are the result of my own actions, inactions, decisions, and just my own lack of thinking.  And when I am in the midst of such a situation, my first thought is to find a way out FAST!

 

It's not easy when we realize that we are the ones who messed up.  Honestly, even thought I KNOW God is fully aware of my situation, I have this habit of not talking with Him about it.  Why?  Because I am too stubborn, too embarrassed, too angry, too something other than thankful.  Consider this: How do we learn? Usually from experience...and Experience is a cruel teacher.  

 

Think about it...how did you discover that cookies right out of the oven were hot?  By grabbing one and feeling the heat.  How did you figure out that there's a difference between suntan and sunburn? By getting sunburned.  We learn usually by doing it wrong, but that is one of the things we should thank God for, He didn't have to give us a mind that is capable of learning.

 

But think about this: When we are grateful and thankful to God in EVERY situation we remind ourselves that God is in control and will work everything to our good and His glory when we learn to turn loose of it. 

It's In Your DNA

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:12-13 

 

As a Christmas gift to myself, I decided to get one of those kits where you can have your DNA analyzed and find out about your history.  I sent the kit off today with excitement and more than a little apprehension.  What happens if my DNA comes back to inform me that my family tree doesn't fork?  What happens if I find out that my ancestry was filled with "folks of ill repute"?  What would people think if they discovered that they were related to me?  What if my ethnicities all point to "Other"?  

 

I find it amazing that scientists can find something that God created us with and use it to find out all sorts of information about us.  And we have just, in the last few years, figured out how helpful DNA can be, and God has filled us with this information since the dawn of time.

 

While I await the results, I am confident of one fact...my true family DNA is God's.  You see, as believers we have been given the right to claim our place as children of God!  God has so constructed our spiritual DNA so that it will always come back to Him. 

 

David was not kidding that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that before anyone saw us, God saw us as He was knitting our bits and pieces together to form us into the child He would include in His plans.  Take just a moment and thank God for the families He has included us in and celebrate His plans for us.

Sleepless? Is It My Bloodshot Eyes?

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

Psalm 4:8 

 

Have you ever had trouble sleeping at night because you have so much on your mind that it's like having a jolt of electricity flowing through you?  Yep....me too.  And I admit that I have relied on sleep meds to deal with this issue.  Guess what?  They were a "hit or miss" when it came to sleep (they only seemed to work when I was so exhausted that I kept dozing off in my recliner).

 

God has a rather unique sense of humor.  There were times I would toss and turn for hours, then have the uncontrollable need to get up and chat with God around 2am.  First, I did all the talking and little listening.  I would unload everything that was on my mind.  Some times the more I unloaded, the more I discovered to be unloaded.  Finally when I finished unloading, I would begin to feel sleepy again and I can't prove I heard it, but I can't prove I didn't; I could swear I heard God chuckle and remind me that He's got me in His care.

 

Then, I would toddle off to bed and the next 4 hours were the best sleep ever.  You see, when we learn to START by letting God know exactly what is on our minds and hearts we will be amazed what a relief it is to turn everything over to the ONE who can take care of everything and us too!

 

Let's try it together.  That's right, I'm still learning too. 

Run? Are You Kidding Me?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us.

Hebrews 12:1 

If you've ever watch the Track and Field Events in the Olympics, you've probably noticed that the none of the athletes are carrying heavy weights when they run.  You'll probably notice that they seldom, if ever, look back.  Why?  Because these would hinder their running.

Now...notice that we are being told to "run with endurance."  Why is that?  Well, because life is not a sprint!  When we sprint, we expend a lot of energy and focus needlessly.  Life is a GIFT which God has given each of us.  We are expected to be in it for the long haul, so that we can receive the help we need and give the help others need; so we can be a blessing and we can be blessed; so that we can learn to let go of the things that hinder our running.

"Get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely" the writer is not kidding.  We carry around too much.  When we are finally able to surrender our "baggage" to God through Christ, we will feel the weight come off our hearts!  But that means we have to be brutally honest with ourselves, because God already knows all our secrets.

Run the race with endurance!