How do you deal with life, pain, stress? Do you grieve it? Do you run from it? Do you drink in the dark? Do you work out? Do you listen to sad songs? Do you make sad choices?
I teach kindergarten special needs. So I often speak “Kindergartenese.” I say things like, “That was a sad choice.” “We need to make happy choices!” I say things like this, in normal conversation with my adult friends. One day at work I made a topic board about staying on the grid for a few of my friends who need visuals reminders for staying on the grid. (2 Corinthians 1:4 “He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”)
Here it is…
Everyone deals with emotions, stress, and pain in their life in different ways. For me I have days where I feel like I want to run a million miles an hour in the other directions because this life isn’t always easy. Sometimes you just want to go off the grid for awhile. I have learned what my personal gages are, I can tell when I am going to fast and need to take some time and slow down. Truth be told, that isn't always easy. I like to keep a copy of rules for staying on the grid on the fridge, it "Def" helps me to remember to breathe. "Smell the flower, blow out the candle."
Something that I hold to be true is that God never promised us it would be easy, he only said we would never go alone. My all time favorite verses are 1 Peter 5:6-10, “6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” I love these words. They help me to remember I am not alone. Verse 9 just pops out at me and gives me comfort that there are people all over the world suffering in the same ways. We have a God of hope and in a world where there seems to be little of that these days, we just need to keep our head up. When our eyes are on Jesus, then it’s all going to be okay.
