So yesterday, I talked about Walking In Victory Over Trials and overcoming a victim mentality. I was referring to the "big" trials in life, those things that change and redefine our lives as we once knew them. But what about the day to day "small potatoes," all those "little" things, the day to day, the mundane, that cause us to be discouraged and walk defeated?
So honestly, I had to go back and read my own post yesterday and again this morning! In my case, I have learned to expect the "attacks" that seem to come everytime I do anything in the area of ministry. I believe I've talked about this in previous posts - the bull's eye that seems to be on the backs of anyone working for the Lord. The enemy (a.k.a. the devil) gets completely bent out of shape when God's people work to unravel all that he's trying to destroy in the lives of others. So as it seems to be the case, I know that on the days I post on my blog, serve in my church, minister to a friend or family member in need of encouragement, etc., I can expect curve balls and challenges to come with the territory. Any of my readers in ministry, Pastors, Small Group Leaders, Children's Ministry Workers, Worship Team Members, Bible Study Leaders, etc., you know who you are and you know exactly the type of attack I'm referring to!
For others, like me on the days I'm wearing my wife and homeschooling mother hat, just going about my day to day life, there are no less attacks from the same enemy for the same purpose of challenging, testing, discouraging, and otherwise paralyzing us from doing what we're called to do on a day to day basis. In either case, whether you're wearing your ministry hat, your spouse hat, parenting hat, employee hat, etc., the call to walk in victory and the manner of doing so, are the same.
So for example, (I'll leave out many of the specific details for the protection of my children's confidentiality) but I will try to share enough information to create the perfect Calgon environment that you can relate to cuz I know you can! I cannot possibly be the only mother on planet Earth with days like these! Please someone tell me I am not! :) Ok, so you can't close your eyes to really place yourself in the moment cuz you won't be able to read this post! :) But with your eyes open, plug yourself into this equation as I try to re-create the perfect chaos to stir up that anxiety, tension, frustration, discouragement that I know some of you can relate to on days like these! :) You don't necessarily have to be a wife or mother to relate. You've had these types of days at work or wherever you do your day to day too!
So to reflect, I told you yesterday how we threw our entire financial future and credit into the wind in an 8 year legal battle for my son. I also told you that we have worked very hard to restore the mess of all of it over the last several years. You know the story from there, I told you, and I know you can relate to just when you begin to restore something, regardless of what it is, something happens in life often times that causes you to have to start back at step one. So in our case, just as it was beginning to break, (how many of you know that it takes years to recover from something like that?) my husband's company "re-organized" & "downsized" due to the economy and a 4 month job search, hence 4 months of no paycheck, being taken to the brink of losing everything and a relocation and "start over" followed. Relocating and starting over is expensive and doing so being 4 months behind and owning a home in a housing market that wouldn't be a good investment to sell right now, can be challenging. Relocating and starting over in a location where the cost of living is at least 30% higher than where we came from can really intensify the challenge. I mention all of this for 2 reasons: (1) to give you an understanding of how "small potato" day to day challenges can become a big deal depending on one's circumstances to begin with and (2) I know that in these economic times, someone reading this is struggling with job loss and financial set-back right now in this moment and sometimes it helps just to know that you are not the only one when you are going through a difficult season and to fast forward to see how God worked it out for someone else to give you the faith that He will work it out for you too!
So having vehicle issues this week after having heating system issues at our home in Richmond we're renting out to tenants with small children who call to report it's 58 degrees in the house last week, 6 months post starting completely over, post 4 months no paycheck can cause for a stressful day! I'm just sayin.....!!!! :) That's just how we begin our day! :) Me stranded at home all week with no vehicle because Harry needs to get to work somehow with his often 3 HOUR COMMUTE :) on the week the kid that goes to school is off from school and how many of you can relate to the "small potatoes" of being an unpaid referee amongst the continual sibling rivalry all day, the countless trips to the bathroom to address dicipline issues, the every 3 minute interruptions as you're neck deep in piles of laundry, the exhaustive creativity of building forts, doing arts & crafts, etc., to keep everyone sane?! :) And then you know how it goes stay-at-home moms, as the long day draws to an end and you look forward to your husband/relief system arriving home in the near future, he calls to inform you that his boss scheduled 4:00 meeting that will likely last until at least 6:00 and for the moms out there who have hubbies who work in DC like mine, with the rush hour commute, the earliest you can expect relief when his meeting won't even be over until 6pm is about 8:00ish!! :) Ugh!!
AS IF....all of that wouldn't be enough just cause to schedule an appt with a psychiatrist :) in the midst, one of your wayward teens calls, let's just say in an altered state of mind, to inform you that he'll be sleeping in a snowbank tonight because he has otherwise been displaced from his residence due to some poor choices, the 4 yr old tells you after dinner (that's burning as you're on the phone dealing with the crisis of the aforementioned situation) that she's ill! Your husband walks in at 8pm (right on time) exhausted from his day that btw began at 4am and you have to inform him of all of this fantastic news that all good husbands look forward to coming home to (after you warm up and serve him the burnt dinner)! :)
His response? Well, thank God for the husband I have been blessed with! God knew what He was doing when He gave me the perfect husband that would always bring laughter to my chaotic life! "Well, I'm gonna go walk the dog (who btw is quite embarrassing to walk in public with her current hair cut)! With the way this day is going, I'll likely fall down the front steps on the ice doing so, in which case I'll break my back and be disabled preventing me from ever working again, in which case I'll at least be compensated with 1/2 my gross since we were barely making it on the full enchalada to begin with, and since we can't afford for you to call an ambulance, just leave me there to suffer til Friday when I get paid!!" The way he says it all dead seriously with his dry sense of humor...well, you can appreciate how I can't help but run down the hall laughing until I cry! :) We ended the day by putting the kids to bed, changed into cozy sweats, grabbed a bedtime snack which we had in our bed together where we turned on the TV and just laughed together and called it a day!
You know what? Sometimes, that's all you can do! We can cry, complain, yell, fight, take it out on the guy who cuts us off on the road, give up in despair or we can do what Harry and I have learned to do...laugh! Not that we haven't resorted to the above, we have, still do often times, but we have learned that it's non-productive, usually creates more problems, Lord knows we have enough, it only produces a harvest of discouragement, and so sometimes on the "small potato" days like yesterday, laughter is the best medicine!
In all seriousness, the best medicine is to do what I truly had to do most of the day yesterday - remain in a constant posture of surrender! Whether it be the big trials or the day to day challenges of daily life, the solution remains the same. We have to surrender it all to the One who is in control when everything around us is spinning out of control. The best rationalization I can ponder up in my analytical mind that has a need to figure everything out, this one who in Physics class couldn't just accept the law of gravity, I had a need to know how and why, is that the God who created me and designed me uniquely as He did, knows I am prone to wander, knows my stregnths and weaknesses, knows what character issues still need a little more molding & shaping, etc., and He must know that if I am not continually challenged, tried, & tested, I am prone to resort back to Ms. Independent and take the wheel and start trying to control everything in my life as I know it and that I have to be kept in a continual state of surrender in almost every area of my life! That's God's position. Then remember yesterday we talked about the enemy (the devil). He also knows where I am weak, where he can cause me to stumble, grow discouraged, give up, and hinder the work, plans, & purposes God created me for. The 3rd component we we talked about yesterday is just life in a fallen world. Sometimes our daily challenges are just part of life.
So friends, what are we gonna do with those "small potatoes" challenges that come our way today? May I challenge you to laugh, enjoy the blessings in your life today despite the challenges, and entrust and surrender the circumstances that come today that you have no control over to the One who has everything in control. In those pull your hair out, Calgon moments today when you feel like you absolutely cannot handle one more challenge, stop, take every thought captive, and keep it all in perspective. Ask yourself, is this thought pattern productive right now? If it's not turning out that it is, then literally take it captive, force it out, even if you have to say it out loud. Put off lies and put on truth. Communicate with your heavenly father, tell Him exactly what you're feeling and where you're weak and ask for help, turn on something postitive to counter-act the negative thought life & circumstances (for me it's praise & worship music), trust that there is grace and mercy sufficient for the challenges you are facing today, tomorrow will be a new day, nothing is the end of the world, consider someone going through something more difficult than what you face today, and take it a step further and serve them. Take the focus off of yourself and your circumstances and look up and look to others. When you're so overwhelmed that you can't see through the fog of it all, call on a trusted friend, that accountability partner we talked about yesterday you should be seeking out, and ask for prayer, help, perspective, etc. You can do it! You can WALK IN VICTORY over those small potatoes! After all, they're potatoes and you are a child of God!
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