There are definitely times in life where things just don't seem to be going your way. I am not superstitious in any way but there is one thing that I truly believe in. "Bad" things always happen in threes. I don't know what it is about that number but around here, things happen in threes. Whether it's animals getting sick, things breaking, or, in some cases, an animal dying, it's all in threes. You may try to dissuade me, but Amie and I will always believe it to be true. True or not, we tend to notice the bad things in life and they do seem to happen all at once, whether it's to us or too those around us. There are definitely seasons of life where we're on top of the mountain and seasons where we are in the valley.
Lately, it seems like life hasn't been exactly going "my" way (realizing that my way is not God's way and that His way is much better). I've been having ongoing problems with my foot that has not only limited me and kept me from running (my main source of stress relief) or playing ball but when one part of you hurts and has hurt for a while, other parts of you hurt. And it gets into your mind and begins to frustrate you when no one can give you a clear answer as to why you are hurting. All you want to know is why you hurt and how you can stop. I've had to apologize to a dear friend a couple of times because my un-vented frustrations turned into grumpiness and I took it out on her. Not her fault at all and thankfully I've got an awesome best friend who forgives and forgets. It's an every day choice I have to make. I'm not normally a grumpy moody person but we all know that you don't mess with a wounded animal and now I know why!
Not only does my body not work right, neither does my truck! First the front axle actuator went out (very expensive) and now my speedometer is off by at least 20 mph. So the other day I cruised down the interstate at 90 mph (according to the speedometer) but was still being passed. :-) Yet another thing to be fixed. One thing that I learned in college was that when money was tight, it made all of your other issues seem bigger. I wish we weren't so dependent on money and I'm working towards becoming debt free but it seems like whenever I start to make progress, things like medical and vehicle expenses hit all at once.
I'm reminded of a story where a man asks God why his cross was so big and if he could "trade" it out for another cross. God allowed him into a room filled with crosses of all sizes. The man found a small wooden cross at the back of the room and asked God if he could have that one. God told him that it was the one he'd been carrying. While our cross seems big, we don't know what others are going through. There's a lot of stuff going on right now, both worldwide and locally. I know that some camp folks are going through some rough times of their own with recent illness, injuries, and multiple family losses. Obviously, there is a lot going on across the ocean with many hurting people in Japan. This is a valley season in the world. However, how would we know the mountaintops if we never experienced a valley. We wouldn't appreciate these warm summer days nearly as much if we hadn't just come off of a hard cold winter.
My cross, your cross....I hope you look at it with a new perspective. I hadn't been thinking that my cross was large and I would not classify this as a big "valley" in my life, but I had definitely allowed myself to be frustrated and let my thoughts get overwhelmed with the "what ifs?". It's a choice every day to not think about myself, focus on others around me, and to not get frustrated. Still hoping that answers come quickly and with resolution but trusting in the plan.
"His ways are not our ways."
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