i am learning how fickle i am. how easy it is to sing praise and rejoice when an email filled with good news arrives; and then how only hours later, with the news of a road block, my heart crumbles and i allow all the joy to be replaced with despair.
like getting an oil change; only backwards. i drain out all the clean oil, the oil that makes my engine run smoothly – with dirty oil, which will only clog all those moving parts and cause them to freeze up.
some people take things as they come and can keep a great attitude about them. i can…but it is really hard for me to do that. each time one of these obstacles leaps in my path, i choose to pour in some more dirty oil.
god, give me the faith to understand the trials which face me now, and will continue to come…and help me keep my eyes focused on you, your blessings…and to consider it pure joy.
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6 responses to “oil change”
I am right beside you in this battle. It is so hard to give thanks in the storm. It’s not something that comes naturally, or at least not for me. And I don’t practice it enough for it to become a habit or a way of life. Definitely something I need to work on. Thanks for the great visual!
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4
I like to white-knuckle my expectations. How I think things should play out. I know the end result I’m looking for and I’ve got the playbook written. But God never asks me for my playbook. It stinks. Have faith. Press into it. It will be worth it.
Sometimes I can take things as they come until they come rapid fire and start piling up or I thought I’d already dealt with it until we get round 2. I’m with you here. Meet you in the foxhole!
Haha! You nailed me with this post! I have two very recent posts, back to back, that show the same teeter-totter! The first being how everything seemed to be going wrong and the next was about having so much to celebrate. The irony is that all of the things that I wrote about to be reason to celebrate were still in place, while I was complaining, it just was not what I was focused on.
I’m right there with you Anne. Thanks for being transparent and authentic.
I have prayed for you today.
Know that you are loved,
gaj