sittin’ in it

July 26, 2004

I’ve been feeling slammed lately–not slammed as in drunk, but slammed as in kicked while I’m down. It seems like we’ve taken a bit of a beating (my family that is) the last several months in many areas–my husband’s job, financially, with our kids and in our marriage. It’s somewhat reminiscent of my childhood days at the beach when a wave would knock me down and then just as I would get my footing another one would nail me.

But I’m doing my best to “sit in it.” This is one of the most valuable lessons I learned from my parents. “Sittin’ in it” does not only mean facing and accepting those things in life that I really would prefer not to, but it also means not finding an “easy” way out or employing a destructive escape mechanism to avoid the pain altogether.

Please note, it isn’t about exposing myself to undue torment just for the heck of it or to prove some sort of sick point. It’s about realizing there will be difficult times in life and learning to embrace what the suffering will produce in me. The ability to “sit in it” only happens when I know in my soul that God is trustworthy and that He really does know what’s best for me. In a nutshell, I have to trust that God sees a larger purpose in my current situation; while I can only see my immediate circumstances, He sees the big picture. And praise Him for that.

A great illustration of this is a photomosaic. A photomosaic is one large picture made up of a bunch of little tiny pictures. From my perspective, I only see the tiny individual pictures. But God sees the larger picture and knows each individual picture is part of the beautiful whole.

One of my favorite verses:

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
(James 1:2-4, NLT)

Category: Deep Thoughts

Comments

Leave a Reply