Good morning…
A friend who is juggling a ton of extreme stressors called me on her way to work.
“People who do not understand keep asking, ‘Are you taking care of yourself?'” she explained. “Stopping to take care of myself amid all of this craziness would be like holding up an umbrella in a hurricane. Hard, driving rains are coming in sideways, swirling madly, drenching from all directions. Putting up an umbrella would be useless. I know I just need to step through this storm.”
“What allows you to step through this crazy storm each day?” I asked.
As she listed off three basic essentials, her wisdom felt so profound that I instinctively took out a pen to capture her powerful perspective.
- Genuinely, I have a heart that is excited and grateful to develop endurance through this overwhelming season. It is a privilege to see myself maturing with God. I’m really excited to see how my life is going to be reworked eventually.
- God is heightening my attentiveness to the little gifts, the tiny drops of fuel which get me through the day. Hearing a previous student say to a loved one, “This woman transformed my life.” Receiving an encouraging text message from a mentor, “I see and appreciate everything you are doing.” Noticing the beauty of a flower as I pass by. Little tiny things amplify God’s voice, “You are doing the right thing.”
- Underlying what is going on there is something happening beyond what my heart and mind can comprehend. I don’t have to know what God is doing, I just need to trust that the blessings coming out of this time are immeasurable.
“I am in a hurricane without an umbrella,” she concluded. “I am taking one deliberate step at a time, forgiving myself for what doesn’t get done. Forgiving myself for the times I am too sharp with my words. There will be a day of peace. For now God is asking something of me, but I don’t know what it is. I think he is asking me to trust him most deeply.”
As we finished our conversation and hung up the phone, I drifted deeply into prayer for my friend. Ephesians 1:15-19 (MSG) put voice to my innermost thoughts.
…I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
Empowered to take each diligent step, trusting the extravagant work of God in us, who needs an umbrella in a hurricane?
…Sue…