Sunday, June 1, 2014

You Are Really Gonna Be Somethin' Pretty Awesome!

He said he awoke to sounds
 of someone coming in through the window,
and instantly,
 his stomach was in his throat.
So leaving the safety of his bed
 he began to search for the intruder.
Upon closer inspection,
 he realized
 that the
"intruder coming through the window"
was nothing more
 than his son's gerbil
taking a midnight spin
 on the gerbil wheel!
 
He was unnerved.
Wide awake.
All systems primed to kill the gerbil.
And yet,
there was safety in the house.
Home was a refuge,
a safe refuge.
And though he didn't say,
I suppose he went back to bed,
and I would imagine
 sleep was long in coming.
 
I overheard my brother
relate this story a few days ago.
He told how the incident
completely unnerved him.
I've thought about it all day today,
 off and on
and
I've thought about how
life can deal you some blows
those hard difficult blows
that just simply
 slug your stomach
to your throat
in much the same way
that my brother felt.
Often those blows
bring up emotions
and
responses to fear.
 
F.E.A.R.
f...false
e...evidence
a...appearing
r...real
 
I know
I know...
not always...
is fear based on false evidence,
but yes,
 sometimes it really is.
 
This evening late,
thunder rumbled,
lightening flashed,
the wind blew,
leaves swirled across the yard,
the temperature cooled,
the humidity evaporated.
We gathered on the porch
to enjoy a summer storm.
 
And yet,
everything
we heard
and saw
was false evidence.
There was no storm.
There was no rain.
 
On a particularly long
and stressful day,
not too long ago,
I told my husband,
"If we can just get through this,
 we are gonna be SO AWESOME!"

Ha ha ha,
now I chuckle at my attempts.
 
I was trying to keep it light
and
interject the positive
and try to feel things
that neither of us probably
felt like feeling.
But hey, why not try?
Right?
And he would chuckle
 and respond with a half hearted,
 "Yeah."
 
Because you've probably dealt
 with some of the same things we have,
when life is
knocking you around
and
slugging your stomach
right up to your Adam's apple
and the thunder is rumbling
and the lightening is flashing
and on top of all that...
you think you hear an
 "intruder comin' through the window".
 
When all along,
that ruckus,
that noise,
that emergency,
that tough time,
  is just the gerbil on the wheel.
 
So don't give in to fear I tell ya.
Recognize
"that gerbil"
"that intruder"
"that joy stealer"
"that worry maker"
"that energy zapper"
for what he really is,
and focus on
Truth
and
Peace
and
Joy
and
Love
and
Comfort.
 
I have to tell myself that too.
Because many times fear is from
false
evidence
appearing
real.
 
So tell me,
how do you deal with fear?
 
He knows the way I take and when He has tried me I will come forth as gold.
Old Testament Book of Job, Chapter 23 verse 10
 
So look out y'all,
once you get through whatever
 it is you are going through,
you are gonna be somethin' really awesome. 
 Just you wait and see!

1 comment:

Donnie Pirtle said...

Good, Awesome, Amazing post. I know I wouldn't be able to put it into such an inspiring form as you have. Looking forward to your more awesomeness. Have a wonderful day.