Wild and Crazy....we all have those weeks

Have you ever had one of those weeks when you find yourself asking God, “Why”? Why is life so crazy, why do I have to deal with that person, why is my job so stressful, why is it so hard to get everything done? I think each of us has those weeks, and it doesn’t mean that something is wrong with us or we’re doing something wrong, but instead it just shows that we’re alive. That’s part of life even though it may be a part we’d like to eliminate.

So we have to decide how we are going to handle these weeks, which will unavoidably occur in life. People find a lot of ways to cope, and unfortunately many of those coping mechanisms bring about more harm than good. We can cope by pulling back from those who truly love and care about us. We can cope by escaping to another area of life that seems more pleasant and easier to handle. We can cope by finding a drug to bring relief, or by just ignoring the situation and running away. I’ve seen every one of these approaches used as a way to find relief, and the truth of the matter is that they will never solve the problem, and in most instances they make the situation worse.

What I’m learning is that when I’ve exhausted every human way of trying to resolve the “Why” is the time I finally stop and look to the Lord. I don’t understand why, in my stubbornness, I usually wait to approach God until everything else has failed, but that’s my tendency. The good news is that when I do finally come to God, He doesn’t reprimand me about coming to Him last but instead is there with open arms and unconditional love, ready to teach me a valuable lesson about life. Through my “Why God?” times, I learn how amazing His love is for me and how there is nothing in life that I can’t do because God is for me.

I wish this lesson could be taught without having to go through storms in this life, but that’s not how it works. Without the storms I’d quickly forget about how amazing God is because I’d be all caught up in doing what I want to do because the real John can be selfish. Another big plus is that when I’m going through those tough times I get the privilege of seeing how great the family and friends are that God has placed into my life. The Christian life is challenging, but it’s also the greatest life to live because we get to impact others with a message of hope and love.