Thursday, May 24, 2012

Stopping the Slide

CRACK.

I heard my toe break. Sharp pain raced through my foot as I stumbled. I tried to focus on not dropping the bowl of ice cream I was carrying.

I’d rearranged the living room the day before. And I'd been out of the house most of that summer day and was now heading into the darkened room to turn on the TV and relax with some rocky road. But I forgot things were now moved around, and I walked smack into the wooden base of our sofa.

It was so unexpected.

Have you ever had the experience of waking up, surveying your life and wondering how things got to be like this?  The things you'd carefully arranged years ago have been somehow moved. Other things you thought were firmly in place are now gone. And things you don't remember putting in place - things you never meant to sign on for - are now dominating your landscape.


Yeah, me too. There was a year late in my teenage life when I went off to college, my mother died, our family Hallmark business was sold, and my childhood home was sold too. I came home from my semester away, looked around, and suddenly I didn't recognize my life. I knew why, but still I wondered how it had gotten like this.

It was so unexpected.

I felt like I was slipping. Like my whole family was slipping. Like my life and future were slipping. And for the first time I wasn't so sure I had what it takes to fully overcome the set-back. I wasn't entirely sure how to overcome this set-back.  The carefree confidence I'd always had took a hit, along with my heart.

Then I began to walk with Christ. I could have penned Psalm 94:18-19 at that point:

“When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”


If you can relate to wondering how your life got so unrecognizable. Or if you can relate to feeling like something significant is sliding - like you are slipping. Or if you are smarting from the pain of running into obstacles - call out to God in prayer today.

He will lift you up. He will set you back down on solid rock. And he will craft a path for you.

Just felt like maybe someone needed to hear that today.

10 comments:

  1. Thanks Rachel! I needed to hear this today and I am so glad I stopped by........thanks for always being an encourager :)

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    1. Love to you today, Lakeisha!

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    2. wow.. well my paragraph that I just wrote to you disappeared... so I will try once more, and this time just say "thank you" for encouraging us. This post was very needed today!
      because of grace,
      Cathy
      pbprojecthope at yahoo dot com
      palmbreezeliving.blogspot.com

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    3. Thanks, Cathy. I'm going over to visit your blogs. :)

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  2. God had me in mind when He made you write this. Thanks for listening to the Holy Spirit and God bless,

    Anna

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    1. So grateful to hear that, Anna. Blessings to you.

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  3. Thanks Rachel, I really needed to hear this today. God bless you!

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  4. Rachel,

    I can hardly see how to type the words because of the tears forming. It's me, I am one of the ones who needs to hear this today. We've been walking a jobless journey for almost a year and a half now and my faith and confidence in HIM has been strong, but today . . . well it's been a hard one. My life feels shaken up, turned upside down, and scattered in pieces all over the floor. Your words so resonated with me. I don't recognize my life anymore and what I thought I knew suddenly seems not so sure. Please pray for me and our family today : )

    Thanks,
    Pam

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    1. Pam, my heart - and more importantly, my prayers - go out to you. One of my dear girlfriends just told me about an hour ago that her husband lost his job today. I committed to praying for them daily. Now I will also pray for your family as I pray for them each day.

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  5. Thanks for the encouragement sweet friend! Sorry we missed you when we visited Wilmington in May. Maybe we can get together in August.

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