Surviving, Recovering, and Soaring (SRS)

If asked to help in the healing process of stressed or distressed people of all ages and persuasions, I'd demur only for a minute.  I truly believe my life entails service to sisters and brothers, whether or not we've ever met.  So it is that I humbly submit unsolicited advice, just in case nobody ever asks! Seriously, though, I grew up in what Daddy called "perilous times," which prompted these insights on"current events," as they used to be called.  Dad would just state, "Ominous times require fearless responses.

If three or four decades again a placid era my father sensed danger, I shudder to imagine how he would evaluate the first two decades of the 21st century! Probably, he'd harmonize his voice with Archie Bunker's, of All in the Family television fame, and sing,

"Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days."

Like so many of us nowadays, Daddy might have sought refuge in nostalgia.

Years ago, Bob Dylan sang, "The times they are changing."  And indeed, they have.  Life now appears to happen quicksilver fast.  I've no sooner exhaled, it seems before a gasp or groan replaces it. In moments, a groan yields to a moan that becomes a prolonged scream.  No wonder queasiness can't take hold; I'm bracing for the next onslaught.  Conflicts become routine and bob and weave across boundaries "quicker than a cat can blink its eye." Swiftly, one horror replaces the next.  And that's on a good day!

Who has time to "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 7:15)?

Countless of us live out our days and nights in quiet desperation.

Essentially, how do I the self-declared expert, navigate life's choppy waters that leave me quivering and flailing, much less counsel you about them?  Gingerly. How can I help? Carefully.  Before I do anything I've learned first to posture myself in humility and contrition.  I must rely on the wisdom that often I do not understand.  I must also recognize that what I see often takes on aspects of "house of horror" mirrors.  Truth often looks unwieldy, unwise, and unwelcome.  

Gratefully, I've learned to accept King Solomon's advice, "Trust in the Lord completely and do not rely on your own opinions.  With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you wherever you go" (Proverbs 3:5, tPt).  I must follow the advice I often gave my two teenage daughters when they were charting perilous waters toward adulthood.

At least biweekly, I'd leave a note on the refrigerator suggesting, "Why don't you run away from home now while you know every darn thing?"  I've frequently had to do exactly that.  I've had to run from the "home" of fear,  unhealthy thoughts, and needless procrastination to find refuge and a safe haven. Simply, I've learned to retreat, to seek solace in the Word.  Matthew 7:7-8 have become my "go-to" compass.

"Ask, and the gift is yours.  Seek, and you'll discover.  Knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For every persistent now will fr what he asks for.  Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for.  And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door" (tPt).

I feared asking or seeking because I didn't think the prayer would be answered, which kept me in a perpetual state of paralysis.  Until.  Until. Until I simply did it! The answer didn't materialize from the ether.  Nor did it match what I'd presaged it'd look like! No, if it had,  that would have meant that I am G_d and He is not.  Hmm.  Importantly, the verses did not enumerate or prescribe the number of times I could or should ask. 

No! I learned to ask over and again until I received His answer.  Then I understood Job who intoned, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come" (Job 14:4, KJV).   

I understood, finally, that prayer is not an abacus exercise.  Most importantly, I realized the power of  "Thank You, Lord."