Get. A. Grip.

What I’ve started to learn is that regardless of where my life goes from here, I’ll be okay.  Probably better than okay.  And the remarkable thing is that I don’t even need to know my ending, or how long it’ll take before I find my straight, blissful road.  For the first time in my life, I’m at peace not knowing.  Of totally relinquishing control to God because I know that He’s got me, right where He wants me.  Right where I need to be.  In case you didn’t know, I’m the Queen Bee of control.  The more I can control (read: predict) my life (whether it be things, events, or dare I say people), the calmer and safer I feel.

How do you get to this place of peace with me?  Through reading the bible, getting to know who Jesus really is, studying His Word, and reflecting on your own life to remember, or in some cases discover for the first time, the ways in which God has already rescued you from previous despair. 

Once you let your mind recall those times where your sucky situation dissolved, you will find the hope you need to know that this one, too, will come to pass.  And everything will end up exactly how it is supposed to.  My “thing” hasn’t even ended and I already know this to be true!

During the wait, don’t be ashamed of your sadness, or like your hardship isn’t ‘hard enough’ to warrant your tears, and panic, and despair, though.  This very thought crossed my mind a time or two (or six or 12 or 134): “Here I am so unbelievably heartbroken and scared that I’m getting divorced and there are people around me who are battling cancer (or now, COVID-19).  Get. A. Grip. Corey!”  Thank God for wonderful girlfriends who remind you it is okay to just ‘feel’!

We must hang onto the truth that in the end, only we can judge our own pain; just like only our feet can judge whether our shoes are comfortable.

Think about it.  Only we know whether our arches are well supported.  Whether our big toe, baby toe, and all the ones in between have enough room to feel comfy.  Only we can tell if they fit well enough to not give our heel a blister, or obnoxiously dig into our ankle bone.  Only we know if we can muster up enough mental strength to strap them on and ignore our reality in an effort to make the world think that our feet are more comfortable than they are. 

So, instead of me looking at your shoes, or you looking at mine, with an objective to judge whether things are really “that” bad, maybe we can sit side by side and offer ideas and suggestions on how to make the shoes we own more comfortable – tolerable – while we patiently wait on God’s timing.  But, let’s not do it from a place of guessing.  Let’s do it from a place of wisdom.  And, what better place to find wisdom than in our bibles. 

The Lord is good and his love endures forever. 

Psalm 100:5, NIV

Despite the pain.

Despite the sadness.

Despite the uncertainty.

Hang in there friends, no matter what you’re going through.  Keep seeking the Lord, and He will be good to you (Lamentations 3:25, NIV).  For God is good, all the time (1 Chronicles 16:34, NIV). 

So, grab your bible, and let’s start our journey of Prayer, Faith, and Love, where we can learn how to keep our shoes comfortable while we walk through life together with grace.