Keep on Truckin'

I slept for over 4 hours this afternoon. I would normally be ashamed of something like that. I'd be upset I wasted a big portion of the daytime... but today, I accepted the fact that I needed that sleep. And probably more than that. I've been exhausted. Hence, the lack of updates. I've been exhausted... emotionally, physically, spiritually. Just exhausted.

Without getting into all the gory details, I've had a crapstorm of a week that involved my brand new car being backed into, thinking I was going to loose my tooth, and worrying that my dog might meet the big fire hydrant in the sky. It sucked, and I didn't feel like I had anything to give to anyone, let alone this blog. I felt defeated, dragged down. And that's how I was living my life for the better part of a week.

I started comparing myself to Job. I realized that I still had my mom, my friends, my church and my job. But I just wasn't sure where God was in all of this. I mean, I had just been in a car accident a few weeks ago. Now, to make matters worse, my baby needed over $4,000 in repairs. AND on top of all of that, it has now been almost a whole month since my best friend moved away.

When it rains, it pours.

But I realized something. Regardless of the crappy things that happen to us as a result of living in a fallen world, God still has a plan. He still has a purpose for my life. He's still given me a dream to chase. I'm not going to give up just because the waters are getting a little choppy. It may sound silly, but I actually found encouragement from a fortune cookie yesterday. It said, "A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor." It's true. If I'm expected to navigate this crazy life, I'm going to need to learn how to handle some difficult situations.

So, as I learned in Bible study this week, I'm just going to "keep on truckin'..." no matter what puddles I have to drive through.

Also, no matter what junk I've been though this past week, it's nothing compared to what the people in Joplin and other areas affected by the tornadoes are going through. Here's an article I found of ways to help.

Everybody Hurts... Sometimes

Everything hurts, and everything is sore right now. I think it’s mostly stress… but also, that’s what happens when you’re in a car accident. The BFF and I were being good, little Christians, on our way to Bible study yesterday, when- BAM! Some loser-face jerkwad child of God flew through the stop sign and slammed right into us. Had it not been for her swerving, it would’ve crashed right into the driver’s side. I shudder to think what would’ve happened to my best friend if that were the case. Thankfully, God chose to spare us and we veered off to the side of the road- right between a telephone pole and chain link fence.

You’ve probably heard the phrase that God’s got you right where He wants you. Well, I think in that situation, He wanted us right between those two objects. Not a foot to the left or a foot to the right. In fact, had anything happened one millisecond off the way it did, my bestie and I could be toast right now. But we’re not. ‘Cause God’s got our backs… and our fronts.

Often, when crazy things like this happen, we start to focus on the negative: how much damage there is, how much it’s going to cost, all the 1,001 aches and pains going through our bodies the next day. Instead of all that, I want to focus on the positive- the holy crap, I’m alive positive. We didn’t see that car coming. We had no way of knowing he wasn’t going to stop at that stop sign. But God did. He also knew we were going to be fine. I’ve been through things like this before, and to be honest, the first inclination is always, “Why did God let this happen to me?” Sure, He could’ve stopped that other car. He could have slowed us down by making a dog run out in front of the car. But, we sometimes forget that we are subject to this fallen world we live in. The guy who hit us made a bad decision, and now he’ll have to live with the consequences of that decision.

The point I’m trying to make, is that we can’t always see where the road in front of us is going. We don’t know the destination. But we have a Father who can see every side street, every intersection. He knows where it’s going to be gridlocked and where construction is taking place. Are we going to run into some red lights? Sure. A few fender benders? Most definitely. But it makes me feel a whole lot better knowing I serve Someone who can see all the road before me and knows where my final destination is.

Side note: please pray for my friend’s car. The insurance company still has to assess the damage.