First things first: I did not come up with this term. Not at all. But tonight, I'm going to use it to explain some things...
I am riding the struggle bus a bit this semester. It's nothing BIG, but it's always those little things that come and get you. And right now, I'm actually struggling with something most people in America are struggling with; in fact, most people in the world are struggling with this same thing.
MONEY.
Supposedly it's taboo to talk about money. But I'm only going to talk about it in a way to connect us all. We all struggle with something, it is just that in a recession, most of us are struggling with it, so why don't we say something about it?
Today, I'm going to say that even though I'm struggling, I'm remembering what I have. There are times that I'm looking around my house thinking, "What can I sell????" Well, guess what? That means I have expendable things in my life, and how lucky am I that that is the case? The difference then is, "What is worth money to sell?" and that's a very different question. But I'm still amazed at how much I have around me. How awesome is that?
Perspective is something that is really important. I've really tried hard since being back to not have excess around me. I don't want to have a full house. I want to have a functional and comfortable house, but I don't need a million things for that to be the case. However, that doesn't help the selling-things idea... but that's okay. I still have a very comfortable life.
Struggling is normal. We all go through struggles. What differs is how we handle it. Someone asked me last night what I do when I'm in a 'funk'. A funk for me can range from being depressed, to being anxious about something... It's just part of my life. But what do I do about it? Well, I learned a long time ago not to keep it inside me, for one. In college I began the practice of sitting in my church's sanctuary and praying or singing or just sitting there. If it was late at night, there was this church nearby my college that had three crosses in their yard, so I would sit there. I still do this. I go to church and I'll sit in the sanctuary, or I'll talk to people. Sometimes, I go for a drive, because just for a little while, I need to be alone and SEE the world around me.
This morning I had an amazing moment on the way to school. My car has problems so whenever I'm driving it, I'm praying that nothing happens during that trip, that it can hold out until I can get the money together to fix it. But on the road this morning, there was an ambulance driving down the road and all the cars pulled over to the side to let it through. This is a law, of course. But really, human decency stuck out to me. When it's important, people get out of the way.
I don't know that I have a point to the rambling tonight, but really I am just doing what I told everyone I would do: be real. Sometimes, I'll write about crazy things, sometimes about biblical things, and tonight, I'm writing about a tough thing. I'm a real person. I struggle. But you know what? God is right beside me.
And God is right beside you, too.
I am riding the struggle bus a bit this semester. It's nothing BIG, but it's always those little things that come and get you. And right now, I'm actually struggling with something most people in America are struggling with; in fact, most people in the world are struggling with this same thing.
MONEY.
Supposedly it's taboo to talk about money. But I'm only going to talk about it in a way to connect us all. We all struggle with something, it is just that in a recession, most of us are struggling with it, so why don't we say something about it?
Today, I'm going to say that even though I'm struggling, I'm remembering what I have. There are times that I'm looking around my house thinking, "What can I sell????" Well, guess what? That means I have expendable things in my life, and how lucky am I that that is the case? The difference then is, "What is worth money to sell?" and that's a very different question. But I'm still amazed at how much I have around me. How awesome is that?
Perspective is something that is really important. I've really tried hard since being back to not have excess around me. I don't want to have a full house. I want to have a functional and comfortable house, but I don't need a million things for that to be the case. However, that doesn't help the selling-things idea... but that's okay. I still have a very comfortable life.
Struggling is normal. We all go through struggles. What differs is how we handle it. Someone asked me last night what I do when I'm in a 'funk'. A funk for me can range from being depressed, to being anxious about something... It's just part of my life. But what do I do about it? Well, I learned a long time ago not to keep it inside me, for one. In college I began the practice of sitting in my church's sanctuary and praying or singing or just sitting there. If it was late at night, there was this church nearby my college that had three crosses in their yard, so I would sit there. I still do this. I go to church and I'll sit in the sanctuary, or I'll talk to people. Sometimes, I go for a drive, because just for a little while, I need to be alone and SEE the world around me.
This morning I had an amazing moment on the way to school. My car has problems so whenever I'm driving it, I'm praying that nothing happens during that trip, that it can hold out until I can get the money together to fix it. But on the road this morning, there was an ambulance driving down the road and all the cars pulled over to the side to let it through. This is a law, of course. But really, human decency stuck out to me. When it's important, people get out of the way.
I don't know that I have a point to the rambling tonight, but really I am just doing what I told everyone I would do: be real. Sometimes, I'll write about crazy things, sometimes about biblical things, and tonight, I'm writing about a tough thing. I'm a real person. I struggle. But you know what? God is right beside me.
And God is right beside you, too.
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