Living Chronically Blessed

Eleven doctor’s appointments in one week have proved to be more than exhausting. It didn’t help that I found out that one of my closest relationships in life is going to be flipped upside down with or without my approval. This past week also found my mom in the hospital fighting for her life.

Everywhere I looked this past week I found myself feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. But, that’s life for you…overwhelming and exhausting.

God didn’t promise us that this life would be easy or without its trouble, matter of fact, He promised us the opposite.

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

You are not alone and you are not “less spiritual” because you face trouble. Although your trouble is uniquely yours and my trouble is uniquely mine, the fact is that we all have trouble.

The question then is what do we do with our troubles?

As a Christian pushing towards becoming more Christlike each and every day and as a human facing troubles galore here are two ways that I fight the abyss of being overwhelmed…

1. Meet with Jesus daily.

This week no matter how early my first appointment of the day was or how much I wanted to call and get an update on mom I chose to meet with Jesus first.

It wasn’t easy, the exhaustion was real and the urge to hit snooze for another thirty minutes was beyond tempting. My notifications were all lighting up on my phone begging for my attention. But, I didn’t hit snooze and I didn’t look at my phone.

I woke up and I answered my father’s call to just be with Him. Meeting with Jesus doesn’t have to be complicated, actually, it should be the most natural thing that you do in your day.

This week my brain was too foggy to try and understand complex texts, so I watched a Bible Study devotional by Christine Caine, I listened to worship music, I fumbled my way through prayer, and then I just sat there and took deep breaths. I have one main goal in mind when it comes to my time with Jesus, re-center my thoughts, and connect with my best friend.

Last Saturday I woke up and met with Jesus, my mind was centered, and then before I even finished my prayer, I was hit with news that should’ve taken me into a tailspin. Instead of being in a tailspin, I spun once, and then I was able to re-center. That is why I meet with Jesus daily.

2. Worship.

On weeks like this past week, I have to be very careful with what is filling my mind. This includes my background music in my car.

I’m a fan of most types of music and if you’re riding with me then one minute we could be listening to Hillsong and the next minute we could be listening to T.Swift, and five minutes later we’ll probably have Thomas Rhett playing.

Although different types of music ring out through my speakers I do have a rule that when I turn my car off I turn it off with Christian music on the radio.

You never know where your head will be/ what the situation will be when you get back in the car.

Life can change in the blink of an eye. I’ve experienced this happening to me more times than I care to remember.

There are times when you have to run to your car to get to a hospital. There are times when you are running to your car because you are late for your next appointment. There are times when you are running to your car to go get ice cream because you just found out the best news ever.

Whatever the situation is, things can change quickly, our minds can go places quickly.

I choose to worship in the good and the bad.

I choose to leave my car on the Christian radio so that during my worst moments, when I want to cry, scream, panic, or all three, even in the background I can hear hope. I choose to leave my car on the Christian radio so that during my best moments, when I can’t stop smiling and I can’t contain my joy, even in the background I can be reminded who showers me with blessings.

On weeks like this past week, when the abyss of feeling overwhelmed looms around me I worship and remember God’s promises to me.