I was sitting at my desk early this morning, having my coffee and watching the sun come up through the trees just as I am most mornings. That usually when I'm lost in prayer and normally a very positive time but for some reason this morning I just bailed off into a pity party. I've been down for just over a month now and I found myself asking, " Lord what in the world? What's next?!! Could you maybe help me get a good night's sleep without waking up every few minutes with a rib busting out of place and feeling like I've just been shot? Maybe get back to work and get some things done around here? How'bout a little help Lord, it sure is getting old...."
And then as I'm sitting there wallowing and moaning about the petty troubles in my own little world a friend comes to mind whose 15 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with a rare, aggressive, and inoperable tumor that's wrapped around her brainstem and they're running her back and forth to Chapel Hill every other day, hoping and praying for answers. Another is grieving the loss of a spouse of 45 years. An old classmate who took his own life, Lord only knows why and what demons he was fighting that made him feel like that was his only way out. And suddenly I found myself on the verge of tears....for them.
I saw these words somewhere recently, probably a meme or something, and I didn't pay too much attention to them at the time....but they sure hit me hard this morning.
"If you could throw all of your own troubles in a pile with everyone else's I bet it won't take very long for you to pull'em back out...".
In a split second I came to understand two truths: That it could always be worse and as rough as I may think I have it, when I put my troubles in that pile it didn't take but a second to realize that my cup's running over with blessings. I pray yours is too....
And then as I'm sitting there wallowing and moaning about the petty troubles in my own little world a friend comes to mind whose 15 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with a rare, aggressive, and inoperable tumor that's wrapped around her brainstem and they're running her back and forth to Chapel Hill every other day, hoping and praying for answers. Another is grieving the loss of a spouse of 45 years. An old classmate who took his own life, Lord only knows why and what demons he was fighting that made him feel like that was his only way out. And suddenly I found myself on the verge of tears....for them.
I saw these words somewhere recently, probably a meme or something, and I didn't pay too much attention to them at the time....but they sure hit me hard this morning.
"If you could throw all of your own troubles in a pile with everyone else's I bet it won't take very long for you to pull'em back out...".
In a split second I came to understand two truths: That it could always be worse and as rough as I may think I have it, when I put my troubles in that pile it didn't take but a second to realize that my cup's running over with blessings. I pray yours is too....
