“It is hard to know where God will lead us to next. But always have an open heart to let Him guide your steps in His ways.” Wise words texted to me a couple of weeks ago from a dear friend who always says what we need to hear.
The last two weeks have been really hard. We have had several things happen that have caused a lot of anxiety and stress. It took a few days to be able to step back from it all and begin to think about the next steps.
Sometimes life is just hard. Plans don’t work out, people suck, people don’t mind their own business, sheep won’t stay where they belong, family gets sick, etc. Just when we start to think we are in control and know what we are doing something happens to remind us that we are not the one in control.
Over the years, I have discovered a few things that help me to cope with situations. The first is my husband. We are a team and when life is hard, we need to be on the same page, even if it is just venting to each other at first. Taking time to talk, pray, and work through it together always helps.
Second, find some humor. Our family uses a lot of sarcasm and humor to deal with pretty much everything. It helps to break the tension and it is how we connect with each other. However, you do have to know when it is appropriate to use and when it’s not.
And third, pray, pray, and pray some more. It is hard to give up our perceived control over situations and our family, even though that is what we are called to do. God promises to take care of us. He does not promise to make our lives easy. I struggle a lot with giving up control and fulling trusting God and His plan.
I have been pondering the words above from our friend since he sent them as I try to remember to keep an open heart so I can let Him guide my steps.
