The Downpour

 

Life can get crazy hard sometimes, and it's usually when you least expect it. We've all heard the idiom, "When it rains, it pours," typically used when things are going wrong. While saying it might not improve the situation, poking fun at our circumstances may temporarily ease the pain. We all face challenges, even downpours. Society can make admitting we're in a downpour feel pessimistic, but if these downpours increase stress and make life feel overwhelming, then sharing our challenges with healthy, supportive friends and family should be a requirement for sustaining a well-rounded life. There is a fine line between incessant complaining and sharing for supportive help. And as great as human support is, like friends, family, and counselors, our greatest help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:1-2).

Over the last few weeks, my daughter and I have faced challenge after challenge. Initially, I kept most of it to myself, thinking they were isolated incidents that would pass. But as the days turned into weeks, the isolated "showers" turned into a full-blown downpour, with no end in sight. My stress grew, and because I didn't hand these issues over to Jesus, that stress grew into an overwhelming cloud of dismay. By the third week, I was crumbling and exhausted, my mind shifting into dark places, and I was too tired to care anymore. I finally started sharing with a few close friends, who were sympathetic and offered help. I appreciated the help, prayer, and understanding, but the dark, heavy cloud remained. I needed more than human support; I needed Jesus. Only He could lift the burden I carried because it wasn't just physical. Sure, the flat tire was fixed, the heat in the house was repaired twice, the hit-and-run car was in the shop, and my daughter was recovering from the flu and a hospital stay. Things would get fixed and go back to normal. But when things go wrong, there is a spiritual aspect that needs healing, too. We are not just physical beings, but spiritual ones too. The stress I felt inside, that rushed through my spiritual circuit board, remained unhinged. I needed to give that to Jesus to find peace, healing, and restoration.

I'll admit, handing things over to Him is hard. Part of the problem is just remembering to do it. The other part is knowing how. How do I give something not physical to something else not physical? After years of trying to understand, I just tried it. I took a deep breath and, in my mind, agreed that whatever the issue was, it belonged to Him; it was His problem, not mine. Your physical body reacts to your thoughts. I could physically feel something leaving my body, as if Jesus reached in and took it from me. The trick is believing it, believing that it's really His problem now. It's the same thought and sensation you get when giving up on something: you're just done, washing your hands of it. That's what handing something over to Jesus looks and feels like. There is no better person to give it to. My friends can help with the physical part of a problem, like helping to repair my tire, but they cannot help me with the stress my body has held onto because of it.

Once you hand something over to Jesus, it will be tempting to pick it back up again. Sometimes, as in my current situation, I have to give it back to Jesus multiple times. Perhaps the world we live in, or the life we grew up in, causes us to be too familiar with chaos. Peace can feel foreign, even uncomfortable, at first. But Jesus is found not only in the chaos but also in the moments of calm. We see and know Him better in the peace, so that should always be the goal. It's not always the case for me, but I continue to try. I pray you can easily learn to hand things over to Jesus and welcome His love and peace. I am grateful for the friends and family who love and support me, but without Jesus, true healing and joy cannot come.

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." I Peter 5:7