When we just want it all to stop

I recently battled vertigo for a week.

It was like being on a loopty-loop roller coaster, relentlessly twisting and turning with no end in sight. My sense of balance was shot, and my days were full of nausea, dizziness, and puking.

Oh, I hate to throw up. It makes this close enough to 50-year-old woman revert to a 5-year-old child… who wants her mommy. But I digress.

This bout of vertigo came out of nowhere, and was something I’d never experienced before.

I went to sleep in calm.. and woke the next morning in chaos.

I felt helpless.

Hopeless.

Overwhelmed.

But isn’t life like that?

We may be in a season where our world just makes sense. We have joy. We have confidence. We’re bold in our words and actions. And we feel empowered, brave and strong.

Creative juices are flowing. Our hearts are full of love and grace. There’s harmony in our relationships, and we think life can’t get any better.

And then it hits.

A call from the doctor. The final delinquent notice. Secret files found on the computer. The painful truth revealed. A pink slip. Sudden tragedy. Deep and unimaginable loss.

And in that moment… so often without warning… our world starts spinning out of control.

Sometimes it’s enough to knock us right to our knees because we can’t believe it happened. We’re scared of the unknown and grasp for answers to the whys and hows. Instead of battling through prayer and praise, we curl up in bed. And rather than cry out to God and trust Him in it, we work furiously to fix things ourselves.

Our heart is bitter. Our spirit is broken. Our strength is gone.

I get it.

Don’t we all.

So often in those moments, we forget an important truth: Our faith doesn’t shelter us from suffering. And thinking we should have a free-pass from life’s dents and dings will only enslave us to unforgiveness.

But our faith in Jesus does offer a life-changing hope that can bring a heart-changing perspective… if we’ll let it.

“And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for all God gives to his Son Jesus is now ours too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.”  (Romans 8:17-18, emphasis mine)

Whatever you’re going through right now… whatever hardship is right around the corner… cannot compete with the beauty of what God has in store for your future.

So straighten your back, sister.

… Hold your ground.

… Soak yourself in prayer and praise.

… And anchor yourself to God’s amazing promise as you sweat-out the struggles that come your way.