Having a Rough Time? Work through it…

I ran out of Robitussin

I ran out of Robitussin and my head feels like I’ve been snorting lines of marshmallows cut with maple syrup. It is that kind of week. I have some pretty awesome creative meetings on my schedule, some phone conferences scheduled, and a quarterly small group leader meeting this weekend. Everything in my heart is screaming “Let’s Go!” and my body is saying “Let’s sit back with a warm drink and hibernate until say April” or something like that. Truth is, I can’t reschedule anything for this week that I haven’t moved already and frankly I don’t want to. I love what I do, & I can suck it up and work through it.

The reality is, life is full of tough stuff. Sometimes it may cause us to stop down or change our intended plans and direction. Other times (like today) is is just stuff I have to work through. At times we may feel like if God were happy with us life would be much more smooth and easy. Don’t think that.

The truth is, sometimes we have to work through things and seasons that are not what we would describe as “awesome” at all. Today is like that for me. I have a lot to do and this headcold has me at limited thinking capacity. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about things both changing now and being better later. I know for a fact that as bad as things get, they get better:

^6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said. (Psalm 103:8-9, The Message)

It is all going to be worth it. Things might seem a little wacky right now but all for a great reason. My meetings are not because I love meetings. My meetings are to invest in leaders and further our ministry vision. My phone calls are not to waste time, but to build partnerships, and to possibly expand the scope of our ability to reach others. And my time with my family is not a bookend to my day, but rather the highlight. Every idea we share today, every pat on the back I get, every cutting criticism I have to endure, and each person I talk to is a mere moment along the way to tonight, when I can destroy my wife’s clean house with my son (again), and share some time sitting next her on the couch, finally enjoying that warm drink. Nothing, not a head cold or a bad day is going to prevent me from enjoying that!

That said, my break is over, and I have some phone calls to make. Cheers.