The expression “when it rains, it pours” can sometimes turn into, “when it rains, there is a hurricane blasting through everything”. It always seems that when one thing happens, the whole world seems to break. In those situations, we have two options; fold and let the weight suffocate us or rise above it and look for the light among the gray. The last one can be easier said than done. In a situation that feels like a rock slide is tumbling down on our life, the question is, “how do we move forward? What are my next moves? How do we get out of this? Will the light shine again? Am I alone? And, am I strong enough to face this?” There are situations that we feel as though losing sleep will help. And there are those that, yet just as impactful, have a solution that comes once the dust settles. All of our lives are like line charts. None of us sail right through.
Optimism
To be completely honest, I am not an optimistic person by nature. I have to fight a lot with myself to find the bright side and the silver lining. However, on major issues that seem out of my control, I can switch my typical nature to try and find the optimistic end of the stick. We each have a plan for our lives whether we can see it or not. God doesn’t let us wonder about the world, blindly throwing things in our path waiting to see what will happen next. It is deliberate and thought out. No matter how ominous a situation may seem, the path doesn’t simply stop. We continue to walk forward whether we are shoving our heels into the ground, worried to live out the future or wishing to go backward. We stress, cry, or find a coping mechanism that we think will rectify the situation. Finding the worst in a situation, big or small, only causes the mountain to seem that much larger to climb. Although situations may feel like there is no resolve, we have to remember those past circumstances were storms that we rode through. A daunting situation won’t be solved with anxiety and stress, however, finding the good and being cool, calm, and collected can cause the weight not to feel as heavy.
One Step At A Time
If we look too far ahead into the future and create our outcome in our head it can cause an overwhelming wave to crash down on us like a tsunami. It can wipe out our rational thoughts and deteriorates our mood causing our once well-rested features to fade into creases or worry lines. Perhaps big pictures are too large for us to try and see, to speculate and guess. We, as much as we pretend, can’t see our end results. Although, if we are to look at the big picture, it can cause a space for finding perspective. Not every situation we come out of will have the shiny exterior that we may have prayed for. However, that does not mean that after the rain cloud cries there won't be that beautiful sense of calm. Or a glow that shines over the earth causing a rainbow of scattering colors to shower over that which was once gray. In a tough situation, the first initial feeling can be as though a wall fell onto our chests. We can feel suffocated, an experience that we have all walked through with our own stories. And we have come out on the other side with more knowledge, perspective, appreciation, grace, and excitement toward our life. Years after the crisis that we faced, we will notice that our reaction and response, our taking one step at a time and not allowing our judgment to over-caffeinate our minds, will have trained us for the next experience we are going to face.
Inevitable
Issues in our lives are going to arise. They seem to always come up when we find ourselves comfortable. And oftentimes they don't come with a simple situation. God throws us into arenas where we can learn to appreciate what we have and to bring perspective to either what we could lose or help us to become more appreciative of our lives. I suppose I have brought up both sides of the coin by saying “don’t look at the big picture to self-diagnose a situation we can’t see the end of” and saying “look for the light at the end and know that no matter what, we will find a way out.” By saying those two, I mean that issues at the beginning seem to swallow us whole. We feel crippled by anxiety and fear that suddenly something is out of our control. So trying to predict the future by zooming out and trying to regain hold of now an unplanned circumstance won’t relieve the pressure, but cause thoughts with nothing to back them up. And by looking for the light, we are keeping an open mind. We aren’t closing our minds to the worst situations or trying to find a way to silence our thoughts; looking to cope with an outcome that we are trying to pre-decide. It’s about finding the good and doing our best to keep a level head while being patient and knowing that no matter what, there is a resolve and God is a big God who won’t let us drown. He has a greater plan and it’s about releasing control and doing our part while giving it to Him and letting Him do His.
Persevere
To find the silver lining is about having faith and trusting that it’s a season, a situation, a moment, and a blip in our greater picture, it’s all about perspective of a situation. Despite the size, whether our mountain looks like a hill to another or Mount Everest, all our circumstances are nothing compared to what God can handle. And when it feels as though everything is crumbling all at once we can remember that frustratingly true and common saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Think back to a time when we felt deflated or defeated, either the emotion that was once there has taken a vacation or we have grown and are better equipped than we were before. In the midst of hard situations can be a time when we feel the most lonely and unable to be understood, but it’s when we feel that emotion that we need to open our lying mind that says we have no one and no one understands. Our people are there and we don’t have to feel like we are walking alone. Like any situation, asking for help is a strength. And when we need a moment of being alone, God takes our hand and will sit with us. Knowing we aren’t alone in chaos can cause a situation to feel less heavy.
I hear a lot of people say that problems come in threes, and regardless of that being true, trouble always likes to build dog piles. Losing sleep and finding other unnecessary coping mechanisms can’t help. We are stronger and far more capable than we give ourselves credit for. If you're in a storm, you’ll find your way out. If it feels heavy and dark, there will be light. I hope this was able to encourage someone. Enjoy the weekend. Share with someone who might need this, subscribe, and follow on Instagram (@TheAllie.Way). Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading Allie-Cats.
Dru Allie
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