Nightmares
The other night, after being in bed for about an hour, our youngest came out dripping in sweat and babbling incoherently. After a few minutes of trying to understand him, I realized he was sleep walking; still dreaming. I walked him back to bed, tucked him in with fewer blankets & prayed for peaceful sleep. I remember as a kid having very vivid dreams. Nightmares were exceptionally real and magnified when twisted & tangled in my blankets. Trapped, the fear would be overwhelming. I would have to wake up from the dream before I could untangle myself and be at peace.
Doesn't life feel a little like a nightmare right now?
All of the responsibilities of the day to day are combined with the trials of a season; be it financials issues, parenting problems, or health concerns. And they are all tangled up in the "blanket" of COVID-19. It's easy to feel trapped by the fear. How do we untangle ourselves and find peace?
For this reason I also suffer these things,
but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed
and I am convinced that He is able to guard
what I have entrusted to Him.
2 Timothy 1:12
A few weeks back in the post "Is or Isn't?" I shared a question that has been burning in my heart,
"Either God is everything or He is nothing."
It is a question that challenged me before the world seemed to fall apart with the Corona Virus. And it is a question that has sustained me and led me to the feet of Jesus each time I have to struggle with a situation or emotion.
Because even though we are quarantined, my teenagers are still stretching for independence, my husband still has to manage a team of people and make decisions that affect all of them, food still has to be purchased and prepared, chores still need to be done, bills are to be paid. Maybe you can add to the list; school, cancer, unemployment, mental health and other life decisions. And then...it's all tangled up in a world wide pandemic.
But, God...
See when God is everything; when I have placed Him & all of His sovereignty on the throne, I can move through each day and it's challenges in peace. It doesn't have to be a nightmarish tangle of fear and worry.
I know whom I believe in.
I know that He can guard all I have entrusted to Him.
It doesn't mean all the emotions aren't there. It just means that I don't have to wrestle with them. I can in a sweaty state of stupor, go to my Father. He will untangle them and give me rest & peace.
So that He is glorified.
