Everything seems to happen in waves, doesn't it? In life it always feels like the bad things happen all at once--a loved one gets ill, the kids start having behavior problems at school, you lose your job, and the roof starts leaking. Yes, "When it rains, it pours." and sometimes it feels like those waves of grief, stress, fear, and worry will surely drown us before the tides starts to recede.
But there is always those calm seasons in life, and I recently realized that sometimes it is when life it at it lowest level of stress and all is beautiful that we are most likely to have the very poorest of attitudes. Why?
Two weeks ago my husband and I stopped and made camp next to a beautiful lagoon. I woke up that first morning and couldn't wait to get in the clear, shallow, calm waters. We dove in, we played, we searched for shells. And in the comfort of having low tide and a protected lagoon I became less vigilant about my daughter's safety and whether or not the camera would get wet set up at dry sand.
Then, the level of water rose fast. The rocks that held high tide at bay for the lagoon had accomplished their purpose, but the water had started to crash over the rocks with angry bursts. Within an hour there was no more lagoon and in its place was a wrathful, lapping mess of cresting waves. The fun was over.
Just like I relaxed and stopped worrying about the water safe in my calm lagoon, we grow too complacent when things go well. Often that is when we let the little things bug us and our prayers begin to sound like recited anthems instead of sincere talks with our Lord. And when we don't use those quiet spells to fortify our defenses we are left with no rocks to keep the waves at bay.
So, whatever season your life is in, I challenge you to see the big picture. If things are crashing and stormy, have faith that they will not always be this way and that God carries your life preciously in his hands as you travel through high tide. If you are swimming peacefully in your lagoon, make sure you are using these times of low stress to fortify and strengthen your relationship with God so that when the waves start to rise you can feel His presence carrying you through.
Photo by Super Devoika
But there is always those calm seasons in life, and I recently realized that sometimes it is when life it at it lowest level of stress and all is beautiful that we are most likely to have the very poorest of attitudes. Why?
Two weeks ago my husband and I stopped and made camp next to a beautiful lagoon. I woke up that first morning and couldn't wait to get in the clear, shallow, calm waters. We dove in, we played, we searched for shells. And in the comfort of having low tide and a protected lagoon I became less vigilant about my daughter's safety and whether or not the camera would get wet set up at dry sand.
Then, the level of water rose fast. The rocks that held high tide at bay for the lagoon had accomplished their purpose, but the water had started to crash over the rocks with angry bursts. Within an hour there was no more lagoon and in its place was a wrathful, lapping mess of cresting waves. The fun was over.
Just like I relaxed and stopped worrying about the water safe in my calm lagoon, we grow too complacent when things go well. Often that is when we let the little things bug us and our prayers begin to sound like recited anthems instead of sincere talks with our Lord. And when we don't use those quiet spells to fortify our defenses we are left with no rocks to keep the waves at bay.
So, whatever season your life is in, I challenge you to see the big picture. If things are crashing and stormy, have faith that they will not always be this way and that God carries your life preciously in his hands as you travel through high tide. If you are swimming peacefully in your lagoon, make sure you are using these times of low stress to fortify and strengthen your relationship with God so that when the waves start to rise you can feel His presence carrying you through.
Photo by Super Devoika
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