SelahV Today by hariette petersen

Writing Is a Funny Business

It is a loner's paradise.  It's almost narcissistic.  Always sharing your own thoughts, your own vulnerabilities, your own opinions, ideas and achievements.  Yet, is that not how the world connects?  We learn from others' trials, errors, and successes.

Ironically, quite often, writing is a one-way street.  We (bloggers) throw our words out into space and have no idea who is catching them, grabbing hold or batting them away from their minds. My stats show that I have dozens who read my posts each day.  Yet, I rarely know whether my words strike a common chord or provoke opposition. It's okay--because writers are bound by our calling-- not by the responses we receive.

We may encourage, annoy or enrage. We may never know what our words do.  But writers just keep on writing.  It's what we do. In every book I've ever read on writing and writing well, they've said that good writing must touch the minds and hearts of others. It must push emotional buttons.  Even if the words anger others-- they accomplish a goal.  I don't really like to anger folks.  I am more into helping others make sense of their own lives by shining a light on mine.

Hiding inner feelings or sugar-coating the way life is processed in day-to-day experiences, sucks sincerity out of our words.  In every situation and circumstance I face, I find God in the center.  He is my mainstay in all circumstances. He gets me through the tough times, but more importantly He walks with me in all the good times.  I praise Him for His greatness and love Him for His mercy.  I am so blessed.

If I fail to convey this with any post, I fail in writing.

I read a quote a couple of days ago that compliments my thoughts today: "Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about.  Be willing to be split wide open." ~~Natalie Goldberg

I think of the Psalms.  If David had not been willing to write about what "disturbed" him, what he "feared"--we wouldn't have some of the most quoted and consoling thoughts of God's Word.  Had he not been "split wide open", millions upon millions would be parched and dry.  Writers who express their deepest hurts, and how they depend on the Most High God to overcome them, give us hope.  They inspire.  They show us we are not alone in our walk in life.

In addition to Natalie Goldberg's list of things to write about, I think we could add:   write what makes you smile, excites you, and lifts you to the stars and back.  Be willing to share the joy you experience in friendships, and the security, love and kindness you receive from life.  Be willing to risk the envy others have and the criticism their jealousy delivers as a result of your own happiness.

Can we split our souls wide open without feeling pain and heartache?  It's doubtful.  However, we can delight ourselves in the LORD and He will give us the desires of our hearts. As we revel in the blessings we receive, we heal our brokenness and, hopefully, mend a few other hearts along the way.  selahV

Interpreting the Silence

can be a difficult thing.

When God is silent and the world around us seems to explode with trials and tribulations, we often look inward at what we may have done to cause the calamity within our lives. 

Truth is, sometimes we do bring upon ourselves the consequences in which we find ourselves.

Other times, others bring about the consequences, and we suffer the heartache and collateral damage from their lives-- their decisions-- exploding all over us.

We are at the mercy of the world and the hope of a loving steadfast LORD. We trust not in ourselves, but in Him.  We may do what we can to mop up the mess around us; but we know only the LORD can right the matters.  Only HE can protect us from the shards of residual harm.

Silence may be the greater blessing in times like this.

 

The Reason I'm Still Here

Ultimately, it is God, of course. 

However, there are people God placed in my life who have given me such support in the darkest hours of my life since my son died in 2005. One friend literally set up my first blog for me to make me write and write and write.  I've had several encouragers who commented, and even one dear benefactor who paid for my internet connection to keep me writing.  Two ladies gave me computers to keep me up to date with the systems.  And there were others...   

Last night, one of those friends sent me the video song below and it brought to mind when we first met on the internet... here on my blog. She was my first real commenter.  She has always been such an instrument of encouragement and affirmation.  She's seen every ugly thing about me.  My weaknesses and brokenness, my ups and several spiritual mountain tops. She's bathed my world in prayer. When she shared this song with me, it touched my heart for all those times I felt like giving up.  God knew.  He knew me far better than anyone in the world.  And I am so grateful I am here writing to you today because of my friends, my readers, and my LORD.

Tranquility and Peace

If not, then silence is the answer to your quandary.

Turn off your mind.

Stop fretting.  Stop searching for needless phrases.

Words can be futile.  Thoughts can be wasted.  Emotions can be exhausted.  And silence becomes the balm of Gilead for your soul.  Do not fear it.  Embrace the stillness.  Let the Holy Spirit make intercession for you; give Him free reign in your mind. He knows better than you what you need.  He has you covered.  He knows your heart, your mind, and is acquainted with every portion of your being-- your likes, your dislikes, your hopes and disappointments. He fills all the gaps because He is enough when words are empty and worthless.  Therefore...

"Be still and know that I Am God." Psalm 46:10

Visit A Shared Moment of Tranquilty. 

Related articles

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Criticism Is a Good Thing

A Shared Moment of Tranquillity at Heddon's Mouth

Delighting In Life's Tiny Treasures

I Had an Awakening

Criticism Is a Good Thing

sometimes.

Other times it is a pain in the heart.

The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that the Holy Spirit is continually on duty to convict us of our sin, our failings, and our lack of sensitivity. 

He often pierces a chunk of our hearts and penetrates the very artery that carries the cancerous cell of offense to others.

He does this to help us become more Christlike...

to guide us away from our carnal attitudes and the fleshly habits we possess.

The unique thing about the Holy Spirit is that He is singlehandedly capable.  He is perfectly able to let us know wherein we fail to measure up to the purpose and plan of God.  The blessed thing about the Holy Spirit is that He fulfills this mission with grace and gentleness.

Not always so with critics.

When we criticize from a heart filled with indignation, no matter how righteous it is, or how well-intended we are, the critique has a way of missing the point and often falls short of the critic's goal. I trust this is because we all are flawed.  We each have an edge of carnality within us that is hard to mask when we tell another what we think is wrong with them or what we see is needed for their correction and growth. 

I am a coward myself.  I have great difficulty telling another what I think is wrong with them, personally-- that is, a friend or family member.  It's not as difficult for me to voice my opinion or rattle on about a particular issue and critique a stranger.  I believe that is because I am so involved with a friend and a family member.  I know their hurts and I know their past and so I tend to hold my tongue for fear of hurting the relationship.  I figure that the Lord is pretty good at fixing that which is flawed in another's life so even though I think I may know best what they need, or if I discern what might help them, unless I am asked for advice or opinion, I tend to keep my own counsel and do a lot of praying about it. [After all, I'm not perfect either.]

If it is something that is affecting me, I seek counsel from others wiser and more mature than myself.  Sometimes I share my quandary with another friend-- that is not always a good thing to do. They may not be objective-- especially if they are just as vulnerable as I am, or just as concerned for my well-being as I am. They may not be as clear-minded as needed.

I've shared my quandaries with lots of friends.  I've shared them here in this forum.  I've shared them in my church groups. I've gotten a lot of input from a lot of areas because of it.  Anytime we open up and share our thoughts we are vulnerable to the critique of others-- the advice, and the exhortations.

Ultimately, though, I rest my case in the hands of God.  For He is faithful to guide me, check me, test me and lead me in the path I must take. He knows my heart.  He knows my motives. He does not need to read between the lines to discern my weaknesses. He, being God, creates in me a clean heart and cleanses me from all unrighteousness. Unlike critics, He remembers it no more.  And that, my friends, is a good thing.  selahV

Before and After

Before the dream fulfilled... and after.

Before the argument... and after.

Before the death of one you love... and after.

Before the disease... and after.

Before the accident... and after.

Before the loss... and after.

Before the success... and after.

Before the addiction... and after.

Before the failure... and after.

Before the need... and after.

Before the violence... and after.

Before the abuse... and after.

Before the kindness... and after.

Before the hope... and after.

Before the disillusionment... and after.

Yes...

"there are moments that mark your life.  Moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts, before this and after this." *

And in those moments you wonder if there is something you could have done differently... something you could have said differently to make a better moment occur.  To create a better ending or better beginning. 

Sometimes all you can do is wonder if.  Other times you can decide to make the difference now.  Forgive.  Forget.  Forego.  Fulfill.  Count every moment and make every moment count today.  Each has its own significance. 

Before the decision... and after.

Before the choice... and after.

Before Jesus... and after.  There is a big, big difference. I know.  selahV

I Had an Awakening

Ever had one of those?  It's sort of like an epiphany-- a moment or situation in which the proverbial light-bulb comes on and you see things from an entirely different perspective.

Sometimes we simply learn something new-- something fresh and exciting.

Sometimes we discover we were wrong--terribly wrong about something.

Sometimes we have the scales of routine and familiarity fall from our eyes and find ourselves wondering how we could ever have lived a certain way, or followed such a pathway of negativity. What were we thinking?

Sometimes we recognize that certain people need to be left behind as we take one road and they another.

Epiphanies are as frequent as we recognize change is necessary for our lives. If we refuse to change, the epiphany is lost.  Status quo is stagnant.  It takes us no where.  It keeps us in a pool of lethargy.  Motionless.  Dying.

It's similar to an unrepentant heart.  One who refuses to turn from their wicked ways, rebuffs correction, ignores conviction and grieves the Holy Spirit after He has quickened a person's conscience. That person is destined to wallow in a sea of repercusions and consequence.  These kind of folks are hardened against the reality of their own sin. These folks choose to be right.  They choose to be right habitually.

They may not actually be right, but in their minds, they are always right.

They are never wrong.  It's always someone else who is wrong or stubborn.  They have all the answers and anyone else is foolish if they dare disagree or see something differently.  They manipulate others to get their own way. They not only twist another's words, they twist their own to create another meaning entirely when confronted or challenged.  They accuse others, demean others and treat them with an air of inferiority. That is because ultimately, one who chooses to be right all the time has a conscious or unconscious belief that they are superior to all others.  They own truth; they possess knowledge and understanding.  Or so they think.

I've pressed issues in my life like that before.  No wiggle room.  No space for err.  It's fine when the "truth" is the truth.  But not when my truth is simply my opinion of the truth. selah

It occurred to me, when I was reading Psalm 119 in these wee small hours of the morning, that the Lord was talking to me through His Word once again:

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.  Blessed are You, O Lord!  Teach me Your statutes.  With my lips I have declared all judgments of Your mouth.  I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies.  As much as in all riches, I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways; I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word." Psalm 119:11-16

There's a tidbit in the center of this passage that could be overlooked if not careful.  "As much as riches".  See it?  One of the things folks let themselves dwell upon is the state of their well-being.  How much money they have... how much they don't have.  How this bill or that needs to be paid, how needy they are.  Yet, as much as we need to be concerned for provision in our lives, there is as great or greater necessity to be vigilant to the enemy's ways to distract us from God's Word.  For "as much as riches", we must meditate on His precepts-- His principles.  We must contemplate His ways-- not ours or those of others.  We must delight ourselves in His statutes-- not to become legalistic or reliant upon them for some evidence of our faithfulness.  No.  But because God's are beneficial.  They protect us.  They guide us.  They are acceptable for reproof-- an indication of us being on the right path in life.  We remember His Word and His Spirit will bring it to remembrance whenever we need Him-- in those dark hours when Satan clouds our minds with the minutaie and distractions of life-- when we might busy ourselves with our own collection of truth and own idea of right and wrong. 

"Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law." Ps. 119:17-18. 

Take a few moments; listen to Awakening and rest in Him.

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Complaining --What is it good for?

Complain.  Complain.  Complain. Lately, it seems that's all I've done with some of my closer friends (and some of them with me).

Sure.  We also shared some good stuff.  I shared how I made it through a bunch of aggravating situations.  I praised God for lots of hurdles I cleared, and trials I endured.  I even bounced up and down like one of those bouncy balls my grandkids get for a quarter in the bubble-gum machines in restaurant lobbies.  I shared lots of good stuff... the mini-miracles.  the hope.  the way I thought God was moving me forward and upward.  HOWEVER...

when I sit back and think about some of the conversations I've had of late, I am ashamed.  I am ashamed that I haven't encouraged more than shared discouragement.  I know when I am caught in a spiral of downward motion.  Sometimes it feels like I'm watching myself from above...like I do when I watch the sink drain and smut go down a garbage disposal.  Only, with me, the smut seems to keep on swirling and gets stuck inside my heart and throat.

Complaining not only ruins everybody else's day, it ruins the complainer's day, too. The more we complain, the more unhappy we get.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/complaining.html#lA0rpkyTOdIIS3e9.99

Complaining not only ruins everybody else's day, it ruins the complainer's day, too. The more we complain, the more unhappy we get.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/complaining.html#lA0rpkyTOdIIS3e9.99

Sometimes we call it "venting".  I grant you, there is a time when we need to vent. It's healthy.  It's therapeutic.  Experts agree:

"In our society, we're supposed to smile and have a nice day and pretend everything's OK even when it's not. That's unreal," says Barbara Held, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Bowdoin College. She believes that this emphasis on always seeing the bright side can encourage people to mask their unhappiness and swallow their gripes-but that can be toxic. "It's important to learn how to tell friends and family when you're upset-if you don't, you end up alone in your pain. Complaints can be healing".

But habitual venting is addictive.  It eats at your soul and robs your spirit of hope and peace. It's also annoying.  While some folks may be sponges for our ire and angst, even sponges have their limits to capacity before they leak out all over the place.

"Unhealthy complainers bellyache to anyone who crosses their path and don't pick up on people's cues that they've had their fill of negativity. "Chronic complainers get stuck in victim mode, and that irritates the people around them," says Cunningham. Plus, these types love to talk but rarely listen. "They'll take hours of your time telling you their problems--then they reject your help and don't take one piece of advice you give them," says Kowalski.

Bad complainers are annoying at best, depressing at worst. They spread negativity and give griping a bad name."* 

Friends, there's so much more to life than complaining.  There's more to friendship than sharing the downs simply because we're down.  And when we get into a habit of sharing those blues and blahs and yucks and mucks, the mire turns to putrid quicksand.  It is bound to grab hold of us and stick to our spirit and mind. It's bound to weigh us down and keep us looking down rather than looking up. I'm learning who is interested in my joys, my convictions-- those who encourage me when I tell them how I'm trying to move forward. 

"There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints." Rita Dove

"Chronic complainers" drone on and on; they don't take any advice given to them.  They don't take well to encouragement.  I don't want to be like that. Not long ago I was driving down the road and whining to God about a particular person in my life who I desperately wanted to know my love and accept me for who I was. Then it hit me.  "Lord, how do you put up with it?  I am telling You about one person in my life who is like millions You deal with every day, all the time.  Forgive me."

I have some folks who "vent" and share their burdens with me; I can easily hear their hearts.  I don't have a problem listening to them.  They not only vent, they appreciate encouragement--they covet my prayers.  These are not chronic complainers. Scripture tells us, "Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2.

I want to be the person who not only shares and cares about the burdens and difficulties of others.  I want to make a difference in their lives for Christ.  If all I do is commiserate with them, I'm no help; I'm a hindrance.  I have feet of clay.  I need to bow out of their lives and let God connect them with someone who lifts them up and stirs them on.  When God shows me my folly, I must aim higher.  "I look unto the hills from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD."  It's time to point others to the One who makes the difference. "Lord, lift us up."

[ *quotes from WebMd article.]

Refreshed and Overjoyed

Ever been so thirsty you could hardly stand it until you got a drink of water?  Then you finally get to drink that cold water and you drink and drink and drink till you cannot hold another drop?  I have.  I don't want to bend over those water fountains either.  I want a big old glass or bottle of ice-cold water.

Oddly, with me, the more water I drink, the more I want till my parched tongue is no longer parched.

It reminds me of the Living Water of Jesus.  I can't get enough of Him. He is the refreshment for my soul.  The joy of my mind and heart.

Lately, Jesus has been showing me more and more just how much He wants to be my everything.  It's only after I've wandered off and placed everything ahead of Him that I suddenly realize, whoa!  where am I?  what am I doing in this conversation?  how'd I get to this place of discontent and disgruntled reasoning?  how'd I let this or that disturb my peace?  how'd I dwell on this negative so long that I failed to see a single positive? how'd I let my mind get so far away from Him? 

I'm in the wilderness.  I wandered off on my own and thought I was where I ought to be...ministering where I need to be... only to discover I'd fallen into a pit and got carried away into Egypt.  And I am thirsty.  And I am hungry.

When I get really thirsty, soft drinks, juice, coffee, and ice tea do not quench my thirst.  I need water.  Likewise, music, friends, conversations, books, blogs, a nd pictures on Pinterest do nothing to fill the void I have when I've neglected my relationship with my Savior.  He is the Living Water I need.  He and He alone.  The fountain that overflows.  He is the food I crave.  He said himself:

 "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

Back to the basics.  Back to devouring His Word for His words.  I am thirsty and I am hungry and I shall be filled.  So refreshed.  So full of joy.  Gosh I love Jesus. His grace is so sufficient. selahV

Trust Carefully My Friends

People are fallible.  Only One is infallible. 

Only One is worthy of all trust. In sickness or in health.  In poverty or wealth.  In sorrow or in joy.  In fear or in confidence.  The LORD is forever steadfast and trustworthy in all things.  Yes...HE IS. 

He is the Great I Am.  The Eternal Day.  The Perpetual Peace.  In Him is all understanding, empathy, and hope. 

Bask in His presence, my friends.  He has all the answers.  He knows all things.  He is your Anchor.  In Him is the peace that passes all understanding.  Trust in Him and lean not unto yourself.  He is your advocate.  He sits at the right hand of God and makes intercession for you even at this moment.

We are weak and He is strong.  His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  Surrender that load, that burden, that heartache.  He bids you come. 

"Come unto me all you who are weak and heavy laden...and I will give you rest." 

If you know Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, then you are already righteous.  You are already set aside and separated from that which is evil.  You are a child of the King --The Most High God-- and you are merely biding time on this journey home to share eternity with Him.  Rest.  Rest.  Rest. selahV

When You Get Good News

it's so heartwarming.

Sometimes we fail to recognize good news.  We are so accepting of the mundane, the routine, the every-day situations which the whole world goes through that we simply don't notice.  We're busy.  We're hurting.  However....

my good-news moments come smack dab in the middle of bad news sometimes. 

For instance:

When my husband got a chip of some kind in his eye, it led us on a chaotic, painful journey to the emergency room (expensive), and to the eye-doctor the next day (not so expensive). After a rather miserable night with a scratched cornea, my husband got relief with steroid drops to his eyes this morning.  Finally, his swelling has subsided, his pain is gone, and the perpetual feeling of sand in his eye has dissipated.  THAT is good news.

I went to the doctor for my own appointment, after I got my husband taken care of at his emergency appointment... I wondered.  Will my tests be bad?  worse?  better?  Never have I had a doctor so encouraged by my test results. After months of personal chaos, painful muscles and lack of sleep, I really was expecting bad news.  Generally, stress and turmoil breeds bad cholesterol counts, high blood pressure and lousy numbers.  In my case, my auto-immune diet offset all the opposing factors to those numbers.  My cholesterol dropped over 50 points.  Bad went down and good went up.  Triglycerides dropped too.  Folks... this is good news for me.  Really good news.  I'm in a health battle extraordinaire at the moment.

Encouraging words.

We all need them.  Some come in this form I've illustrated--with health matters.  Often overlooked in the scheme of life.  Little blessings which make all the major difficulties a little less difficult--those are the ones we need to count.  We need to focus on that which is pure and good.  When we do, we see so many more good things than bad.  Our hearts are strengthened rather than crushed.

A few days I wrote a post in the midst of some overwhelming circumstances going on in my life.  Rarely do I get many comments on my posts.  It's fine.  I don't write for comments.  I write because God's called me to write. Sometimes I don't think He's all that happy with what pumps out on the screen from my fingertips.  But this time, a stranger took the time to comment on the post and tell me how encouraged she was from it.

FRIENDS... that blew my mind.  She lifted my spirit.  It's like God rubberstamped my thoughts about someone being out there somewhere who was just like me, and who might feel the same way and we'd cross paths and encourage one another.  SHE DID IT.  Mary from New Zealand.  It was an awesome God-thing moment for me.  Had no clue how she'd found my little blog.  But there she was.  A God-filled encourager.  See how God blesses us?

"A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray." Proverbs 25:11

I need to practice this more.  I need to be one who speaks a word at the right time that helps others.  Take today.

Today I wore this funky macrame beaded necklace that looked like a throw-back to the hippie era.  Compliment after compliment came my way on that necklace.  I put it on at the last minute to accent my jean skirt and vest that made me feel like I was a big fat walrus.  Yet, the necklace was noticed.  Perhaps no one really noticed my bulging body.  Perhaps my God knew I needed to hear that to make me feel better about myself today.  I don't know-- but I like to think He cares that much.  He loves me.  He loves me as I am.  I need to love me like that, too.  And then I need to love others likewise...no matter what I'm going through.  Why?

Because... most likely, they are going through something, too.  Just like me.  I need to remember that.  I'm not alone on this planet.  Others may need my compliment, too.  Others may need a bit of good news.  Don't you think?

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When We Give Him Grief (a bit of a rewrite)

Several years ago, I wrote for a collaborative blog with some ministers in which I posted daily devotionals and scheduled opinion pieces.  That blog is now defunct.  However, I did a google search of my name and the following post popped up (you know how it is, google saves everything).  As I read it, my words hit me in the gut.

Then, in the heart.

Ouch! 

Bear in mind, this was written before Facebook and Twitter hit the cyber waves of space.  So... I thought, maybe you'd benefit from my refresher course on the subject of Damage Control and Grieving the Holy Spirit:

Each time we writers compose a blog-post, we chance it being received, rejected, or simply ignored. Some folks think the success of a post is determined by how many hits the page receives. Others think success is determined by the amount of comments garnered by their carefully worded thoughts. Many bloggers rack their brains for a topic that will accomplish both. Some do not even care how controversial or inflaming their subject matter becomes. They just want folks to read them. Today, I’m not at all concerned about putting together a post to do any of the above. However, I do have a few things that have popped into my mind and wonder if you’d have any thoughts to offer in response.

When do Christians grieve the Holy Spirit? 

Ephesians 4:30 says: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption.” Eph. 4:30.

Preceding that verse there is a list of things that are quite offensive to the Holy Spirit: "foul or polluting language, evil words, unwholesome or worthless talk". In fact, it states that our conversation be “only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.” Eph.4:29

Following verse 30 are a group of things which give us a clear idea of what grieves the Holy Spirit of God. “Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander be banished from you, with all malice, (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).” Eph. 4:31.

Do you think recent posts (of for that matter statuses on Facebook or Twitter) you have read were a blessing to others? Have your comments been “beneficial to the spiritual progress of others”?  (Lord forgive me...no not always.)

“And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving of another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.” Eph. 4:32

How can Believers who are sealed by the Spirit until the day of redemption continue to participate in blogs, facebook conversations and twitter rants avoid grieving the Holy Spirit as they converse? Any ideas? Personally, I think I've failed miserably of late. selahV

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Overwhelmed but Happy

Being overwhelmed is not a phenomena.  It happens to everyone.  Some admit it, others hide it.  Some struggle to fix all their problems so others never discover they are overwhelmed.  Some folks get so overwhelmed by their own difficulties they need space to deal with them, thereby leaving little room in their lives for the needs of others.  It's okay.  We all need reprieves, respites.  In fact, my last post eludes to it.

So, I've been there.  I've been so overwhelmed with circumstances at times I felt paralyzed.  Too much. Too much. Too much.

Decisions are impossible.  Procrastination becomes my remedy.  I don't even take the first step to overcome it all.  That doesn't work.  Procrastination simply delays the inevitable; most problems do not go away by osmosis. They morph into dragons which eat my sleep and push panic buttons at every turn.  When this occurs, it is perfectly reasonable to back off--but, in a methodical way. 

Breathe.  Ignore things that do not require absolute involvement.  Take one thing at a time.  One hour, one day at a time.

It's a good time to back off from the trials, tribulations and chaos in other people's lives.  When overwhelmed with our own difficulties, we need to prioritize.  We need to weigh essentials and non-essentials.  Essentials make or break us.  Non-essentials are like emails in our inbox that need to be deleted, ignored, or read then marked as "unread" till we're better able to deal with them. 

Otherwise...

we can say and do things we regret.

We may offer banal advice or empty empathy. We (even when we are overwhelmed), still know when we offer something less than our best.  We know when we are running on empty and have nothing to give worth giving.  Because we know, we sow seeds of guilt rather than seeds of confidence in our heart-beds of hope, peace and tranquility.

The hardest part of feeling overwhelmed is the persuasive idea that nibbles at our self-worth.  We tend to think no one cares.  We compile a list of evidence that proves we are worthless and our problems without validity.  Some of this proof is valid. Because of this, we convince ourselves of the fact.  Overwhelming circumstances rob us of any possibility of visualizing light at the end of a tunnel.  We don't even check to see if there is a rainbow after the storm.  We know. 

That's called resignation.  We resign ourselves to life's muck and mire.  We look down instead of up.

It hurts.  It hurts so much we no longer believe or want to believe it can be any better.  It can be.  But we don't have the energy to trust what God has proven to us over and over again.  We are too overwhelmed to be hopeful or to trust anyone else who is hopeful. 

Folks who are easily overwhelmed are deeply sensitive, overly caring, and extraordinarily full of mercy and grace.  This is also why they tend to make others who are overwhelmed so hungry for their presence, so encouraged by their words, and so happy to know they are but an email away.  Today I am a bit overwhelmed.

I won't say why.  I just know that even though I am, there is someone else who feels just like me.  And when we find one another we can help one another feel happy in the midst of it all.  I know this because "the Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." Psalm 138:8

Some folks are so overwhelmed by life's waves they fail to see when they've come to rest on the shores of peace.  Perhaps we who pass them by might pray to be more aware of them...even when we've crawled inside a shell of our own.  selahV

commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion.
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The artist is chosen by God to fulfill his commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion.
Albrecht Durer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/overwhelmed.html#d2ehGfOf2jpMcFOI.99

The artist is chosen by God to fulfill his commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion.
Albrecht Durer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/overwhelmed.html#d2ehGfOf2jpMcFOI.99