Volume 123: Rest in when Life "Isn't Fair"
Anna Claire was in a mood where she repeatedly answered anything Jenna said with, "That's not fair!"
Finally, Jenna asked Anna Claire, "Where did you learn to say that??"
And what a good question to ask, huh! Why are we always so quick to express when things "aren't fair?"
There I was, driving back from Georgia after Spring Break, riding in the left lane, just journeying along.
Up ahead, there was a truck in front of me, pulling a boat. And inside the boat, was a BIG red tube - the kind you can sit or lay on.
Well... before I had time to even process what was happening, the tube came flying out, heading straight towards me... I didn't have time to stop or change lanes...
BAMMMMMMM.
It nailed the front of my car... full force... It was quite terrifying.
As I regained my bearings, I realized I was okay and nothing seemed to be obviously damaged with my car, minus the crack at the bottom of my windshield.
Still in shock, I changed lanes so that I could pull over to investigate my car.
The truck with the boat was doing the same. I followed them off the exit, naively thinking they were pulling over so we could look at the damage together...
Until they took a left turn off the exit and zoomed away...
Leaving me to pull over at this random gas station in the middle of no where Louisiana.
I tried to call my Dad, but he didn't answer. Luckily, my mom did (poor Mom... what parent doesn't love that "I'm okay but... tears begin" phone call...)
I could tell that the hood was misaligned and pushed back, but my car seemed to be drivable.
So I cautiously continued on for the remaining 5 hours of the drive...
About an hour later, my Dad returned my call. I had regrouped my emotions and was able to explain to him what had happened.
At the end, I exclaimed, "It's so frustrating to me that they just get away with it."
To which he responded, "Yeah, but they lost their tube."
EXCUSE ME?????? Isn't he supposed to be on my side?!? He should be even more furious than me! Yet, he's worried about their TUBE!?
He went on.. "It's just a part of life... things like this happen all the time when you own a house and a car."
I can promise you that the last thing I was thinking about was how I felt bad that they had lost their tube... I felt angry and wronged.. that it wasn't fair.
And yet, at the end of the day, I was okay. I wasn't hurt. And I was able to drive safely home.
As it filled my headspace the rest of the day, I thought a lot about how I can be quick to spiral when I think things aren't fair. Or when things don't go my way. I often get caught up in the small things.
This past week I fell victim to it multiple times at work. As we are getting closer to the summer, I find myself becoming easily worried about the upcoming arrivals, the logistics, the staff experience, and all the miscellaneous things that come with preparing for the summer.
My worries for the summer.
My fear of letting my team down.
The uncertainty of my next job.
The overwhelming to-do list.
The numerous staff that are cancelling and dropping sessions.
These things I find inconvenient. These things that don't always seem fair.
My Dad's words continue to ring through my head... "It's just part of life."
And he's right.
We aren't promised a perfect, stress-free life...
We aren't promised that everything will go our way...
We aren't promised that our work will be easy...
But we are promised a loving relationship with a faithful God.
A God who never breaks His promises and who always provides.
A God who is always fair and always good.
A God who cares about the things we are worried about and is willing to take them from us. We just have to surrender them to Him.
On Tuesday night, Yellerton and I walked into St. Joseph's for an adoration worship service. And you know what the last thing on my mind was? The tube that hit my car. Or the wrangler that had texted me earlier that day saying she was no longer able to work.
Instead, I was thinking about my BIG God who is so good. And I sat in this beautiful church, in a humble posture of worship, focused on a God who is faithful and SO MUCH GREATER than the small trials of this life.
May He be the center of all my thoughts.
Pastor Eric shared our remedy against our worry. One that is quite simple.
To open our eyes and realize that we are in a God bathed world. To remember that we are Children of the Most High. All we need to do is look around.
The flowers blooming. The birds in the sky. The children laughing. The sun shining.
There's beauty all around us. May we find rest in the Eternal One when things in this temporary earthly home are "difficult."
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