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There are a lot of lies running around: one size fits all, wait 30 minutes after you eat before you go swimming, swallowing a watermelon seed will cause another watermelon to grow in your belly ... jadda, jadda.

So, as a person who has chosen to listen to and follow Jesus, I've somehow listened to a lie that because I know Jesus, troubles should roll off my back as I trip the light fantastic as if a character in Pollyanna. This morning, as I sit at my table, the Book open ... I find that to be ... untrue. Lie exposed.

I read the following from a guy named David (King, Man after God's own heart, Author) ... I am laid low in the dust ... My soul is weary with sorrow.

Hmmm. David had a spot of trouble. It may have eventually rolled off his back ... but it sounds like it was a long time before he tripped any light fantastic or signed on for a roll in Pollyanna. He felt it. he got emotional.

You must read an excerpt from the book I mentioned yesterday, 90 Days of Gods Goodness by Randy Alcorn:

If abuse, rape, desertion, paralysis, debilitating disease, or the loss of a loved one has devastated you, then the issue of evil and suffering isn't merely theoretical, philosophical, or theological. It's deeply personal. Logical arguments won't satisfy you; in fact, they might offend you. You need help with the emotional problem of evil, not merely the logical problem of evil. Like children at times, each of us must snuggle into our Father's arms, and there receive the comfort we need. (pg. 12)

That's what I've realized in my "Shazam" moment. I have beaten myself up for feeling hurt, evil, trouble feeling somehow I am not the follower I thought I was or should be. The beautiful truth is ... that as I follow Jesus, there will be trouble. I can feel it .. I can feel disturbed and weary ... but because of Jesus and His power in my life ... in any life ... I don't have to stay there! I can move forward ... snuggle into my Father's arms!

Getting ready to snuggle,
christina

P.S. I would love some feedback from you on how you deal with the problem of hurt ... of how God has snuggled you!

So I’m still reading in Nehemiah … and getting so many life lessons there are not enough blog posts to capture what my little brain is soaking up. But, perhaps, this Saturday morning, there is one more life lesson that needs to be shared.

I am a girl. I have hormones. Those of you who share my gender know exactly what I mean by that sentence. Hormones are a wild and wonderful experience. Yet, as I’m getting older, I do notice that hormones are becoming wilder and less wonderful than I’d like to admit. This was one of those weeks.

I have been having “issues” with my friends (I’m just gonna start referring to my hormones as friends for the sake of being positive). They haven’t been playing nice. In fact, last week during my annual check-up, there was a need for some further blood tests and an ultra sound. Seems I have fibroid tumors. I know the “t” word is scary, but not in this case. You can Google (as you can bet your bottom dollar I did) just exactly what they are: common for “women of my age”, will go away during Menopause, can lead to anemia and cause pain in the lower extremities, usually are untreated unless they burst or begin to grow.

Couple the above news with extreme tiredness, heart palpitations, some hair loss, pain in my lower leg, and other “swell” symptoms that need never to be shared via the internet and I had myself thinking things that I normally wouldn’t. Cancer? If so, what happens to my girls? Terminal illness? If so, would I be able to eat normally? More tests? What’s next?

Men probably don’t get this … but you, my female comrades, do! Our minds take the fast track to disaster and camp out there and plan and fret and wonder. This is where our buddy Nehemiah comes in … thank goodness, a ray of light!

In chapter 7 of the book of Nehemiah, there are 5 verses that really impacted me this week. Nehemiah has just undergone a great feat, rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. He accomplished this with fierce opposition and intimidation. Now, as all would seem well, he gave instructions for the inhabitants within the walls to stay on guard and watch the main city gates. Further instructions were given to not only watch the gates, but also flat out close them … and bolt the locks during the hottest part of the day.

Nehemiah, are you paranoid? Suffer from OCD? Hear voices? What’s wrong with you, our little over achiever? The walls are built! All is well … rest and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Nehemiah knows his enemy. During the hottest part of the day, when people rest because of the heat, they are not prepared to defend themselves from an attack.

Point here: know your enemy … and never turn your back on him.

My enemy this week was not my “friends”, my intrusive doctor’s visit, my tiredness, heart or leg pain. My enemy this week was the one who was throwing those nasty little thoughts my way … that had no business entering my brain and camping out there, wreaking havoc on my emotions, my trust in a God who loves me, and causing unrest. My enemy … your enemy … is real and active … and seeks to steal any and everything he can from those who would choose, by faith, to trust in a real and capable Savior.

If you look closely in the Bible for clues about who our enemy really is … you’ll find them. He’s not pretty. He comes to kill, steal and destroy. That’s what those intrusive thoughts of mine tried to do. I’m not a big bullet point, lister, kind of blog girl, however, today, we need a few bullet points to make a few points:

Know your enemy

Know his tactics

Be ready

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you probably have some idea of the way “the enemy” worms his way into your life. It usually doesn’t come with an attached memo. It is usually a slap in the face, a low blow, a total surprise.

Know this is his way. He comes to kill, steal, destroy. He’s not gonna gift-wrap our trials with pretty bows. It’s gonna be ugly. It’s gonna hurt.

Be ready to fight. Half the battle is recognizing what’s going on! Be alert! Those of us in my kind of work know that we are treading in enemy territory. Why, oh why, then are we not prepared and taken off guard when we come face to face with evidence of an attacking army? Humbly, I confess, for the same reasons I was taken off guard this week. We rest during the hottest part of the day.

Good news. I just have fibroid tumors. My blood counts came back normal. My doctor is keeping an eye on the growth, seeing me in 3 month for another ultra sound. I’m pumping up the ol’ vitamin intake to help off-set the less desirable “other symptoms” and checking in with my doctor on a regular basis.

Better news. I know my enemy. I know his tactics. I am ready. We would all do well by our friend Nehemiah and learn a few things from him: stand guard, close the doors, bolt the locks. It’s not out of fear, but a bold statement of clearly communicating to our enemy you, nasty fiend, are not welcome here.

This week, I’m gonna be better prepared for when … because all know it’s a matter of when and not if … the enemy crawls up to my city walls, he’s gonna get a gate slammed in his face.

I have a friend that is being bullied at work. She is a high-power executive in a stressful work environment. She knows her job well as well as the ropes that operate the world in which she lives. Her bully is mean and selfish … and getting ahead in life. She supports her mother and other family members out of the generosity of her heart without being asked or expecting anything in return. It’s not fair.

There is a “mean girl” at school. She has said things behind my daughter’s back. My daughter is a kind soul, a peace-maker, a good egg. She would never think of being cross with someone … and it she did she would have a pit in her stomach until she made it right. It’s not fair.

I have a friend who is facing a health crisis. She is watching her 86 year old Dad go into open heart surgery. She is not only facing the reality of her father’s immortality, she is facing her own. What happens next? Will she have to care for her aging parents? She faces her retirement years worrying about her “job” as a possible primary caregiver. It’s not fair.

My sweet Libby has learning problems. She works twice as hard as any other 3rd grader and still can't work at grade level. She reads at a 1st grade level, struggles in math, and writing sentences is equal to trying to paint the Mona Lisa. We spent lots of time on homework that should only take us a few minutes. She is a trooper. She never complains. It's not fair.

I’ve got my own “unfair” issues. I probably shouldn’t list them.

What do you do with “unfair”?

As a person who has made a public declaration that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, the answer is … I take “unfair” to Jesus.

That’s sound good, but, when I take it, I find it hard to sometimes lie down. I’d like to say that I am super spiritual, finding that when the least little infraction of fairness is being violated, I simply and quickly run to Jesus and hand it over to him. Yet, I sometimes carry it around in my heart a little. I chew on the fact that it is unfair; making it all the more painful to my heart. I used to hide that from Jesus. I didn’t want him to see me as a jerk.

Bottom line: I got to take it all to Jesus. The fact that I may be a jerk is not wasted on Him, this Keeper of my Heart. He knows. I’m finding freedom, the older I get, to come quickly before Jesus … admitting my jerkiness before Him. As He and I lay things on the table (so to speak) we can deal with it quicker. I can feel the sweet freedom of being open and honest. Then, in the light of His truth, I can see the error of my ways, and move on … in Grace … in Peace … never in accusation … never with my tail between my legs … never.

Life will always be unfair. I don’t have to like it … but I do have to deal with it. Dealing with it makes me more likely to rise above it. I can’t do it on my own. But, when I take it to Jesus, bear my soul, cry (because I’m a girl and feels good to get it all out) … I get a new perspective. Fair. Unfair. It really doesn’t matter. For me, the question becomes what is the condition of my heart in the middle of it … clean or unclean. Pure or impure. Ouch.

And then, as if He is putting icing on a really good cake, gluten free and free of calories, He gives me still more in His word: the righteous person (the one who knows that Jesus has all the answers to life’s problems … and things that are “unfair”) faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

Today my rescue may be a lifting on the “unfair”. Tomorrow the rescue could be from me … the lifting of a bad attitude because of His goodness and healing in my life.

Take it to Jesus. Be real. He is the answer.

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