Seriously?

You've heard of "aha moments," right?  You know, that moment when everything clicks or when you realize something that you've never noticed before.  We have a lot of those around our house.  Of course, part of the reason for that is because I can be a bit lacking in the common sense area, but that's beside the point.  Yes, we have "aha moments," but we also have a lot of "seriously moments."  You may not be familiar with these.  These are the events that are so bizarre and baffling that you can't help but scratch your head and mutter, "Seriously?"  Unfortunately, those are quite common around our house too, and I'd like to take the next couple of posts to tell you about two such events and what I took away from them.

The first happened a few nights ago after Jason had come home from work.  It was in the wee hours of the morning when he came to bed, and I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom.  I stumbled to the bathroom and was immediately joined by my large shepherd, Mitch.  (Those of you with pets and/or children are familiar with this practice.)  Anyway, as Mitch came closer to snuggle into me, he somehow hooked the metal ring of his collar in the handle on the bathroom cabinet door.  He immediately jerked, which opened the door.  Then (and this is where it gets bizarre), he somehow got turned around to where his head was inside the cabinet and being smashed by the door.  The more he pulled, the tighter he closed the door.  I was trying to untangle him, but he was in a panic and wouldn't stop jerking around so that I could free him.  He began making choking sounds, and I feared he was going to choke himself trying to get free.  So, I responded in my typical way--I began to cry and panic right along with Mitch.

Upon hearing my distress, Jason came running and promptly freed Mitch from his impossible prison. After calming me down and drying my tears, Jason returned to bed and fell asleep.  I, on the other hand, couldn't seem to settle my heart long enough to doze off.  Even though Mitch was already sleeping soundly, I felt an unyielding sense of terror and dread, and it took me quite a while to quiet my fearful thoughts.

By morning, the entire event was downright comical.  What a sight!  Mitch tangled in the handle (which is now bent at an odd angle).  Me in a panic as I fought to free the silly dog's head from inside the cabinet.  Even now, I can't help but chuckle.  Only in our house!

Now you're probably wondering what in the world I could take away from such an event, other than a good laugh, that is.  Well, as I look back on my vain attempts to fix the problem, I realize that I often do the same thing in life.  I fight and struggle and panic over situations that are far beyond my control.  Once Jason arrived at the scene of the predicament, he had Mitch free in a matter of seconds.  He was able to approach the situation from a different point of view and with much more strength than I possess.  But during the entire time I struggled, it never dawned on me to ask for help.  Instead, I fought and grew weary.  I do the same thing with God.

He, even more so than Jason, is able to deal with my problems from a different viewpoint and with much more strength than I could ever possess. Yet, I often fail to ask for His help.  Instead, I struggle and cry and panic, which only leads to sleepless nights and a fearful heart.

Let's face it, life is full of "seriously moments."  They're bound to happen.  The good news is that we don't have to face them alone.  God is willing and able to help if we'll only ask.  We could save ourselves a lot of tears and frustration. . . seriously!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1