It's Ok, Dad's On Steroids

 "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." - Hebrews 8:26 [ESV]

image credit: legally licensed by Shutterstock

Such stark contrast was there between the bright colors on the walls and the sounds coming from the other room, it was jarring. Pressing my fingertips to the happy teal paint, I could FEEL the vibrations humming through the thin insulation with each deep, soul-wrenching, bone-crushing, body-shaking sob involuntarily leaking from the woman in the next room. My heart broke with every interrupted, desperate inhale, and she will probably never know, but I cried with her. I have never known the pain she was in and so can't claim to understand any of it, but there was no doubt as to her level of raw, unfiltered, primal, personal torment. Making the moment even more devastating was the fact that I knew WHY the woman was so broken, and there was absolutely not a single thing I could do to help comfort her. No one on Earth could have given her anything at that moment. 

But ... I am personally involved with the ONE who IS Comfort. I know Him. I prayed right there in that heart-broken moment. I didn't know what words to put out there, but thankfully, I didn't even really have to SAY anything. The soul on the other side of the wall has no idea and will most likely never know, but as a fellow human being with more than a couple bruises on my own ticker, I couldn't hear her in that much pain and NOT support her with every prayer in my repertoire. 

It stands to reason - in my head, anyway - that if a mere human can have that level of empathy and compassion for another mere human ... how unfathomably GREAT must be the level of empathy and compassion for us on behalf of the One Who Made Us?

Our lives are chock-a-block full of moments when we just don't have the words. Maybe we have run out of steam, are confused, or are just too devastated to use coherent sentences... Knowing that those words don't have to come is such GREAT comfort. Our Father can fill in the blanks where we lack understanding and ability. He can FEEL every hum on the strings of who we are. 

Even when we fall flat on our faces and are covered in humble pie - the LOVE for us from our Father is absolutely relentless and unshakeable. So when we ARE faced with those moments that lay us flat on the floor with no enthusiasm to get back up, we aren't feeling them alone. Our Father's care and attention to us is on steroids compared to anything we can wrap our minds around in this life. He is not blind to our pain. Hold on tight, my fellow human soul...the Spirit himself groans deeply on our behalf.

Oh, the beautiful comfort in that.

Low Tide

I Peter 1:6 -- "So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while." [NLT]

image: Kelly Babb Dalton

The familiar crunch of sand underneath my old sneakers put a smile on my face as we landed at the bottom of the cliff at Big Talbot Island. Having eaten more than a little bit of the stuff on the way down, I was thankful that my camera was tucked neatly away - and sand free - in the bottom of my back-pack. But as usual, I wasted no time pulling it out and whaling away on the shutter button. 

Our favorite time to go to Big Talbot is at low tide. Because that's when all the really cool stuff can be seen. 

As the Sand Pipers whip in and out of the slow rolling surf, we find Nudibranchs [pronounced new-duh-brank], snails, shrimp, horseshoe crabs, and of course, barnacles. Giant holes have been eaten away in the coquina "rocks" by roaring tides and sub-tropical storms - leaving all sorts of nooks and crannies in which to climb and discover treasures. 

It's a photographer's dream.

image: Kelly Babb Dalton

Florida at its very best can be experienced on the clay deposits and fallen live oak trees of unpopular beaches. In the sand we've seen racoon foot prints right next to worn down glass bottles from prohibition rum runs. Wrapped tightly around old tree trunks we've discovered giant tendrils of ships ropes and have even uncovered spent 20ml cartridges left over from WWII. There are so many unique things you can see when it's low tide. Treasures that you would never find when the tide is high and the landscape is nothing but wave after wave of dark foaming ocean. So many things to learn and discover that would otherwise require diving gear.

And that's why its our favorite time to hit the beach. 

Most beach-goers hit the shores when the surf is up and the foam rolls in underneath playful feet and boogie-boards. But I've always thought they don't know what they're really missing. They'll never know the brand new world awaiting discovery when the tide goes out.

image: Kelly Babb Dalton

While you and I know the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ - we are still faced with our own personal low tide moments. Some of them can seem to last forever - while others feel like simple bumps in the road. But the truth is: we can be shown things at low tide moments that we would never see when the surf is up and the sun beats down from high overhead. There are indeed times when it takes the water flowing out from underfoot for us to see things that need change, things that hide in dark corners - or things that, when cultivated properly, can bloom into wonderfully full and vibrant life. 

So the words in I Peter are very true.  We CAN be truly glad when we are faced with less the bountiful spiritual valleys as higher peeks surround us. We KNOW that we will be on the mountain top again, true. But we also know that God may be using the opportunity to show us some things we need to see. It might not be about getting to the top of the mountain again right now - or waiting until the next high tide rolls in. It might be about discovering what's at the bottom of the ocean floor.

But...the Party's In the Basement"

 "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." John 1:9-10 [NIV]

Before even getting up out of my chair, I knew what the knock at the door meant. From this side of the heavily  treated wood and fogged up glass, it felt ominous, dark, and foreboding. I had no idea what to expect once the door actually opened, but I could guess about  how it would go....

"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

Image: wjhl.com

Ducking behind proverbial skirts, I called out for Steven to answer the door. We both knew what was about to go down and I decided to be a big emotional chicken and pass the buck up to the head of the family. [poor Steven, lol].

It's been a rough year for everyone. Scratch that, it's been a rough TWO years for everyone. Unfortunately, that equates to a rough year for the owner of our current domicile, as well. Pulling up stakes, he has decided to place this home on the market. 

Hence, the knock at the door.

"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

Steven shuffled over to the door and opened it, stepping outside to greet the short woman who seemed about our age, with a slight deer-in-headlights look about her face, but a friendly smile across her lips. As I followed my hubby out the door, it occurred to me that this woman has probably had to deal with a lot if her job is to serve the people of her county walking papers all day. I then remembered that while packing up the storage pod, I'd placed Steven's heirloom shotgun right in the glass cubby of the door entry way. Probably NOT a very welcoming sight. 

Then ... I was COMPLETELY surprised. Both parties relaxed a little. SHE saw the moving pod, all the boxes, the mountain of trash ready to be hauled to the curb. WE saw that she wasn't carrying hand-cuffs, or a bullhorn to announce our disgrace, or packing heat. She was just a woman doing her job.

She apologized. SHE apologized. It wasn't her job to. SHE doesn't own this property and decided to sell it out from under us. But SHE expressed how sorry she was that she had to serve us our official 15 day eviction notice. 

WE apologized to her for having to come out here in the first place. Then we told her, we know God has everything under control. We really ARE richly blessed. And she returned with "Merry Christmas". Not happy holidays, not season's greetings or an awkward smile indicating some form of discomfort over the phrase. Just .... "Merry Christmas". 

And then she brought the tears to my eyes because she made solid eye contact and said: "God bless you."

Image: Dave Granlund

You know what, sweet eviction notice lady? He already has! He really already HAS!

Imagine a different sort of eviction notice in a different time and space, in a very chaotic and crowded atmosphere. Joseph and his very pregnant wife just WALKED roughly 100 miles with a donkey for their only comfort - not because they wanted to visit some distant family before the baby arrived or because they wanted to celebrate something with friends, but because they HAD to register for a census so the king could make sure he got taxes out of them. Fun, huh?  Joseph gave this only comfort  donkey ride to his wife, he very likely walked the entire way. 

Bethlehem was by this point, bursting at the seems with folks, having all done their duty and travelled to register for the census. It was customary at the time for travelers to stay with family whenever they were away from home. Looking at the Hebrew words: malon, pandochelon, kataluma  we learn that they translate to "earliest night resting place". In short, there were no inns the way we define them. An inn was a resting place for the caravan, or family, or group of travelers while on the road, but it was usually a predetermined spot where a family member lived or a watering hole hid tucked into some rocky outcrop. It wasn't some fancy building with a hostess dressed in all black and a fake smile plastered on her face. 

Now imagine this ... Joseph and Mary didn't even get their foot in the door of the "inn" before being served their eviction notice. And it seems to me that this must have stung Joseph, at least just a little bit. His FAMILY was telling him, "oh sorry .... you took too long to get here .... or, Uncle Jeb has the guest room but you can stay down in our stable, we really don't mind.". I can see the person at the door wondering about what all the other family members would think if the household actually WELCOMED a woman of questionable pregnancy and her "husband". What would the neighbors say? But the dug out, cave like, dank storage space for the animals? Yeah, that's ok. We don't mind if you hunker down there out the way in the dirt where no one can see you and you can't visit with family.

But .... THAT'S where the party is! It's in the basement! It's in the dug out, cave like, dank storage space for the animals. In a watering trough for live stock, THE LIGHT of the whole world came to us. And even back then, when it all got started .... people didn't recognize Him for what He really is. 

This little baby? Wrapped up in the swaddling clothes probably made by Mary, placed in a musty old drinking trough that probably still had animal spit on the outside of it -- this little baby, Jesus? He is EVERYTHING! God's FINAL word! This is it folks! We were gifted the one true real light. There isn't another one. There isn't something "bigger" and "better" coming just around the corner. JESUS is everything. 

And WE were gifted this priceless gift in the most humble and unassuming way. 

So many of us miss the party. We turn away the questionable pregnancy, or we shun the adulterer, or we gossip about so-in-so's finances or what's-their-name's language. We offer the stable to those of us with whom we don't agree, or don't understand. It's the trough for you of questionable sexual preference or orientation. Go to the dank cave you of the mental illness or bi-polar disorder. 

Image: John Cole

It really does astonish me sometimes that the more things change, the more things stay the same. We still turn Jesus away at the door and tell Him there is no room. There is no room in this life of the pandemic and the homeless and the broken. But my friends. JESUS is the only light in this chaotic darkness. HE is the smile on sweet eviction lady's lips, He's the smile on mine. I have been personally given the most precious, the most valuable, the most amazing and beautiful Christmas gift of any time anywhere. 

Guess what? You were, too!

Is There Any Hope?

 "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:4-5 [NIV]

Eyes are closed, steam is billowing up into the air because the window is open just a crack, and the frosty air of early morning is dancing with the heat from the water. There is no sound but my heartbeat because I'm completely submerged. 

Image: Public Domain Wikimedia.org

Mornings begin with physical therapy in a tub of hot water while I unkink tight tendons and get my surgical mesh to straighten back out after a night of sleep. I love this little moment of my day. Not because of the pain, obviously, but because it's quiet. With my head at the bottom of a hot bathtub, earplugs in, and warm steaming water all around me, I pray, sometimes hum, plan out the day ahead, make mental lists, and even come up with a blog idea or two. But today, it's just quiet. 

In my head, I can hear Morse code and tap out a little message on the bottom of the bathtub. Yesterday, our Pastor shared the story about the USS S-4 submarine that sank while doing routine maneuvers between buoys just off the coast of Provincetown, MA. During this exercise, the US Coast Guard destroyer "Pauling" was on patrol at about 18 knots and accidentally rammed the S-4, sending her straight to the bottom. 

Immediately, massive efforts were put in place to rescue the crewmen on board. They were running out of air, and what little they had left was quickly filling up with chlorine gas because sea water had flooded the battery compartment and created a deadly chemical reaction. 

Into the water splashed Lt. Fitch. 

A professional Navy diver, Fitch, was sent to the sunken vessel to assess the situation under the surface. His task had been to set up the proper rescue cables, rigging, and safety equipment and begin the dangerous and laborious rescue of the trapped men inside. Having already made initialcontact with the men inside the crumpled boat at the bottom, Fitch stopped mid-task when he heard a question being tapped out against the hull.

"Is there any hope?"

Bringing my head up out of the hot bath water and watching the steam on my skin mix with the cold air from the window, I can't imagine being tasked with answering that question. By this point, Lt. Fitch knew they were not going to be able to get the crew of the S-4 out alive. A massive storm had broken out overhead, and the rescue teams had been ordered to haul back into shore for their own safety.

Image: Public Domain Wikimedia.org

But Fitch did answer. He replied: "There is hope. Everything possible is being done."

Those words must have cost him because, in reality, Fitch knew there wasn't any hope. Again, I can't even begin to wrap my head around the gravity and sheer oppressive magnitude of the situation those men faced.

ALL of them.

And I FEEL that question right now. It weighs down on me as I attempt to get all the water droplets off my skin before the goosebumps inform me that I am cold. I feel the heavy weight of those words as my feet hit bare tile because the bath mat and most of the bathroom have already been boxed up.  And I FEEL that question as I look around at all those boxes, the piles of bubble wrap and tape, and prepare to roll up my sleeves for another day of packing and cleaning. 

There are moments in my life when it's difficult to see that there is hope. Moments like; hubs losing his job, the owner of our rental selling the house after we'd just renewed our lease, the endless question; will my chaotic,  painful, and janky medical journey ever smooth out?...

I tap it out... absent-mindedly... on the bathroom counter. Is there any hope? Do we have a place to go? Will we have a shelter under which to place a Christmas tree this year? Even if it IS just our little Charlie Brown tree with the one red ornament drooping from its single bough?

I've also heard this question posed more frequently of late in public. In the grocery store, at the gas station, at the thrift shop... where I proceed to haul another box of donate-ables; from the yard guy who is losing his business because people can no longer afford to pay someone else to do their grass, from the entrepreneurs who bought up properties thinking they could get a foot into the real estate business and now find themselves scrambling to unload assets because they are no longer really assets, and from people like me - unloading un-necessaries from an overloaded inventory that you are forced to relocate at someone else's behest. 

The song sung by the man before the Waffle House pulls at my heartstrings the most. With the sole possession of an acoustic guitar strapped around him cross-body, he plays for tips because ... he lost his son to the state when his job loss lead to homelessness.

I find my fingers tapping again.

Is there any hope?

Indeed, there IS. 

John reminds us that even in the dark, even when the skies are belting out snow blizzards and the power is out, or we find that we are BACK in the job market while we attempt to support a family, or we are in the hospital AGAIN.... in Jesus, there IS light. In Him, there IS life, and that life is the light of ALL mankind. You, me, EVEYBODY!

Even right now! ...in this unstable and topsy-turvy dark storm - Jesus IS the light. Jesus IS our hope.

Sometimes the tunnel through which we are forced to sludge and grope is so overwhelming, so dark, so demoralizing that the only thing we can do to survive the magnitude of the thing, is focus on the light at the end of it. But we know, because history has proven this a gabillion times if God hadn't already right out PROMISED us... it really doesn't rain every single day, and when we focus on the light that Jesus freely provides .... and keep moving forward - one moment, one prayer at a time .... we WILL get to better terrain. 

For God promised us ... NO darkness can overcome the REAL light. It SHINES in the darkness. No matter how dark it seems to get.

When we can't figure out how we're gonna get through this moment? ...how we're gonna keep the lights on, how we're gonna survive the loss of someone we love, or heal after a trauma? ...how are we gonna get through 2024? Sometimes, we just can't asnswer those questions right now. But we CAN see the hope and focus on THAT. Because we know that while we don't know how things are going to work out? We are EMBRACED by the ONE who does.

A Christmas List

 "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." I Timothy 1:15-17 [NIV]

Image: Steven Dalton

The tiny little calendar at the bottom of my computer screen indicates that we are now on the verge of that magical month of December. It must be true. Traffic is thick, Christmas trees are strapped to the tops of vehicles in a haphazard temporary adornment that makes each car look like they have a mohawk....needles trailing in the backdraft and sprinkling the roadways. "Good King Joy" as performed by my ultimate favorite Christmas music group "The Trans-Siberian Orchestra" is pumping from my Youtube speakers a little too loudly...

It MUST nearly be December. It must be Christmas.

Much like little Cindy Lou Who, however, I'm askin' that question. Where ARE you Christmas? I'm havin' a difficult time findin it amongst the recently experienced 11 months with out income, the miscarriage of our oldest son's first child, the fun little bout with Noro Virus, the pneumonia suffered by our oldest granddaughter, TWO  emergency surgeries that lead to an additional admittance through the ER sprinkled on top, Papaw Babb's room was ready in Heaven this year ... and oh yeah, in about 24 hours, for all intense and purposes, the Dalton Gang will be homeless.

Image: Steven Dalton

The hard truth of Christmas 2021 is that as a species, we are ALL dealing with a growing list of similar struggles and heartbreak thanks to that fun sounding virus that hit us all square between the eyes. And while it might FEEL like Christmas just isn't gonna happen this year. At least, not in my heart ... it's actually BLOOMING all around me in shimmering gold, red, and green brilliance. And unlike my grumpy, haggard, self-absorbed....self - the blooming all around me isn't just a bunch of people going through the motions to satisfy the little ones. They aren't scratching up the tops of their mohawk cars with zombie-like expressions and vacant-eyed stares. They are smiling. They are laughing. They are plugging in every light within a tri-county radius and putting plastic Santas up in their yards. They are buying in with money from their own pockets to keep a small struggling farmer's market open. They are standing out in chilly weather with a guitar for tip money because they have no home, no family but are givin it everything they've got. They are standing in front of Walmart with a big fluffy Santa hat and a bell and smiling at all the stressed out shoppers. Get this ... they are SINGING along with the Christmas music!

How?!

Why?!

Well. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves repeating. Christ Jesus came to the world to save us. All of us. Every. Single. One. And while I don't technically have a home in which to put up a Christmas tree, I AM still going to celebrate! Because the simple, glorious, fantastic and amazing truth is - no matter how UNChristmas I FEEL, it's still happening. Whatever crazy wobble experienced by our little blue marble doesn't  alter the beautiful fact that Christ Jesus Came to the world to save us. To save me. The worst sinner of all. 

Image: Steven Dalton

God showed ME mercy. I don't deserve it. I never will. But to glorify the ONE GOD, I can give that mercy back. To glorify GOD, I will celebrate Christmas. To glorify GOD, I will praise Him and shout it out from every mountain top that Jesus Christ was born!! Amen!!

Pardon me while I attempt to locate the Rudolph nose and antlers that go on the front of my car.

Everything You Want

 "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." I Peter 5:10 [NIV]

Image: Scientific American c.1962

Looking up into the blank white of our little pop up canopy at the Local Wares farmer's market, I listened for the light pitter patter of scattered rain drops. Of course it was raining. 

While actually extremely grateful for the break in the heat, I couldn't help but be disappointed by the low foot traffic. No body wants to walk around in a cold drizzle just to get a little shopping done. 

Boo.

Watching my fellow brave vendors duck under tents and frantically grab the additional Velcro tent siding, all manner of plastic covers and bags in an attempt to keep product dry, I found myself pondering if we humans would really be better off if we got everything we wanted? What if we always had perfect weather? What if we always had plenty of food on the table, or never got sick? What if our little brand spanking new farmer's market weren't struggling to compete with the older better established markets in our area? What if we had so much foot traffic that we sold out of our products?

Hmmm.....

Turns out, a scientist by the name of John Calhoun wondered pretty much the same thing all through his career in the 50's and 60's. By the 70's, he had created a mouse utopia that would come to define all mouse utopias. It was seemingly, mouse heaven.

This thing had condos, little hide away nooks and crannies, all the food and water and snackos they could possibly want. Utopia.

Then it all went terribly, terribly wrong.

Fit and healthy male mice started "hoarding" female mice of a certain health and appearance. These female mice were dubbed "the beautiful ones." And they lacked for nothing. The male mice would defend a certain number of the beautiful ones, make sure they had food and were protected from the increasing number of squabbles and societal deterioration. And, very shortly after this development, the beautiful ones stopped breeding. They stopped doing pretty much everything but eat and sleep. There didn't seem to be a reason for them to do anything else. No young to raise. No food to procure. 

In short. No purpose. No challenges. Just ... existence.

A vast number of papers, predictions, and observations came out of this little experiment. Much of what was learned is actually still hotly debated by people studying human psychology in a variety of situations. But the one thing that stuck out for me? The little boogers NEED challenge. They NEED a sense of purpose and encounters that challenge the brain.

If tiny little mice can fall completely apart whenever they were provided with a Utopia and lacked for absolutely nothing? .... what would happen to human brains? To human society?

I know. People aren't mice. In fact, one of the biggest arguments against any conclusions drawn from Calhoun's mice study IS the fact that human beings adapt. The mice couldn't make any changes to their environment, they weren't able to change their behaviors in order to present a more positive life experience. 

Humans can and do. And while this IS a valid point, I can't help but think of the very simple correlation between things that impacted the little mouse community - ok, HUGE mouse community - and the things that impact OUR societies and communities. 

Do we REALLY, really benefit from getting everything we want? Well, for the scientific community of testers and box checkers, the jury is still out. But I don't think we have to search the papers and theories and documentation put out there by "people in the know" to glean what we should about our own mental health and fitness in this regard. It's very plainly expressed in black and white. To butcher one of my favorite movie quotes: "they conceal information like that in books." LOL

One book, to be exact.

When Peter wrote the verses penned in this first book named for him, he very clearly pointed out that we, as a species, are going to be tested. Our faith is going to be challenged. We are going to have to face some pretty intense obstacles in our lives. Word for word? We are going to suffer.

And. In this humble writer's opinion. We need to.

Image: Scientific American c. 1962

Would the EMT that suffered 3rd degree burns be the empathetic EMT he or she is when addressing a fellow man with the same condition if they couldn't attest to the pain that specific injury's caused?  Or they psychiatrist working through a patient's clinical depression that has learned a trick or two about survival due to her own mental health issues, would she be the best psychiatrist in her field if she couldn't reach out and at least touch the issue with a degree of personal understanding?

These scenarios are deep. But I think it's even simpler than that. When we get everything we want, when we face no troubles, no challenges, no rain clouds - we no longer NEED to be NEEDED. And we no longer NEED ourselves. 

To hurt, to struggle, or as Peter put it, to suffer - MAKES us reach out. We reach out to others. We reach out to Jesus.

We reach out to Jesus.

Plus, we'd miss out on all the rainbows. So there's that.

Monya Babb's Guide To Eating An Elephant

 "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - I Corinthians 10:13[NIV]

Tiny droplets of really cold rain hit the tips of my toes as I stood looking out over the soggy back yard through the open door. Light was just beginning to pop up in vibrant pinks, peeking over the tops of our trees. Hidden by low cloud cover but for short little bursts of blinking and twinkling glimpses through the gray.

Our first Nor'Easter of the year put a bit of a damper on our Saturday Farmer's Market plans. All of the markets in our surrounding area know to close up shop while the winds blow.  As if on que, a gust of wind shook the chimney and set the oak trees to dancing up again. 

And I'm frustrated. I can't sell FiddlyBits stuff, if our market isn't open. 

I can't make more new product to fill some gaps in our inventory right now [a good use of a rainy day], because we have been informed that the owners of the home we currently rent, would like to sell while it's still a seller's market.

The frustration mounts. I can't really dig in and box up our house right now [another good use of a rainy day], as I have already blown threw what few packing supplies we had.

The space behind my eyes starts to tighten up. We can't exactly run out an apply for housing right now. Steven's employment is still recovering from 10 months without income - which leaves us with a credit score laying limp and bleeding out rapidly on the floor. 

And as my toes start to freeze from the rain, the sun is making a good attempt at coming up all the way, I take to the Keurig and make a cup of Southern Pecan coffee. 

And sigh.

It feels insurmountable. This big Elephant in the room. The giant sitting right in the middle of the things I need to get done. 

Ages ago, when I was still in my teens, I found myself faced with a big issue. I can't even remember what the issue was now, but I will always remember what my Mom said to me at the time. "Kelly, how do you eat an elephant?" 

I'm sorry, what? 

She stopped whatever it was that SHE was doing to approach me, look me in the eye and ask again, "how do you eat an elephant?" 

My first thought was, why would anyone want to eat an elephant? Then my brain went right to wondering why she was asking me this. I couldn't see where she was going.

"One bight and a time". She finished. 

I love my Mom.

She's absolutely right. And then she shared I Corinthians 10:13. I love it when a verse FINALLY breaks through. The first thing that struck and stuck? I haven't been given anything in this life that somebody somewhere hasn't probably already been through. My situation isn't new to God. It's only new to me. Right now, in this space. God already knows what's going on and that brings me to the second thing that went off like a light in a dark attic. God is ALWAYS faithful. 

Just. ALWAYS.

He will never give me a thing that through Him and with Him I cannot handle. Sometimes, I want to see myself as the strong individual God seems to "think I am". lol. I must be some kind of Amazon or something. Or it feels that way sometimes.

But the truth is? We are not faced with ANYTHING that isn't common to mankind. 

In other words. It FEELS big and scary right now. But we are not the only ones in this particular sinking boat. The whole world is in recovery and survive mode. Maybe not in exactly the same way, but we are all being faced with a reality that no one anticipated.  We all have an elephant of some size sitting in the middle of the things we need to get done.

Sometimes? The Elephant is sooooooo big? It really is better to focus on the fork, just, keep your eyes on the fork. [Read, Jesus] Before you know it, the giant thing will have disappeared, one single bight at a time.

God's got this.