When marginally icky things happen, I can easily respond with an "Everything's gonna be alright" attitude. However, when it's more of a bitter blow, my natural response is to panic, get angry, bawl my eyes out or blow my top. And, when I get angry, I like to give the silent treatment. Those who most often receive the silent treatment are my husband, God, and occasionally my children. I need them to know that I am angry, and I need to be silent....lest I say anything aloud that I will later regret.
I heard something today that was very wise.
"When I turn away from God in a difficult circumstance, it only becomes more difficult. But when I turn back to God, my difficult circumstance becomes easier."
This is so true; but I've often got to be reminded of this the hard way. I am stubborn and I get angry...and in those moments I refuse to talk to Him or listen to Him as He speaks to me. In doing so, I drag out my misery.
My wise friend also said... "Life is not meant to be hard. It's only as hard as we make it."
We all experience difficulty, and some of us experience gut-wrenching tragedy; but how we choose to respond to it really does impact how hard it is.
I praise God that I know Him and that He is in the business of graciously rescuing and carrying His beloved children. My friend left me with one final encouragement - pray. Pray regularly and preemptively that "when I am faced with difficulty, I will not forget who you are."
I meant for this post to be a reminder to not forget God, but I believe it relates to our spouses and children too. While I am giving the silent treatment to them, I am shutting them out. They are God's gifts to me. My husband is my partner that I am meant to journey all of life with. When I am hurt or angry, I pray that I will not lose sight of who my husband and children are; and that we will live in a way that honors God's perfect design for those relationships.
