God is in This Story

The past couple weeks have been a little rough. Nothing extraordinarily big has happened, but several things have made us grit our teeth and take more than a few deep breaths. Our daughter was in a car accident that totaled her car and caused her to break her hand. Our little boys have been in hard core full moon mode. My mom continues to fight the fight of Alzheimer’s as she also recovers from a fall she had late last year. The roof/ceiling of our resale shop has sprung several leaks. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea.

Honestly, some of these things have brought me pretty low at times. It’s a familiar feeling that has been a big part of my story for a very long time – stress from life circumstances builds up (we have often referred to it as “piling”) and causes more stress. Then the way I respond to the stress causes me to second guess myself and stress even more. It’s a cycle that could easily get out of control.

Even in the good times, stress and anxiety can try to sneak in. Les took me to St. Louis for an overnight date that included a hockey game (Go Blues!) and lots of exploring. Our amazing daughter Sarah took care of our boys even with her own stresses (previously mentioned car accident and broken hand). Things went well, but news of a sick kiddo with a fever and sore throat added an element of unwanted stress.

Something I’m continuing to learn on this healing journey is that it is okay for life to get stressful. Les says that God’s promise to give us life more abundantly doesn’t necessarily mean better. It means full or plentiful – more of the highs and the lows. In the Bible God even tells us that we will have trouble. John 16:33 says “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation…”.

You may know that the name of this blog, “God is in this Story” was inspired by the Katy Nicole/Big Daddy Weave song of the same name. It is such an inspiring song and I encourage you to listen to it! The second line of the chorus, after “God is in this story” is “God is in the details”. God IS in the details. He sees the “big parts” of our stories – for me, cancer and agoraphobia to name a couple. But he also sees the other parts – like a leaking roof or a wrecked car. He not only sees them, he is in them – walking with us every step of the way.

When I was in the midst of my battle with cancer and mental illness, I didn’t see God in the details. I’m not even sure I could tell you what the details were. But almost every day I still learn something new about how someone prayed for me or cared for my family or how “circumstances” lined up to make something better or different. From a song playing at just the right time on the radio to encourage Les, to friends and family who stood in the gap countless times, to all the right medications being covered by our insurance, to so many more things – God is in the details even when we can’t see or feel it.

When the stress or anxiety or fear or worry starts to creep in, remember that even if you don’t see it or feel it, God is in every detail. It sounds easier than it is sometimes, and you may not even notice it until later. But give yourself permission to be okay, I left out the best part of John 16:33 when I mentioned it earlier – “But take heart; I have overcome the world”. In this world we will have trouble, probably every day. But he is in the details and he has overcome the world!