by Jane McKee
There is a movie quote that I am often reminded of in my life, “good things take time, but great things happen all at once.” The fact is, this tends to be true for me. I don’t live on mountain tops or valleys most days, even so, all things good tend to come bunched together, and the bad comes the same way. The point is: What do we do when the blessings come? What about the trials?
For the past few weeks, I have felt truly blessed in so many ways. My job is going extremely well. I feel as though I’ve truly found a home, where my giftings are appreciated as they are, and no one is trying to change me. In fact, they keep asking for more! My energy, random ideas, and strategic planning can exhaust most people, so the fact that this is the result of 7 months on the job, is quite phenomenal to me. It proves that I am situated perfectly for a future career, which is something few can say so soon out of school these days. Overall, I’m quite content with my current circumstances and have few causes for complaints.
While I can look at my life and know that I am extremely blessed, there is the inevitable “other shoe” that is poised to drop and remind me that life isn’t always fun to deal with. While I am not the type to let trials run me over, that doesn’t make them any easier. Right now, while my blessings mainly lie with my job, so do my trials. One in particular that is staring me in the face is a failure of one of my major projects. Note—I deal with people—not products or ideas, at work, so a failure affects more than just a few people. When I was hired, this project was handed to me already failing; I was told to do what I could to make it work, if it could work.
I have always been the type who believes that if I can’t do it, then no one can. As such, I rarely fail, but when I do, it tends to take on much larger proportions than others. I have such an experience currently staring me in the face, and while I know what it is that I am dealing with, it does not make the task any less daunting. Pride makes people say and do things that are meant for self-preservation. I cannot afford such idle comments, but have to take the brunt of others. My own dilemma is whether or not to call it out, or just do damage control?
I do not have the luxury in my position that others have to let my emotions affect my decisions. I deal with too much drama, too many other people, to give in to that style of thinking. As a result, when it is over, the emotions hit me much harder than if I had dealt with them during the time. It is in these moments that I rely on the Lord the most. He has always been my Rock and my support during times of trials, no more so then when others use me as their own support almost to my breaking point. This is the other shoe for me—when the worst is “over,” that is when the hard part of rebuilding begins.
The fact is, we all tend to be caught up in either one emotion or the other. When life is going poorly, that is all we see—not the mini blessings that God sends to light our way back. When things are fantastic, we ignore the promptings of the Spirit, fights with friends or loved ones that we “just don’t want to deal with yet,” and generally just try to make the high last longer. Not that I have a secret to success to offer in this struggle, but I have tried to note it in myself when it happens.
I endeavor to use the blessings in my life to give me perspective through trials and to use trials as a means to find a blessing in disguise. I call myself the “perpetual Pollyanna” (to those who are unfamiliar with the reference, she is a character in a turn-of-the-century novel, an orphan who is noted for always playing the “glad game”—finding something to be glad about no matter what). I think that you always have to look ahead to where things are going, not to just get frustrated with the here and now. Sure, we all have those days when we just can’t take it anymore. I am no stranger to that (just ask my mother). But again, it is our choices which distinguish how we make it past that particular obstacle or if we do at all.
My challenge is this: While none of us can figure out the Father’s plan before it occurs, we can endeavor to be more thankful for the blessings He has given us (both small and large), and to think on whatsoever is good, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8 ) during the trials. Don’t be afraid to face the things that are difficult—it is those times which are the making of us. And, waiting until later only makes it harder—not easier. Remember that most everyone can be happy with a little effort, but it is how resilient we are in times of crisis that show the true character that we should want others to emulate (or not). Be who you are called to be in the Messiah and face your own trials, potential failures, and the unknown with the faith that the Lord will see you through to the end—which is most often, yet another new beginning…
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