My Giant Ziplock Bag

Have you ever known you were supposed to do something, but just couldn’t bring yourself to do it?  Maybe you convince yourself the timing isn’t right, or you just aren’t going to do it as well as people who have gone before you, or that it’s just another one of your strange ideas that will go away in a few months.

I’ve been thinking exactly that, up until today. 

You see, this morning, a friend of mine began a journey that will be a huge challenge for her. It will test her courage.  It will test her faith in God.  It will test her humor and drain her strength.  I know this because I have been on a similar journey, and so she has been on my mind and in my prayers all day. 

So no more hiding behind bad excuses.  It’s time to be transparent.

The first thing I did was go into my closet and find my giant ziplock bag.  I had mixed feelings digging it out—my hospital wrist bands are in there, all the cards I got, pathology reports, anything that had to do with my experience.  I pawed through all of that looking for those worn out pieces of paper with scripture verses written on them that I carried around for most of my journey.

Did I mention that when I got out of surgery, we discovered that my surgical team actually taped those scripture verses I had written to my hand so they wouldn’t slip out of my fingers while I was in surgery?

I knew the Lord intended for me to share with my friend the scripture that would be on the first one I came across.

And there it was; a folded up wad of well-worn paper with a scripture verse written in green pen.  Psalm 61:2.  “From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.”

Overwhelmed.  Yes, that is it.  A familiar feeling, but one that the Lord never intended for us to know so well.  But the Psalmist provides the solution.  Go to the rock. 

And I wonder.  How often do I allow myself to be overwhelmed and not go to the Lord?  Before I began this journey, it was a lot.  My “To Do” list is simply huge, and the world had tricked me into thinking that being busy all the time with the “To Do” lists of this world is natural.  It is not natural.  We were not meant to live like that.  But now on this side of my journey, I know that even if that list is 200 items long, what I really need is to cling to Jesus.  Only there am I truly safe and at peace.

Some journeys can make you feel overwhelmed.  I pray that you will recognize those moments for what they are, drop everything, and go to the rock.