Words that Inspire

A few days ago, we experienced winter at its best. From the early hours of the morning into the afternoon, we had snow. The day was bleak, grey and cold. A lot of us had to drive through uncleared and untreated roads to get to and from work. Even areas that we expected should have been cleared, were not. Later in the evening, we had freezing rain, which resulted in iced over roads the next morning. The roads were so icy, that most schools closed and a lot of offices and businesses postponed their opening hours. In my case, the driveway was so iced over, that I was effectively ‘Iced In’.

I had to stay in the house, until late afternoon, when the ice melted enough for me to step out. If you had to drive that morning, you probably drove very slowly with your heart in your mouth, because as soon as you breathed a sigh of relief for driving through an icy patch, another one was right in front. The next day, while driving, I noted that the sun was out, temperatures were warmer than usual, the roads were almost flooded from the melting ice and snow and the water from the melting snow was washing away debris and a few remaining ice patches from the road.

Life is just like the weather

Life is just like that, isn’t it? There are days when our lives are just like that snowy day. Everything seems so bleak, lonely and cold. It feels like you are in it alone. Everything slows down dramatically and areas of your life that you expect should work, just doesn’t work out. Sometimes, life feels like an icy road. You are slipping and sliding and everything seems to be spinning out of control. It feels like you are constantly in anxiety mode. Once you resolve a problem area, you cannot relax because you know that another issue is right around the corner – and usually, there is.

However, just like the weather, things clear up again. The same way the snow and the ice melt away, if we trust God and place our hope in him, our problems and issues will all melt away. Being anxious causes us to panic, which is never helpful in a situation. Think about it. If you drive on a patch of ice and you panic, you end up turning your steering wheel too hard and you are most likely to end up in a serious accident. If you are calm, it is easier to slowly navigate through and you increase your chances of not being in an accident.

Slow Down, Take it Easy, Do not be anxious

Just like driving in bad weather, when it comes to life, slow down and stop feeling anxious. Everything is in the hands of God, so why panic? In an attempt to fix things by your own knowledge, you will turn too hard this way and that way, and cause things to be worse. As long as you have poured out your heart to him, leave it to God.  The bad weather lasts just for a little bit and with morning comes the sun that melts it all away. It is just like Psalm 30:5b tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. So, no matter the issue that has you burdened and feeling out of sorts, hang in there – joy and resolution are right around the corner.