A Bible verse about praise:
“Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.” Psalm 98:1
It has been an interesting week for me. A week which would have normally brought ruin has actually been (gasp) manageable.
It started on Sunday; I was driving to the grocery store when I felt that the brakes in my truck didn’t feel quite right.
I confirmed this when I got home as it was quite obvious that I had developed a leak in my rear brake line.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that I didn’t have time to fix it on Monday, and then I had to return to work on Tuesday.
Oh, and the fact that there was a major snowstorm beginning on Tuesday as well.
Naturally, I was freaking out a bit inside.
For once though, I really honestly tried to not let it get the best of me. I prayed for help, and it came.
I was able to order the new brake line on Monday, and I was able to have it picked up on Tuesday while I was at work.
Yes, I drove my truck to work that morning with weak brakes. I made sure the master cylinder was full before I left as I knew it would leak down on the trip.
Luckily, there’s hardly any traffic when I drive to work in the morning, so I didn’t need to use my brakes much at all.
After getting the part, I set out to fix it at work that night. I was a bit anxious about it because I had never replaced brake lines before.
That being said, I managed to replace the brake line and bleed the brakes in a few hours that evening, and by the time I went home in the morning it was as if it had never happened.
As I reflect on this minor accomplishment, it’s a good reminder of how much smoother problems go when we just let them happen.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t go to work; I’m not implying that we should just roll over in the face of trouble.
It’s just simply much easier to not be afraid.
Identify the problem, find a solution, and don’t worry about it.
I was given another opportunity to test this theory in regards to the snowstorm. We were expected to get 7-11 inches of snow from Wednesday night through Thursday night with excessive winds.
The snow alone is problematic for our long driveway, but the wind is the real problem. It can quickly cause impassable snowdrifts.
To combat this, and to make sure I could leave for work on Thursday morning, I had to get up every few hours on Wednesday night to make sure that the driveway stayed clear.
As I left for work on Thursday, the driveway was already starting to drift in. I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to make it back in when I got home on Friday.
I wore all my bulky clothes for the fated walk back down our 1/2 mile long driveway in subzero temperatures.
Throughout the day at work on Thursday, the snow and wind continued.
I had moments of anxiety thinking about the probability that I couldn’t get back in and how much work I’d have to do when I did get home.
This was further complicated by the fact that Bre had to go to work on Friday afternoon, so I knew that I’d only have a couple of hours to try and make a path for her to get out.
Each time this fear crept up, I had to say to myself, “Who cares?”
If I can’t get in, who cares? God has blessed me with the ability to walk, and I have warm clothes.
If I can’t clear a path for Bre to get out, who cares? In that event, my truck will still be at the end, and she can take it to go to work.
Worrying accomplishes nothing.
Fretting over the snow doesn’t prevent it from drifting. Worrying doesn’t help me clear it any faster. It takes as long as it takes, and there’s nothing else to it.
I prayed continually for peace throughout the day, and for the most part I had it. Maybe not peace, but more likely acceptance in the fact that there was nothing I could do in that moment while I was at work.
That night when I went to bed, I prayed for the driveway to somehow be clear. I talked with God about how I couldn’t handle any more work at the moment; how I didn’t have time to clear it; how I really didn’t want to be walking in the cold anyways.
In the end, I said, “God it’s your will, and I know things won’t be that bad. I know that this is just an inconvenience, but at the moment it feels like more than that to me.”
And I left it up to Him.
I was expecting the snow to be three feet deep across our whole driveway when I got home.
Only, it wasn’t. There was a little drifting on the edges, but I was amazed to see that the entire length of the driveway was passable. I drove my truck all the way up to the house with zero complications.
I can’t tell you what a relief that was. Even though I was leaving it to God, the anxiety was still a burden for me. It was still present in the back of my mind.
I still spent some time widening out the driveway and pushing out the drifts, but this was optional and not completely necessary.
That changes the whole dynamic of the situation; instead of resenting the fact that I had to race against the clock, it was optional work that I was doing, and I actually enjoyed it.
I have since given thanks to God a multitude of times, and that’s why today’s verse speaks for itself.
I am by no means “cured” of my anxiety or worry. We’re still struggling financially, and I’m nowhere near where I want to be with my entrepreneurial goals. I worry about these things constantly.
However, the events that I’ve faced in this past week have taught me a valuable lesson of how much smoother and better events can unfold if we just allow them to happen and deal accordingly.
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