Sometimes when I have a problem, I let it take me over.  It’s all I think about.  I just can’t get it off my mind.  I want to talk about it, whine about it, be a bit dramatic about it, contemplate “why me”, &  so forth & so on.  I walk around with a cloud over my head, tensed up, perhaps not very friendly, & then inside the pit of my stomach, it starts to burn.  I begin to feel bad all over.  I get to thinking nobody has had this bad of a situation EVER! Then, I hear a voice in the back of my head, (which is my mama, God rest her soul).  She always would tell me,

“Get ahold of yourself.” 

Now, what does that mean, you may ask?  Well, my sweet southern mama had her fair share of problems.  At what most of us call mid-life, she found out she had Multiple Sclerosis.  For years, she fought this disease with such grace.  She never relented or let on that she had given in to what life had set before her.  She “got ahold” of herself & the life changing event & did not let it overtake her, as a person.  It’s so funny.  We respected her & loved her so much, that even being bedfast, she still told us all what to do.  And we did it, because even though her body was weak, the fire the Lord put down in her was not.  She showed us that even though you are right in the middle of a bad situation, it does not have to take ahold of you.  Morals & character surface when troubles make themselves present.  Let me tell you, my mama had strong Christian convictions & proved to us that living it was the only way to survive.  She never held a pity party for long.  She encouraged us to follow suit.  No matter how out of sorts things got, with the MS, she showed us the Lord had a plan.  She strongly believed He was the healer.  She did what the doctors said, but in the end, she showed us God has the last say.  The message was when you live for the Lord, no problem you have is too big for Him.  There is nothing that you & Him can’t handle.  No matter what happens it’s for the greater good.  We may not see it right then.  However, it’s God’s time, not ours.

There were some people in the Bible that thought they had problems.  One that comes right to mind is Peter.

Peter denied Christ. 

Jesus told him by the time the rooster crowed, he would deny Him three times.  (Matthew 26:34) Peter thought that was crazy talk.  Until it happened.  Historically, it is said, the 3^rd time Peter denied Jesus, Peter looked across the way & locked eyes with the Lord.  If that is true, can you imagine what a rush of shame must have come over him?  After that he went out & wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75)  Not just a silent, tearful, moment, but bawlin’ his eyes out.   Don’t you reckon Peter thought he had created himself a big problem?  Poor Peter, I’m glad the story did not end there.  Peter got through that awful experience & went on to serve the Lord with great eagerness.  He did not let a tragedy paralyze him in the work Jesus needed him to do.  He repented, “got ahold of himself” & went on.   Thank goodness there is life after problems.

When Mama was sick, we thought we had problems.  Big, huge, frightening problems that we did not know how to handle.  But you know what happened?  Every time we turned around, there was someone there willing to help.  Sometimes it was someone sharing their story to let us know they had also been through a similar trial, so we would not feel like we were in this by ourselves.  Sometimes it was a homemade cake or meal cooked.  Sometimes it was a wonderful helper to relieve us & sit with Mama while we tended to other things.  Sometimes it was a friend with a listening ear.  In the whole ordeal with her, I never remember feeling like we were alone.  It gave us a greater thankfulness & faith in humanity & how God works through people.  It strengthened our faith in the Lord, as well.  Would we have learned & appreciated all of this, had we not been through this experience?  I’m going to say probably not.  Was it a wonderful & beautiful thing?  Well, if you would have asked me that back in the middle of all of it, I would have absolutely said no.  Now, though, I see so many blessings that came out of it, I just can’t keep it to myself!  In this storm of life that came our way, I want everyone to know how good God was to us.

Today, I hope you know if you are struggling with a problem, you are not alone.  I am here to tell you everybody on the face of this Earth has a struggle.  If someone says they don’t, don’t you believe them!  We are here to help each other.  If you stretch out your hand to help someone, you will be blessed for it, as well.  Sometimes it can be hard to admit we have things in our lives that are not so great.  However, when we open up, we find a whole lot of support from people, that we never would have imagined.  As Christians, we are not told we won’t have problems.  We are just given the tools to know how to handle them.  What can you do to help someone?  Start by smiling at someone today.  That may just be all it takes to melt their heart & make their day more bearable.

I have so enjoyed you stopping by today.  I hope you are getting that menu ready for your Thanksgiving dinner.  We will be hosting another breakfast & dinner at our house, for our family & friends.  There are 13 of us now (that just includes my husband, kids & their families)   I just can’t put that off on somebody else to try & feed us!  My brother & his family will be coming from a faraway land, 200 miles south of us, as well.  Miss Neenee has only asked 241 times when her cousins will be getting here.  I hope each & every one of you have a happy & healthy Thanksgiving holiday.  As for me, I have to be going now, because I should be washing clothes.