You Can't Hold Up a Bus!

When I say, “You Can’t Hold Up A Bus,” I’m not talking about the kind of hold up where you would use a ski mask and a gun! I’m talking about literally picking up a bus. 


Stay with me here... I heard an interview once with an actress on a Superman movie. In one scene of the movie, this villainess was shown picking up a city bus. When the scene was being filmed, for a split second, she forgot that she wasn't actually holding up the bus--there was a crane doing that. She actually injured herself as she tried to support a city bus. Now that sounds crazy because we all know that none of us is strong enough to actually pick up a bus. 


But we essentially do the same thing when we try to control every circumstance of our lives and the lives of those around us. Lately, I’ve been exhausting myself trying to control the people around me. I’m not trying to control them in a bad way. I love these people and I want what’s best for them. I just want to make sure they don’t make wrong choices or put themselves in situations that might cause them pain. So I’ve been trying to head off any mistakes they might make—I’ve been watching them like a hawk, straining to discern every comment, every action. And I am exhausted! 


The truth is, the only person I’m responsible for is me. I want to be an encouragement and support to those I love, but when I start trying to “will” them into the “right” (according to me) decisions and behaviors, I may as well be trying to “hold up a bus.” 


God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change 
The Courage to change the things I can 
And the Wisdom to know the difference! 


 And that is my unswerving hope!

Comfortable Versus Comforted

I have a very special journal. I got it about a year ago at a women's retreat. On the cover, among pictures of lots of my favorite things like tea pots and pretty bowls of ice cream and strawberries, are the words, "Creating a feeling of comfort."

I have not been comfortable for so long, I can't remember what it feels like. In fact, maybe being comfortable is not even what my soul longs for. Maybe there's a difference between being comfortable and being comforted.

Over the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that life on earth is not meant to be comfortable. If we get too comfortable, we'll never change or grow. I admit, there are times when all I want is a little comfort. Sometimes, I'm just weary. I'm weary of making this 4,000 mile round trip every 6 weeks or so, even though the purpose of those trips is to bond with my 2-yr-old granddaughter. I'm on one of those trips now. One of the problems is that every time I make these trips, I have to come face to face with the reality of the losses and disappointments that have so hugely impacted my life.

There's a part of me that misses the oblivion of my previous life... running my kids to school, band concerts and ballgames. Life was so busy back then. But it was controllable... Or at least I thought it was.

Since then, I've realized just how little control I really have. Things like ice cream and strawberries bring a very brief moment of comfort, but that's really not what my soul yearns for. My soul yearns for someone much bigger and stronger than I to love me enough to take care of the things I cannot control. That's the kind of comfort I get when I submit to God and trust His way of controlling things instead of demanding that He make me comfortable. I am comforted even in the midst of grief and loss even though I am not comfortable. Maybe being comfortable is really a myth. Maybe there is no such thing in this life as being comfortable. Maybe there was never supposed to be any such thing. Every one of us was born with a longing for a higher power. Something in us knows that we long for life to be meaningful much more than we long to be comfortable.

So, as I enjoy my granddaughter this weekend, and as I face the demons of my past, I will seek God's comfort in midst of all of it, the good and the bad. I will view being comfortable for what it is, a myth, a momentary pleasure in eating ice cream out of a pretty bowl. Oh, I will not deprive myself of an occasional bowl of ice cream, but I will remember that being comfortable is not what I was created for. Knowing God and enjoying His blessings while also allowing Him to refine me and make me into His image (even when there is pain involved) is what I was created for.

Thank You, Father, for Your amazing comfort that comes just in the nick of time. Just when I begin to feel like life is not worth living, Your comfort overwhelms me and I have the strength and courage to take the next step. May my life be full of meaning and purpose which are much more valuable than my comfort.