When the Grace Escalator Breaks Down

It's been a tough week. The "Grace Escalator" on which I've been riding for the past several months came to a lurching, abrupt, bone-jarring halt as friend after friend after friend was slammed with life-altering blows. (Some of you are reading this blog and I don't want to betray your privacy, but I want you to know that it sucks when people I love are hurting.)

At the same time I was hearing painful news, we were heavy into Vacation Bible School and I was responsible for planning the neighborhood outreach/service bash that capped off the week's teaching lessons on serving like Christ. I had alot of anxiety about how this would be received by the church and by the community. (Last year's water party was a huge success. In comparison, I worried: what if the free car wash and free garage sale bombed; what if nobody came from the neighborhood; what if nobody brought items for the garage sale; what if people only brought their junk instead of "good stuff" to give away; and... well, you get the idea how my mind was working.)

And what does a food addict do when they are stressed?


If you answered, "EAT, OF COURSE, DUMMY.", you would be absolutely correct, generally speaking. And that would have once been my primary means of solace for heartache and for anxiety. Instead I did three things:

1) I said the Serenity Prayer ALOT. (I let go of my codependent need to "fix" things for my friends, but also recognized ways I can serve them better.)
2) I went to my Happy Place with Jesus. (In my mind's eye, we go to a lovely mountain stream and play in the water. Then, after a delicious picnic lunch, I stretch out on a large, flat, soft, moss-covered rock and take a refreshing nap.) It's amazing how five minutes with Jesus like this in my imagination revives my emotions, spirit and body.
3) I exercised like a fiend. A total of about 9 1/2 hours in the past week. (2 1/2 hours in one sitting.) My Nustep machine is a superb device for sucking the stress from my body.

And I'm happy to say that the in the midst of difficult circumstances, I prevailed against using food for emotional soothing. (Had I ever resisted that in my entire life before this week?!) I stayed healthy and focused.

And today, I can see clearly that the "Grace Escalator" wasn't broken. Rather, I think God pushed the stop button so I would have the experience of climbing some steps using my faith muscles. They got stretched this week, but, boy oh boy, do they ever feel good and limber and strong. And ready for opportunities to grow stronger.