Do you ever feel like you've always got an issue to deal with?
Do you ever wonder when you’ll finally get to that good, ideal place? Does it ever seem like everyone else is gliding through life while you’re hitting every possible pothole along the journey?
Me too.
Seriously.
I hardly get my morning started these days without something happening that raises my stress level, tugs at my emotions, and makes me want to throw a slight hissy fit.
Issues with my kids. Issues with a friend. Bigger issues that beg me to crawl in bed and wish the world away.
Issues with time management. Issues with the garbage disposal. Issues with the ice maker. Issues with slight kitchen floods due to issues with the garbage disposal and ice maker.
Issues with the dogs. Issues with the radio show I wrote about my issues with my dog. Issues with someone accusing me of having no common sense because of my radio show about the issues with my dog.
And that was just scratching the service of last week’s issues. This week will bring a bucket load of its own issues.
Small issues and big issues.
Sometimes I feel like nothing more than a gap filler… someone who runs from issue to issue trying like mad to fill in the gaps while wondering why in the world I have so many.
I've been thinking about this a lot so I've made a list of 5 things I’m learning about gaps.
1. All God’s girls have gaps.
And if you don’t have any at this present moment, hang on sister, your fair share is coming.
In the meantime help those of us out that are presently overly blessed in the gaps department. And for heaven’s sakes don’t judge those of us presently drowning in our gaps. You’ll have to eat your words if you do and eating your words is absolutely no fun at all. Trust me.
2. Gaps sometimes really stink.
I won’t over spiritualize the reality of gaps. Gaps can make you cry, scream and get so frustrated you want to throw something. And that’s okay… just don’t throw something breakable because you will regret this later. And don’t throw something at someone because this can be illegal and no one wants to ponder their gaps from the comfort of a jail cell.
But sometimes a girl just needs to grieve their gaps and that’s okay… so let the tears come.
3. Gaps keep us humble.
My gaps are an ever present reminder of my desperate need for God. Any good in my life is nothing but a gift from Him.
Gaps keep me from gloating in my accomplishments and constantly remind me to never fall into the trap of thinking I deserve anything. But for the grace of God, my entire life would be one big gap.
4. Gaps can be gifts.
Sometimes I think God intentionally leaves gaps in our lives to make sure we don’t worship anything or anyone else besides Him.
If there were no gaps in our marriage, it would be easy to view our husband as our perfect provider, protector and sustainer. If our kids had no gaps, it would be easy to view ourselves as a perfect parent and think we have all the answers. If there were no gaps in our finances, we would come to fully rely on our money and find ourselves wrapped in the disastrous trap of materialism.
Gaps can be gifts when they keep our worship focused in the right direction.
5. Gaps offer opportunity.
It’s easy to walk along life’s level paths. It’s when we get to a gap where we have to make the choice to leap to the other side of seeing positive in the midst of what most see as negative- or not.
Some might call it being optimistically foolish. I call it faith. It’s in that in between, when our feet have left the ledge of security before we land on the other side that we come to know both the certainty and uncertainty of faith.
Jesus says, blessed is the man who believes because he has seen me. But even more so blessed is the man who believes when he’s never seen me. I like to apply this to my gaps as well. Blessed is that person who has faith when there is no assurance things will turn okay. For no matter how things turn out, they will see that outcome as God’s perfect answer to their gap... and keep trusting.
How tragic to never have the opportunity to leap with faith over a gap and feel the thrill of landing on the other side. And even if we fall while trying to get over a gap, it’s more blessed to have lived trying to leap and fall time and again- than to have stood afraid with nothing but a disappointed wish.
So there you have it.
I have some gaps. Lots of gaps.
And while my list of processing my gaps is incomplete… I’m quite enjoying trying to see something good… something about God even in the midst of it all.
What about you?
Do you ever wonder when you’ll finally get to that good, ideal place? Does it ever seem like everyone else is gliding through life while you’re hitting every possible pothole along the journey?
Me too.
Seriously.
I hardly get my morning started these days without something happening that raises my stress level, tugs at my emotions, and makes me want to throw a slight hissy fit.
Issues with my kids. Issues with a friend. Bigger issues that beg me to crawl in bed and wish the world away.
Issues with time management. Issues with the garbage disposal. Issues with the ice maker. Issues with slight kitchen floods due to issues with the garbage disposal and ice maker.
Issues with the dogs. Issues with the radio show I wrote about my issues with my dog. Issues with someone accusing me of having no common sense because of my radio show about the issues with my dog.
And that was just scratching the service of last week’s issues. This week will bring a bucket load of its own issues.
Small issues and big issues.
Sometimes I feel like nothing more than a gap filler… someone who runs from issue to issue trying like mad to fill in the gaps while wondering why in the world I have so many.
I've been thinking about this a lot so I've made a list of 5 things I’m learning about gaps.
1. All God’s girls have gaps.
And if you don’t have any at this present moment, hang on sister, your fair share is coming.
In the meantime help those of us out that are presently overly blessed in the gaps department. And for heaven’s sakes don’t judge those of us presently drowning in our gaps. You’ll have to eat your words if you do and eating your words is absolutely no fun at all. Trust me.
2. Gaps sometimes really stink.
I won’t over spiritualize the reality of gaps. Gaps can make you cry, scream and get so frustrated you want to throw something. And that’s okay… just don’t throw something breakable because you will regret this later. And don’t throw something at someone because this can be illegal and no one wants to ponder their gaps from the comfort of a jail cell.
But sometimes a girl just needs to grieve their gaps and that’s okay… so let the tears come.
3. Gaps keep us humble.
My gaps are an ever present reminder of my desperate need for God. Any good in my life is nothing but a gift from Him.
Gaps keep me from gloating in my accomplishments and constantly remind me to never fall into the trap of thinking I deserve anything. But for the grace of God, my entire life would be one big gap.
4. Gaps can be gifts.
Sometimes I think God intentionally leaves gaps in our lives to make sure we don’t worship anything or anyone else besides Him.
If there were no gaps in our marriage, it would be easy to view our husband as our perfect provider, protector and sustainer. If our kids had no gaps, it would be easy to view ourselves as a perfect parent and think we have all the answers. If there were no gaps in our finances, we would come to fully rely on our money and find ourselves wrapped in the disastrous trap of materialism.
Gaps can be gifts when they keep our worship focused in the right direction.
5. Gaps offer opportunity.
It’s easy to walk along life’s level paths. It’s when we get to a gap where we have to make the choice to leap to the other side of seeing positive in the midst of what most see as negative- or not.
Some might call it being optimistically foolish. I call it faith. It’s in that in between, when our feet have left the ledge of security before we land on the other side that we come to know both the certainty and uncertainty of faith.
Jesus says, blessed is the man who believes because he has seen me. But even more so blessed is the man who believes when he’s never seen me. I like to apply this to my gaps as well. Blessed is that person who has faith when there is no assurance things will turn okay. For no matter how things turn out, they will see that outcome as God’s perfect answer to their gap... and keep trusting.
How tragic to never have the opportunity to leap with faith over a gap and feel the thrill of landing on the other side. And even if we fall while trying to get over a gap, it’s more blessed to have lived trying to leap and fall time and again- than to have stood afraid with nothing but a disappointed wish.
So there you have it.
I have some gaps. Lots of gaps.
And while my list of processing my gaps is incomplete… I’m quite enjoying trying to see something good… something about God even in the midst of it all.
What about you?
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