Choose to Remember

 

Today was “one of those days” when it seemed one thing after another left me in a state of stress. I’ve been taught that there is both good and bad stress. Today seemed to be more of the latter. 

I was dressed and ready to go but couldn’t find my keys. After giving up the search and reverting to a spare key, I left home. After arriving at the store - to purchase a new purse because the zipper on my purse had broken the day before (another stressor), I opened the door of my truck to get my grand girl out. Somewhere along the ride, she had vomited and I had a stinky mess to clean up. She hadn’t even made a fuss though! 

Then, I had trouble parking. Then, the cart began rolling down the hill while I was getting the car seat out of my truck. Burger King gave me spicy nuggets instead of regular. Yeah...you get the picture? It was a Monday for certain!!! 

As I came to bed to read my Bible tonight before turning in, I told myself, tomorrow will be a better day.  I’ve learned that positive outlook helps me. There’s always the hope of a better tomorrow!

Seriously though! How many times have we found ourselves frustrated in a day? What about beyond frustrated? Maybe we find ourselves stressed. Maybe more than stressed? Perhaps we feel as if our world is collapsing in on us. What do we do?

I’m so glad you asked!

While reading Psalm 77, I noticed a phrase that kept popping up. After reading twelve verses, I went back and began underlining them. 

The author was in a fix, troubled, stressed, agitated, couldn’t sleep, overwhelmed and complaining. Crying unto the Lord. Questioning. Wondering. Seemed to me like he might have been having a bad day. Anyone ever been there? 

The phrase I underlined was I will remember. He admitted his situation, then said, “...but I will remember...” and began recalling God’s goodness and character from times past. Apparently, this wasn’t his first rodeo with a “Monday”!  Yeah, I know, it never said it was a Monday. It’s kind of funny though, huh?

What a great formula for us to use too. I was frustrated today, as you might completely understand. I complained. I wondered what in the world was going on. Then...I realized I was caught up in a vicious cycle. So, I started mentioning the few things which had gone right this morning. 

Did it erase what had happened? 

No. 

Did it make everything all better?

No. 

What it did was to alter my state of mind in the moment, which helped me get grounded and on through my day. 

It’s nearing the end of my day and as I write this, I’m so thankful today is almost over - and hoping tomorrow will be a much better day. I’m also praying that “I will remember” again if tomorrow seems a bit helter-skelter too. Sometimes it’s difficult to find the good in hard days. That’s me being brutally honest! But...

there is ALWAYS something good in the mix, because God is always there. 

There will always be stressful days sprinkled into our lives, but with each day we live, God will show up and teach us more about His character if we’ll pay attention. 

Every incident or stressor we push through today is extra ammunition for our next victory tomorrow. 

 

Choose to remember...