Who of you

My brother, Dave, always says when he's riding in a car (shotgun) and he feels out of control with the driving he tells himself ..."side window, side window" ...as he grasps for some comfort in changing his view from the road to the scenery beside him.  As if completely ignoring reality and focusing on something beyond himself will calm his mind.  The beauty in a hillside.  The snow covered mountains.  The headlights in the lane beside him in the thick of night.

Anything, really, to distract him from the discomfort he feels being a situation in which he has no control.

How many times do we do this ourselves?

Something challenging presents itself and instead of facing it with fear and worry and not a lick of control ...we simply change our view.  Change our focus.  Distract ourselves with something we can observe, something we can do something with, something that will make a difference.

I'm afraid to say that I don't do this enough.  I tend to stay gazed, tense as a phone pole, staring as my future (what feels like) is fleeting before me as my husband (usually who is driving when I'm filled with fear for my life) plows onward.  My fragile life in his hands.  I'm completely at the mercy of his judgment calls and ability to control the car.

In fairness to him...he is a fine driver.  Aggressive at times.  Scares us at times.  But a fine driver, nonetheless.

On a larger scale...life hands us stuff all the time that we have no control of.
Disease.  Loss.  Heartache.  Accidents.

Twists and turns that we would never take had we'd been driving behind the wheel.

But I feel that God calls us to rise above.  To take a glance at the side window.  His whole creation is out there.  No matter what position we're in, there are always ways we can give something to the greater good, right?

I lost my dad little over a year ago.  Biggest loss of my life thus far.  Did I want to drive down that road ...heavens no.  I heard people talk about grief and I had friends who had lost parents.  Truth be told ...you just never know what its like until you go through it yourself.  Just like having a baby changes you ...grief does, too.  No matter how hard you try to move on, there will always be days that it washes over you and gobbles you up.

I really struggled for a season.  A long season.  I'm realizing tho, in the midst of all that pain, that I have more compassion.  Side window...  When someone is aching, I now cry with them, too.  When someone shares of a loss, I feel it with them.  I'm a better friend.  I'd rather learn that life lesson through a different experience, but I'm thankful to have the side window.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?   ~ Luke 12:25-26

So lets all take a minute to adjust our views.

No more clenching the overhead crisis handle (a.k.a. my Irish family calls this the 'oh s**t bar') and nervously watching where the road goes.

Lets gaze at the side window.  Lets take in God's glory.  Let's see what we can do.  Let's put our energy into something that will breed goodness.

Replacing worry with thanksgiving and joyful hearts.

I recently read ...worries, if indulged, turn into idols (from the Jesus Calling Devotional).

I had never really soaked in the depth of the damage worry can bring to your life.  Accepting that I have no control over my every day life filled with to-do lists, structure, organization (at least, attempted) and obsessive compulsive disorder ...is no light task.  Worry and I have always been good friends.

God calls us to love.  We can't be loving when we're worrying.

Go love.  Turn your head ...side window.