DID YOU EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE WEEKS?

Did you ever have one of those weeks?  The kind of week that sucks the very marrow out of your bones?  The kind of week that chews you up and spits you out?  The kind of week that relentlessly wreaks havoc in every area of your life?

So, it’s Faithful Friday, friends.  But I would rather rename it Finally Friday just this once.  Are you okay with that?  Because it has been that kind of week (and I just need it to be over), so I am very thankful that it is finally Friday.

You have been there, are there with me right now, or will be there soon.

A week that starts with hope and promise can quickly spiral into the abyss due to circumstances beyond your control.

People make choices and those choices impact you.   You have expectations, and they are not met.  Things keep falling apart no matter how much you try to hold them together.

You work hard to accept, accommodate, and adjust, but it seems as if the universe (and everyone and everything in it) is conspiring to take you down.

You force yourself to get back on your feet, willing yourself to stand steady against the endless onslaught…only to be taken out by another huge tidal wave of unexpected and unfortunate situations.  WHAM!  And the hits just keep on coming.

It is ruthless and relentless, giving you no time to catch your breath, think clearly, or respond appropriately.

So you wave the white flag of surrender, fall to your knees, and let the world carry on around you…or without you.

But is that the best way to deal one of these of weeks?

Is it giving up?  Giving in?

As I struggled with making sense of my terrible, miserable, no-good week, I found a card with this quote that I stuck in my wallet years ago.  It is from Chuck Swindoll.  I say to my children all the time.

 

That is a pretty significant differential.

So every stinking, rotten thing that happened this week (or any bad week) makes up only 10%?  Seriously?  It feels like 150%.

And who is responsible for the rest?  For 90% of life?

I am.

You are.

90%=our attitudes, our thoughts, and our responses.

No matter what the circumstances are.  No matter what life throws at you.  No matter how unfair it all seems.

Tough, but real truth.

You stand at the crossroads each day:  will you choose to give in to your circumstances or will you choose to rise above them?

Yes, a lot “stuff” (that’s a nice word for it) went down this week.  Most of it I did not ask for, plan on or even deserve.  I am okay with letting you know I come to this Faithful Friday broken, bruised, and quite bewildered at what happened to me.

But that does not mean I get to play the victim or become a passive spectator.  I do not get to check out, make excuses, or blame others.

I have choices and so do you.  And because we have choices, we also have power.  90% power. I like that percentage, don’t you?

You and I cannot change what happens, but we can change how we react and respond.

If you have had one of those weeks, join me in letting the stuff, the issues, the drama, the setbacks, and the negativity go…remember they only make up 10% of your life anyway.

Instead, determine to make a conscious, willful effort to use your 90% to:

Choose joy.

Extend grace.

Practice gratitude.

Ignore lies.

Trust truth.

Try again.

Rise strong.

And above all, bring it to God.  Lay every broken piece of your messed up week at His feet. No matter how out of your control your life feels, God is still on the throne and in charge of everything.  He will strengthen, uphold, guide, comfort, and restore you.  He will never fail, so you can rest in Him.

TGIFF:  Thank God it’s FINALLY FRIDAY!

With the right attitude and perspective, we will meet back AT THE CROSSROADS on Mindful Monday to encourage and help each other choose the right path as we bravely face another week.