In times of great stress, gallows humor comes into play as a way to cope. When Hubby #2 was in medical school, the “jokes” and “funny” one-liners came rapid fire on the Friday nights when his fellow students came to our house. They would sit on the stoop and drink a beer and talk trash. They had to. If not, they never would have survived the brutality they were faced with on a daily basis. I remember listening with frank shock, wondering how on earth these men and women were ever going to become compassionate physicians.
Some didn’t survive…at least not in any real functional way. Others barely made it through, forever broken by a system that systematically took every bit of tenderness and goodness from them creating angry cynics…old before their time. Still, most made it through relatively unscathed because they saw their days as a series dumpster fires they needed to put out…one by one.
If 2020 hasn’t been a classic dumpster fire of epic medical school proportions, I will turn in my secret Med School Wife Decoder Ring and go home. It seems like every single day we are challenged with something bigger, something badder, something scarier than the day before. It’s giving people PTSD…unless of course, you were gifted with that particular monster through some other equally awful life experience. Then it’s just compounded.
The thing we have to remember is…God can take the very worst dumpster fires, turn them around, and use them for good. For you and for me and for any other person on the street. When we look at the collective ****show this year has been, it’s really difficult to see how anything good can come from this. It’s there, though. You just have to look to see it.
This is an uncertain time…an unsettled time. Pray for peace. Pray for our country and our President and First Lady. I may not agree with his politics, but this is not the time for bashing. This is the time for praying the evil out of this world. And praying for healing.
So, whenever I see that sense of renewed cooperation, I will put a little fuel on that fire. A little encouragement. A little “atta boy”. A little gratitude. I’ll blow on it with good words, nurturing a flame from the smallest embers until a roaring bonfire takes hold.
Yes…God can do miraculous things with dumpster fires. Just you wait and see.
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“You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”
Psalms 66:12 NIV
Maybe this year is to separate the wheat from the chaff. To prepare us for what is to come. Not gonna lie, there have been stretches where I have seriously struggled. We have a 19 year old college student granddaughter living with us who, of course, knows WAY more than her old fogey grandparents. We are at the point where we had to tell her “our house, our rules” and that she doesn’t have to like them, but if she continues the disrespect, she will need to find another place to live. I have a daughter in law who doesn’t have a problem putting her baby in daycare, but feels it is “too dangerous” for us to come visit. In a house where I am the only “social” one, I am the only “non-essential” and have been the one who is stuck at home ALONE every day. Yep, the struggle is real. Also, I feel a sense of betrayal as I sit at my sewing machine making masks (nearing the 1,000 mark) yet I do not believe that the masks actually work. If they are so good at saving us from the Corona Virus, why does anyone need a flu shot. 1+1 has ceased to equal 2 during this time of chaos.
Masks are not a magic bullet, but part of a comprehensive plan. Just like your car has brakes, and seatbelts, and airbags. Mask, wash your hands, physically distance, get a flu shot…all are parts of a whole that will help keep more people safe. But they only work if people use them. Keep on sewing! And teaching and loving that granddaughter ❣️
Zoom or FaceTime or something like that can help a little with the social, too. It’s not just for meetings. Some girlfriends and I have an evening chat sometimes. It’s fun to laugh together and see their faces and hear their voices. Be well ?☀️
We have to reach outside of our normal lines of contact. My normal monthly meeting of garden girlies has been suspended but we have Monday Check-in emails where we share news and joys. Finding ways to keep in contact is essential.
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Well, I’ll say this, if we were a mask wearing society, our flu numbers would be lower as well. But I get what you’re saying. Be safe out there. ❤️
Amos 3:7 says quote for the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.!(ESV) there are many good profits out there. Tim Sheets, Dutch Sheets, Chuck Pierce, Tracy Cain, Cindy Jacobs, and so many more. God is moving and if you want to hear about it you should listen to some of these people. Our God is moving and it’s going to be wonderful!