My Tight Rope Act

How do you remain steady when your world is being shaken underneath you?

Have you ever noticed that when your world seems perfect and everything is going as you have planned, it will get shaken up in an instant? With the news of my husband's recent job loss, we immediately declared as a family that since we couldn't change our circumstance, we would simply change our perspective. It has been four days since we received the news of his job ending. Our spirits have been optimistic and fairly positive. We have put 100% faith into God, and know that He will guide us onto a new path. So what happens when our world (life as we know it) continues to get shaken?

Our car was due for a State Inspection by the end of the month. Being the organized, rule-follower that I am, we dropped it off at the auto shop to be looked at today. We had every right to believe that it would pass. Just $16, a sticker slapped on the windshield, and call it a day. Not so much...The call came at 8:04 this morning, stating that our car would fail inspection if we didn't replace the front brakes. I guess they frown upon metal touching metal as your brake system (smirk). Explaining the fact that "my husband was just laid off", didn't seem to make a difference (reasonably so). So now, here I sit having to fork out over $300, knowing that by the end of the week we have zero income.

How do I handle it? I gave myself two choices after the call; have a complete pre-coffee melt down or suck it up like a big girl. I decided for the welfare of my family, to put on my poker face and challenge Satan right back. He didn't succeed in breaking our spirits with the lay-off. Actually, I think we made him very angry. So he decided to go to plan B, fail the car inspection. I have already declared that our situation is in God's hands. My job is not to figure it all out, yet trust that he has already done that. So again, I find myself turning to Him. I can almost feel the sting of my tears as they continually fill the brims of my eyes. But there is a stronger part deep within me that just won't allow myself to cave. I've said it before, I believe a bigger blessing is to come from the hardships we are currently facing. My family's trust and faith in God is clearly being tested right now. I feel as though we are currently walking on a tight rope, 100 feet in the air. We are trying to stay steady, as we keep our eyes focused ahead. We know the minute we look down, fear will take over and we will lose all balance, causing us to fall. Yet, our journey across the tight rope seems lighter. Although we cannot see it, we can sense that God is supporting and leading us. All we have to do is trust Him to get us to the other side.

What tight rope act are you currently in? Are you trusting God to get you to the other side? Remember, life is going to happen, the good and the bad. It is how you respond to the situations that will determine your outcome.