Oh, Ye of Little Faith...

Sometimes, it is easy to say that we are 'trusting in the Lord.' When everything is going smoothly and life is rolling along, then trusting is effortless. It's like getting up to bat and having nothing but easy pitches thrown at you. You start hitting the ball, get some confidence and eventually, you are pretty sure you are going to make it to home plate. This is how life has been for us lately. We made a commitment to get out of debt and get control of our finances. Since we got a good amount of money back on our taxes and an insurance settlement check, we have paid off over $6,000 worth of outstanding bills, including paying off hubs' truck 3 months early. As we 'knocked each bill out of the park,' per say, we got more confident that we could see the end of the game when we were debt free. The anticipation of that date and to see the bills get knocked out has been the fuel that we have needed to stay on track. It has been easy to trust God with our finances because it has all worked accordingly.

When life starts throwing curveballs, however, then it's a whole new ball game. When those balls start coming at you and you can't follow a direct path or see where it's going to cross, it's hard to know when to swing. And when you do swing, it's even harder to actually hit the ball and not to strike out. What's even worse is having a coach standing on the sidelines, directing you to swing, even when you feel like it is a bad idea. It's hard to trust that coach when you don't understand the bigger picture or what he has in store for you.

We got thrown a curve ball today when my husband's company announced they would be laying off 1,200 employees this month and also forcing 1,500 employees to take an unpaid leave of absence for five weeks in July. Suddenly, we were the story that made the CBS evening news. This troubling state of our economy has finally hit home and has begun to affect us and those around us right here in our community. While hubs feels pretty secure in his position, he knows that he will be affected by the furlow in July. There are those, however, that won't be so lucky. Our neighbors and our friends will probably lose their jobs and will be affected in the worst way. And even though hubs is confident, it could even be us.

This is where TRUST comes in. When he called me today to give me the news, I felt a lurch in my stomach and immediately tensed up. I began thinking of our finances, how we would afford an entire month without income and about a backup plan should he lose his job. My head began to spin with all the possibilities and what if's. I immediately called our family and friends to let them know what was going on. Never once did I stop and pray. Never once did I think to seek counsel with the wisest man in the world, the man with the plan for our lives and the one who only wants good for us. Never once did I think that this might be an opportunity to put my faith to the test, by letting go and letting God take control of what seemed to be a desperate situation. Instead, I tried to control it on my own.

'Oh ye of little faith.' Jesus might as well of put 'Emilee' in place of 'ye' in that passage. It is easy to trust in the good times, but hard to let go in the difficult moments. It is in those times, the ones where we give up self-control of our situations, where we allow God to be God and get to watch Him work out his deity and his majesty right before our very eyes. When we let go, we let God...and he is awesome. So, we just need to trust Him more and lean on our own understanding less. Easy right?!? Ha....no one ever said letting go was easy ~ but it is definitely worth it! Now, if I can just take my own advice......

(the picture above is from http://annettesart-anni.blogspot.com/. She makes amazing art. Go to her blog and you can find her stuff on ebay!)