For Such A Time As This

“When you think the deck is stacked against you, don’t forget who the dealer is. He IS working behind closed doors. You may not see it, you may not even feel it but He IS working.” ~ Tim Harlow

This time of year has really, really felt like that. As I’ve sat here for the last few weeks reflecting on my time at home (during the quarantine of course) it has felt in some ways like life is trying to stack the deck against us. In my own life, I sit and watch those closest to me every day battle ourselves to find a new sense of “normal”. And on top of that, maybe whatever it is we might be trying to feel “normal,” is making us feel like we are spinning into a deeper tailspin. Think about this quote from Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” I really think in this time of quarantine we may be feeling just that and hoping for some sort of relief. And there IS...

I can’t say I have found the magic words, or even the magic pill to make all of this go away or feel better. But I will say I have found some encouragement in the small things and little reminders in this season of life.

For starters, I was reading a devotional the other day and it basically told me to pray. Well of course I knew to do that - I’ve been doing that my whole life. But more recently I’ve been struggling to find the words to pray, or maybe because “normal” things have been taken away from me or loved ones and I have wanted to curse God. And I want you to know, God can take it. He understands when we are mad and want to vent and also when we don’t have words as our tears become our voice.

On top of this, a song (Strong - Oaks Worship) has been super powerful to me. There’s a line in this song that says - I trust you now, I trust you always... And if I am supposed to get through this time in my life, I need to trust God now just like I have trusted Him all the other times in my life... which I will admit has not always been easy. This becomes especially hard when we don’t see the plans in front of us. Shoot some of us don’t even know what tomorrow looks like because it is not guaranteed. But I will say in the midst of chaos and uncomfortableness we just need to remember who the dealer is.

See where I am going with this? The dealer is God and He is working for you in the midst of all this craziness. You may not even see it, feel it or believe it, but at the end of this time - there WILL be a blessing. It might be obvious or it may take a little digging, but there is a blessing coming to each and every one of us. I know in my life recently some blessings I have are:

1. Being able to spend this time with loved ones I typically do not see during this time of the year.

2. Having a space (my garage) to workout and hit and honestly just get some much needed “Me” time.

3. Spending each night sharing a dinner with my family.

4. Being able to share more instruction with coaches and kids I have worked with for years.

This list could keep going, but the idea is that some blessings are easy to see, while others I have needed to look a little more to find.

Don’t get me wrong, I miss baseball, I miss “normal,” I miss all the things that make this time of year what it is. But I will say, if I believe in Such A Time As This then this time of year could be one of the best blessings we don’t see yet!