I’m not going to lie. Today has been… stupid. It’s our first day of Christmas vacation, so it should be a fantastic day.

But the kids are whining, having meltdowns left and right, and arguing, and that has left me a little grumpy. Which then makes me look at all the things I think are going wrong in my life. Which then makes me grumpier. It’s barely the afternoon, and I’m wondering if bedtime is anytime soon. I’ve reached “Scrooge” levels of grump.

I kind of feel like the dogs in the picture above. I can see things that I want to accomplish, but I feel trapped behind a gate that I just can’t get past. I feel like I’m not getting anywhere, not solving the problems I need to solve, not being the mom I need to be, not being the teacher I need to be, not being the writer that reaches people, not being the blogger that offers enough value to anyone to make any difference.

First world problems.

But telling myself this isn’t helping me actually be less grumpy. Now I’m just grumpier because life is uber unfair to people who have to go through third world problems. Or my-country-is-a-warzone problems. Or any of the horrible problems in the world at large. There is no joy in thinking about others who are worse off than you and then saying, “Well, at least I don’t have to deal with that!”

Life is hard. Nobody gets through this life without trials. We all have our “crosses” to bear. Emotional, physical, financial, psychological, geographical, personal, political. Some people seem to have more than others. Some people seem like modern-day Jobs, the trials just keep piling on.

There’s a little fallacy that sometimes pops up in Christian circles: “God won’t give you anything you can’t handle.”

LIES.

You want to believe that life will always be manageable, but then something comes up and you actually can’t handle it. And then everything falls apart. And you get angry with God for going against something He never promised.

Here’s the Truth: “God won’t give you anything He can’t handle.”

But you still have to let Him handle it. You still have to give it up. Or else you’re never going to understand that He has you in His hand. You aren’t going to see the new things He is doing. You might crash and burn, or have a meltdown like I did, or… well, you can fill in the blank, I’m sure. The personal failure possibilities are endless.

So, when you are down, see things for what they truly are.

In my case, it’s because I’m trying to “handle it” instead of letting God handle it. It’s a lack of faith. It’s a lack of seeking Him.

Today, I found these verses and I think they all kind of go together: 

Isaiah 43:18-19

Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Hebrews 12:1b-2a

…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…

Don’t look back, look Up.

Don’t let yourself be hung up on old attitudes, you are a New Creation.

Don’t get weighed down by sin and lack of faith. Run with endurance and look to Jesus. He endured all the sins of all the humans that had ever lived and would ever live all at once after going through hours of physical agony, right before dying a pretty horrific death. He truly gets the whole suffering thing.

When you are down, don’t look “under the gate” at all the things you wish you could have or do or be a part of.

Give it over to God.

Maybe He wants you to get past the gate – but maybe He wants you right where you are. 

Open your Bible. Read.

Pray.

Have friends and family pray.

LOOK TO JESUS. He can handle it.