Friends
Have you ever found yourself stuck on a merry-go-round of emotion, your thoughts spinning in circles, swirling faster and faster with every turn of the wheel? You want so desperately to get off that ride of terror, but you cannot make it stop.
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“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.””
Isaiah 30:21 – NIV
“My parents offered to stay the rest of the week. From family to friends, everyone was worried about me. We were all trying to come to grips with what the doctor had told us.
There really was something wrong with me, something terribly wrong. I had hoped the initial diagnosis was wrong. It was. The problem was that the initial diagnosis was replaced by an equally devastating disease process. Bottom line, I was going blind, and I was devastated.”*
“I thought about taking care of patients. “What if I make a mistake? What if I miss something I should have seen?” The thoughts made me cringe. “How am I going to do my job? How can I be a nurse if I cannot see?”*
“But how can I go in there and hold it together? How do I do that job when my whole world is falling apart? And even if I decide to go back to work, how do I get there?”
My thoughts ran in circles, round and round on that awful merry-go-round. Try as I might, I could not find a way to get off.”*
-APS, from “Rough Places Smooth: Moments In A Journey Through Blindness”
On that October day thirty years ago, my world was torn apart, shattered into a million pieces by a sledgehammer labeled “blindness.” I had absolutely no idea how to pick up the pieces, let alone put them back together again.
My mind was reeling in a tailspin, and I could see no way forward. Every question had no obvious answer. Every path was barred with a roadblock. My emotions were swirling like a whirlpool, sucking me under, filling my lungs with water to the point that I could barely breathe.
Then my father entered the room. He spoke, and suddenly, I stopped running. “Go back to work while we are here. You can get stuff caught up. Just get through this week while we are here. You don’t have to figure it all out today.”*
I heard his words, and they stopped me in my tracks. It was like I was running a 50 yard dash, and my father reached out, grabbed my shoulders, and brought me to a halt. Once I stood still, I could see how to step forward.
My problems didn’t go away. They were there each and every morning when I opened my eyes. Still, with my father’s sage advice, I stopped running in circles and started trying to take baby steps forward. I learned to breathe again, and with air finally flowing into my lungs, I started thinking more clearly.
My problems continued, and I didn’t always stay still. I certainly didn’t always think so clearly, but because of that moment, because of my father’s words, I found a way to move forward.
Are you running in circles today? Are your problems throwing you into a tailspin? Do you feel like the world is crashing in around you? Phone a friend. Find someone that you can talk to about your concerns. Share openly. Seek help sorting through solutions.
You may not fix all the problems. The problems may still be there tomorrow morning when you wake up, but with the help of a good friend, loved one, or counselor, you can find the clarity to begin anew.
“One day at a time, one wave at a time.” That is a phrase I have repeated to myself countless times over these 30 years. All we can do is take life one day at a time. The Lord gives us just 24 hours in a day because that’s all we can really handle. We don’t know what the future holds. We only know what is before us today. Take a deep breath. Send up a prayer. Put your trust in God that He will see you through what ever lies ahead. In these many years since those difficult October days in 1993, one truth stands out clearly to me. No matter what hard roads we travel, God can, and He will, make the rough places smooth.
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“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 9:10 – NIV
PRAYER
O Dear Lord, help us feel your presence in our moments of crisis. Stop us from running in circles, and help us find the right path forward. Thank You for the people You place in our paths to help us. Help us to be the path-finders for others who are lost and troubled. O Lord, how we need You today. Thank You for always making a way even when there seems to be no way.
In the Blessed Name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen
Blessings,
Anita
*Excerpts from the story “Running In Circles” in Chapter 3 of “Rough Places Smooth: Moments In A Journey Through Blindness”
© 2022 by Anita Peden Sherer
All Rights Reserved.
-APS 10/23/2023
Faith Beyond Sight 