I heard the chorus of Plumb’s song “Need You Now” on the way to work this morning. When I hear it, it makes me think of someone with a crippling illness that is crying out for healing. Someone with something that she just cannot handle one more day of. She sings:

“How many times have you heard me cry out:
God
Please
Take
This?

How many times have you given me strength to just keep breathing?
Oh I need you,
God I need you now.”

You see, our family is going through some changes right now. New jobs, new states, new schools… new, new, new, new. I had a mild comeapart this morning (that’s southern for “Karen nearly lost her mind, said a cuss word, stomped her foot, did NOT tell the kids she loved them on the way out the door, and wore her angry eyebrows the entire way to work”).

What on earth would make this normally mild-mannered, glass-half-full woman lose her mind?

Well, a cornucopia of things, really. Like how I’m almost certain I fell asleep sitting up last night and spilled milk on the laptop in the process. The keys u,i, j, k, m, and the comma are no longer functioning. No big deal right? Nobody *ses those *eys anyway* espec*ally not wr*ters. ((Sigh)) And the house is a wreck. 

A wreck.

I cannot walk across the living room floor. My daughter left the house yesterday in 30° weather, wearing a skirt outfit that was above her knees, without wearing capris under it (house rule) and a SLEEVELESS shirt and yes, I was that mom who I’m sure 100 other moms were casting judgment as we walked through the grocery store at 8 pm for milk. Sleeveless. Thirty degrees. Skirt mid-thigh. You can’t tell me there wasn’t judgment.

She knows better, that’s all I’m saying.

Then our tax accountants closed last night before we could pick our taxes up (it was 5:30! What tax company closes at 5:30 on tax day?!?). Which wouldn’t have been that big of a deal except a) I called them before we left to make sure they would be open and b) they’re over an hour away. It’s not like it’s a trip to the next intersection.

Oh yes and I’m homeless. Did I mention I’m homeless? Okay, not like living-in-a-shelter homeless. More like “starting a new job in another state in 12 days and I don’t have anywhere to stay when I get there and the rest of the family is coming a month later and oh yes I still have to pay our house payment before I leave, which means I can’t pay that on a deposit on a new place and what on earth am I gonna do, live, stay, eat, etc” homeless.

Did I mention the living room is a wreck? We really should be on an episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive. I don’t even understand how this happens, since I schedule a quarterly goodwill pickup and they take plenty each time they come.

So here I am, on the way to work, post-comeapart, listening to Plumb. I don’t have a debilitating disease, thank the Lord. I don’t have anyone beating me or abusing me or threatening to take my children. I don’t have anything going on in my life NEARLY horrible enough to say “God PLEASE take this.” I don’t have enough wrong for me to ask God to take this. My this is nowhere near as bad as everyone else’s this. I am not in a state of emergency where the next logical step is to break the glass, pull the alarm, and wait for someone to rescue me.

Or am I?

God does not want us to only call on Him during times of distress. YES, He is our strength and a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1) And for those facing medical issues, He IS our healer! But He is also our friend and comforter in the everyday. He is the one we call on hourly (minute-ly?) to remind him we still don’t have a place to stay. He’s the one who will remind us of the funny things our children say when we’re angry at them and want to ground them from clothing for a month. (Yes, I did threaten to GROUND my child from skorts for the entire summer for not wearing leggings. She knows better. It’s a HOUSE RULE.)

Here’s the thing about God: He’ll never tell you your this is not enough to seek His comfort.

There will never be a time when He’ll tell you that someone else’s needs are more important than yours and you need to come back later. Or send you to the back of the line. Push one for serious prayers, and two for puny ones. No, because He is big enough to answer all. He is big enough to take care of your problems, big or small. Not only that, HE WANTS TO. He cares about everything going on with us, and IN us. We don’t have to be afraid to take something to Him, or only take something when it gets to “In Case of Emergency” stage. We can bring big things, little things, and even happy, rejoiceful things to Him, whenever we like.

Isn’t that privilege amazing? To think that there is nothing so insignificant that God doesn’t want you to bring it to Him, and involve Him in it?

We can do this. We can handle today, no matter how crazy it is, with His help. Deep breath, chin up, and don’t forget to take even the small things to God today.

XXXOOO,
Karen


P.S. If you happen to see us out and about this summer and my daughter is wrapped head to toe like a mummy? Just saying. House rules. 

Matt Biddulph at Photopin