Overwhelmed by LIFE

by Willow Sanders
     Director of Student Services

You’ve been there right? Where the world feels like it’s coming in around you. Where if one more thing happens, they can pencil you in at the nearest rubber room. Then suddenly, almost cryptically, you hear of the need of another and it jolts you back.

We too know it. From our major move in August, to leaving for our national conference, only to return to a hurricane, and then jumping straight into a new school year! Yet in the midst would be

beauty. Things like a student committing to a major lifestyle change, having a 40% increase in student contacts, and walking through a difficult journey with a young man and watching him face it head on with Christ.

From despair to thankfulness, from selfishness to empathy.

I was thinking of this just the other day and how frequently it happens...which made me think of the word frequency. Defined, frequency is the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample. That reminded me of parenting and repeating things over and over again. Why?  Because I needed my boys to get a message. For whatever reason, there was a need for repetition. For frequency. Whether it be for Safety. Education. Fun. So many ways that the frequent occurrence of things can affect us.

My mind travels back to times in Scripture when the Lord repeated something. It could be in various books or in the very same verse, but I always knew if He said something or used an illustrative scenario more than once, I should key in and see what the point was. You know, see what the ‘therefore’ was there for. When we allow God to reset our focus from our lack to our abundance, it can be overwhelming. We can go from being OVERWHELMED by life to being overwhelmed by LIFE. In those times of discovery, we can find ourselves being reminded how much we have to be thankful for.  How blessed we are. How cared for we are.

Working in ministry can be like that. Overwhelming. Agendas to accomplish, tasks to be completed, needs to be met. However, you do not have to find yourself inside the walls of a non-profit or church to be ‘doing’ ministry. Our everyday life can be walking out what the Lord has called us to do. Yet repeatedly, I find that the greatest times of growth come when a tough time is met with an opportunity to see more than just the situation.  The Good. The Bad. The Tough. The Easy. All working together to overwhelm our hearts and remind us of the message of God’s overwhelming love.

Meeting with clients, speaking in schools, reaching out in our community, each offers so many chances to minister to the hurting and take our eyes off of the personal.  So as we all start this New Year off with different struggles, joys, or unknowns, let’s be ready and open to be overwhelmed by LIFE.