Subscription Lists
10 Minutes Peace
by Susan McGrath
Do you ever just want to roll around in it?
That self-pity, discontent, anger and indignation?
It's been one of those weeks! Your children are the worst-behaved on the block (or in Sunday school), your husband discovered termites in the family room and you can't find the library books that were due two days ago!
Though not earth-shattering, these irritations on top of all the everyday stresses and imagined failures just make you want to yell and whine a little, "It's not fair! Why don't my kids listen to me? Why won't my husband (fill in the blank)? Why can't I have at least one good hair day each week?
My grandfather was a pig farmer (in addition to corn and beans). When I was very young, I remember thinking it was fun to "help" him feed the pigs. I also remember wanting to hold and pet the cute, pink, clean baby pigs. Did I mention they were clean? Usually still in the farrowing house stall with their mama. And clean!
I had no desire to be near the large hogs who rolled around in the odorous mud. In fact, I'm sure I turned up my nose at them.
That's probably what people want to do to me when I wallow. Although it feels good for the moment, as the cool mud does to the pigs, it quickly loses its appeal and gives off a stench that is offensive to everyone in close proximity.
When I wallow, I know I'm denying God the change to comfort and teach me, to help me grow spiritually. Sometimes I even pull others down to roll around in the mud with me. Kind of a group wallow.
God gives us the alternative to "wallowing" in 2 Corinthians 4. It's even been put to music, a little praise chorus called "Trading My Sorrows". It says, "I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my shame, I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord."
Then from 2 Corinthians 4:8, "I am pressed but not crushed; persecuted, not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed." God is bigger than all our troubles and He will hose off the mud and provide us with hip boots if that's what it takes.
So my prayer when I feel like wallowing will be, "Lord, when the rains fall, help me to stay out of the mud!"
Rate it:
a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;
living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;
completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "10 Minutes Peace" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.