Grace and Space in Times of Trouble

I love starting my day off early. You know, at the trailhead around 5:30 am, head-lamp strapped on and dog in tow (or dog towing me.)

My Charlie-girl loves hiking, jumping up rocks and watching the sunrise with me. This past Monday was no exception. After our trek up the mountain and down, back around the base, and then up and down again, we returned to our car to find the passenger window smashed in, glass all over the seat and the glove compartment open with the contents throw on the floor of the car.

I stood at my car, staring in disbelief and said to Charlie-girl "Well, this sucks!" I then noticed that the car next to me had also been broken into and the thought of this other vehicle being violated caused my heart to ache more than the reality of my own loss. 

As I called the police two women walked up. As they approached, the owner saw the reality of what had happened. At this realization, her eyes welled up with tears, her heart dropped and I could see the sadness overwhelm her.

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My reflection of this incident leads me to these thoughts. I saw my smashed window, stated a fact, called the police and went on with my day. Was it a hassle? yes, but as I told my friend "It is what it is."

Yet, the very same incident to another women caused tears and heart break. You see, the reality for her was that they had her home address, her car registration, they knew where she lived and were they to show up at her house (which we later discovered that they probably had while we were still hiking...but for the grace of God) they would find her teenage daughter home alone sleeping. That is cause for distress.

The exact same incident caused two completely different reactions, because even in the similarities, the extenuating circumstances that surrounded our individual lives caused their own unique reactions.

How many times does life happen to someone we know and we wonder why they are not handling it as well as we did when the exact same thing happened to us? Why is it that one person can lose a job and bounce back and another person loses a job and their world falls apart? How does one person loose a family member and seem to be resilient enough to wake up and go back to work while another person loses a loved one and they become immobile, bitter and angry with the world?

My car break in reminded me that we all handle things differently. There isn't a cookie cutter way to grieve or process. We may not always know the internal struggles and circumstances surrounding a tragedy  or struggle in someone else's life. Today, I am reminded to be patient with others in their distress and allow them to deal with tragedy in their own way, the same way that I hope others will give me grace if I am not dealing to well in mine.

So today, whatever you are going through, may you receive the grace and the space to go through it at your own pace and in your own way, knowing that you do not walk alone, but that you have the outstretched arm of God before you and beside you to comfort you and to guide you. Friends, you are not alone.

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Now, as for Charlie-girl... her take way from the whole incident was the great joy of getting to ride with the window wide open. Yep, even Charlie and I process things differently.

​I love you in the Lord, Mia

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