ROUGH ROAD

Perception. When we are in “it” our perception of our world becomes skewed, often to the extreme. A wise man said to me long ago “Everyone spends time in the barrel”. The problems start in earnest when we start to believe that the barrel or the rough patch we find ourselves in at the moment is permanent. “Seasons of dryness” happen to all, the reason why of less importance than our action. In the midst of it any spiritual activity feels clumsy and uncomfortable in application. The typical response, and unfortunately direction given by many well intentioned but mistaken advisers, is to “redouble” ones efforts, when the opposite is true. When we come across a bad patch of road, one of the signs invariably directs us to “slow down”. We are never directed to speed up or drive harder. So don’t struggle or try to fight your way through it. Surrender. Relax. For this too shall pass. Now don’t stop praying, but keep it simple. Sometimes simply “God is with me” is the extent of our prayers, even if said with little conviction. What matters is the willingness to continue praying and showing up for commitments even though we don’t really want to. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, don’t talk about it incessantly, but don’t not talk about it either. In time, just as with stretches of bad road, it will pass, the road smooths, our speed picks back up and the ride stabilizes.