What do Dory (from "Finding Nemo") and the "Jesus Take the Wheel" song performed by Carrie Underwood have to do with each other? They are my spirit-inspired memory aids for applying the following Bible lesson:

"Because of the extravagance of these revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, 'My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.'
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Whether it's a physical attack, a financial battle, a mental challenge, emotional upheaval,  an accident, the lousy economy, car trouble, a messy kid's room, a fussy baby, or bad weather on our birthdays, we can either be KO'd by our circumstances...


...or we can learn to do what Paul learned to do: "take it in stride, and with good cheer," letting Christ take over.

Wow. When I think of the time and energy I've wasted over the years because I REFUSED to take things in stride, and I certainly didn't take them with good cheer. Even after I became a Christian, if obstacles and limitations arose, I either ranted and raved against the devil who brought the trouble or fell into the trap of guilt and condemnation, sure I had brought the problem upon myself because I wasn't "good enough."

I still have a long way to go, but seeing these verses in the Message have given me a new way to approach those KA-POW situations. Just keep swimming, and let Jesus take the wheel today!

(I know, it's kind of a weird word picture, but I bet you won't forget it!)

Life isn't really lived from decade to decade, or year to year, or even week to week.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

Life comes from day to day.
God fulfills His part...

"Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!
Selah."  Ps 68:19 NKJV

For the believer, we have daily tasks as well. Sometimes in prayer, sometimes in action. Those daily assignments are for our own good as well as the good of others.

"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."  Acts 5:42 NKJV

"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb 3:12-14  NKJV

As we fulfill our daily tasks, we cooperate with God's actions in the spirit realm.

"So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47 NKJV

I tend to think in terms of weeks, or months, or years. One-day-at-a-time thinking (and planning) is challenging for me, but from what I can see in the Word, it's the best way to think in terms of stress reduction and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

My husband was laid off from his job a few weeks ago and I've been endeavoring to hold fast to the "don't worry about tomorrow" instructions. 
One day. 
Just get through today.

After all, the entire world can change in a day.

Imagine yourself at your ABSOLUTE worst. Stressed, angry, teetering on that narrow gauge rail between tears and rage. You're depressed, frustrated, frazzled, exhausted, and ready to quit and/or run away from home.
You might be a mom or a student, a small-business owner, a minister, or a volunteer. Nothing has turned out the way you expected. The answers to your prayers seem to be delivered to other people's houses. Your dreams for the future have slipped through your fingers like a mist. Even basic tasks seem to be too much to handle, but you slog along, day by day, trying to stay on top of the essentials like a circus performer balancing on a ball.

You're trying to be a good parent, a good spouse, a good Christian, a good worker, a good friend. The problem is no matter how hard you try, you never quite feel like you measure up, or some other demand arises and pulls at you from another direction. You're a hamster in a wheel, running faster and faster and never getting anywhere.

Now, imagine Jesus walking up to you in the midst of all that misery, pressure, and strife. He is the embodiment of LIFE - strong, healthy, relaxed, peaceful, bubbling over with joy, pure, honest, kind and loving. And here's what He says to you...

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Jesus is not stressed out. 
Jesus is not panicking about the state of the economy.
Jesus is not worried about natural disasters, plagues, or politics.
There's no state of emergency in heaven. God is not looking over at Jesus, biting his nails and grinding his teeth, muttering, "What are we gonna do now?"
And instead of saying to us, "Do this new program. Try this new method for success. Work a little harder. Do a little more." Jesus says something unexpected (doesn't He always?). 

Oh. My. Stars. If you don't get all gooey inside at the idea of Jesus - King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace whose name is Faithful and True - saying that to you, your wood's wet. 

But how often, instead of going with Him,  letting him show us how to recover our lives, how to lay aside our worries and cares and burdens, we say, "Oh, thanks for the invitation, Jesus, but I'm so busy. You just don't understand. I've got so much I have to do, so many things to finish up today. In fact, I'm already running late. Gotta go, bye."

And we jump back in our hamster wheel and run ourselves even more ragged, until our bodies or minds start to break down and we can't run any more. Somehow I think Jesus would rather we come away with Him than spend our lives chasing the end of the wheel in a frightened, panicked, high-pressured hurry. 

The world - YOUR world - may be in a state of chaotic frenzy, but Jesus is waiting for you, hand extended, eyes shining with love, saying, "Come away with me."

I'm not even going to wait till I brush my teeth. I'm going. Are you?

My friend Vanoy turned 86 in January. (No, the picture to the right is NOT a picture of her.) In the time I've known her, I noticed something... She doesn't get all worked up over current events and politics and whatever scandal is rocking Washington. She's lived through the Depression, World War II, the Korean War, Kennedy's assassination, the craziness of the 1960s, Vietnam, gasoline shortages in the 70s, the excess of the 80s, the Gulf War, the Clinton administration ('nuff said), 9/11, SARS, swine flu, and innumerable "this is an emergency" news bulletins.

When I paid attention to other folks of that generation, I witnessed the same tendency in many of them. They're aware of what's going on, and they feel for the people involved, but as a rule they don't tie themselves up in knots over the daily political situation or the outcome of the last election or the passage of House Bill !&$(%#&^*.

Part of the fun of social networking is the little window it opens into the thoughts and actions of our friends (and friends of our friends, and our sister's cousin's neighbor's dog, and Ashton Kutcher), as if they were right there with us. And because it's a controlled environment, we feel free to say things about those touchy subjects we wouldn't address at a dinner party, like religion and politics and our in-laws. If someone gets too nasty or weird or we can't win the argument, we can always "unfriend" 'em, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah, we're learning some great relationship lessons that way, aren't we?

People are pitching fits about all manner of things. In our hyperspeed world, everything is urgent, everything is crucial. Like ants at a picnic, everyone snatches up a crumb and thinks they've got the whole loaf. And don't try to tell them there's more to the picture... or not to worry about it, unless you want to get bit.

Those years of life experience must teach a lesson we would do well to learn much earlier: 

I'm privileged to work at a newspaper with a long history. Once a week, I go through the archives from 20, 50, 75, even 100 years ago, and pull out bits of news for a "this week in history" column. You know what I've discovered? The news just repeats itself. Over and over and over. Sometimes word for word. It's a little scary, to be perfectly honest.

Political cartoons from the 1930s could literally be re-run today without any changes and be perfectly relevant. Subjects of intense debate and community conflict are addressed by one generation, only to creep back up a generation or two later. I actually found an article from 1909 about the sudden increase in the popularity of tattooing. Um. 1909? The article expressed concern that the current rage of tattooing among young people would surely result in the downfall of modern civilization.

Perhaps we should add something to that ancient saying "this too shall pass." "This too shall come back around again, eventually." Maybe that realization would help us avoid an apoplexy, an ulcer, or a broken relationship every time there's a news bulletin.

Maybe that's how you get to be 86.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Matthew 6:34 The Message

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things that I can;

And the wisdom to know the difference.  ~The Serenity Prayer