We all have days that go well; others that don’t. Some of my days have even included lost keys and pinched fingers. Fortunately, we have a God of loving kindness who is there every day, reaching in so we can reach out.
Here at Fave Lifestyles I hope to share encouragement and empowerment as we “walk the WOLK,” as we walk God’s words of loving kindness. I also want to be able to celebrate what God’s doing in, through, and around each one of us.
My husband, Kurt, “walks the WOLK” every day. He encourages me every day. I met Kurt as a ditzy 18-year old. We were a study in contrasts then; we are a study in contrasts now. He speaks when he has something to say; I never shut up. He’s calm, reasonable; I’m not. But more important than our differences is the journey we’ve been able to take together.
Kurt is a man of great faith who supports and encourages those around him, and I’m a grateful beneficiary. After my first episode of “Morning WOLK with God,” Kurt came into my office and sat down at my desk to talk. Kurt’s a former high school football coach and when he calls a timeout, I’ve got to put the ball down and hustle over to the sideline, if you know what I mean. Even if the games just starting (or a web show), if the coach needs my attention, I listen. I let him call the next play.
Kurt pointed to a rock on my desk and said, “You need to talk about your rock.” Knowing the words “Choose Joy!” were etched in my rock, he added, “Talk about joy.” Excited to think about a future episode, I thanked Kurt for his suggestions, made a couple notes, and went back to work.
Days later, stress started to overwhelm me. I had several days in a row where I was making a zillion—zillion with a z—client calls. There were also days with more than my usual share of online meetings, a wonderful way to stay connected, but difficult for someone needing to see eyes, hear words, and read body language. Day after day found me further and further behind with calls and messages. By Thursday, I was in tears when a co-worker asked for a small favor.
Knowing I was not at my finest, Kurt sent a short text. While I was out running errands, he thanked me for including him in one of my videos, a short feature in which I’d shared my own gratitude for him and his special place in my life. And in that moment, I got to find joy.
Friends, driving around that afternoon, I was planning a very large pity party, addressing invitations to every single person I’d ever known, ready to order a massive cake and lots of party favors. Gotta have party favors. And in that moment, I found joy. In that small moment for a small moment. I still had a zillion—zillion with a z—calls to return and emails to answer, but in that small moment I was able to cancel the pity party.
It wasn’t easy. Every part of me wanted to cling to my frustration, my anger, my righteous indignation. But into a small moment, God poured a few words of loving kindness, a text of gratitude.
God is always with us, so we can be there for others. But sometimes He’s there for us, so we were not there for others with our frustrations, anger, and that ol’ self-righteous indignation. Sometimes He’s there with a moment of joy in the middle of chaos and overwhelm.