Such true words, and they are often our undoing. We come unraveled when we become our own worst enemy or critic. The dark place of regret; the gift of guilt that keeps on giving. What gets our attention gets us. Why is it that we find it so hard to leave ourselves in God’s hands?

I used to gravitate to the self-help section in the library or bookstore. Do I really need anyone other than Jesus to convince me to be happy, how to grow old gracefully, how to handle interpersonal relationships? It gets overwhelming. We put our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. But. Come on, be honest; isn’t there at least one instance in your life when you didn’t think that was enough to cover all of what ails you, everything the world can throw at you? We don’t lose our belief, but we sure can misplace it sometimes. It is us, our attention that gets off track. It puts us on a rocky road. Speaking of which, how can an ice cream that is so tantalizingly scrumptious have such a name? Talk about an oxymoron! Our navigational beacon on the stormy seas gets quite clouded over when we try to steer on our own. I have this propensity for throwing out metaphors willy-nilly. If we give ourselves permission, the clamor of analysis will die down and reveal a quieting peace.

Focus on God. Make Him your constant companion in all of life’s happenings. He always has something better, something unpredictable, that in the end will be just right for you. But the road will be rocky, the seas turbulent. Do not be paralyzed with overthinking everything. This is faith, remember? Find yourself by losing yourself. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. Jesus did. Unpack the baggage. Erase the slate. Wipe it clean, because Jesus certainly did. All on the way to loving us unconditionally.

Pastor Art