“I’m fine”
If you have ever seen the movie Elizabethtown, the main character repeatedly says “I’m fine” when it is obvious that the world is crumbling around him. Despite it not being the best movie and driven far too much on a soundtrack, I have always related to him. Like that character, with a world crumbling and shaking around me, I tend to just dig in and trust in myself, not God. That gets me nowhere. Truth is, I’m starting to feel the weight of this internal job change. At this moment I’m doing 2 jobs but trust me if you understood the situation I am so thankful to have a job. The irony is that I love the challenge. Quite sadistic, huh?
A mentioned casually to a friend yesterday that “If you ever hear me say ‘I’m fine’ please feel free to hit me and prod me one more time. I’m most likely not.” Men in particular have a way of doing that. When asked how we’re doing we say things like “Living the dream”, “feeling the flow” or whatever comes to mind. I simply say “I’m fine.”
I’m writing this at 4am and can’t sleep, which makes night #3 of this happening this week.
This night was different. I woke up to God’s whisper.
“Trust in me.”
This week I read again in Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NIV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
I will rest in that.
Life is much easier the sooner we all can realize that…
A. God is in control, not us.
B. We can’t do this alone.
Like my situation, your situation is unique and each day will have its own challenges. Trust in Him. No need losing sleep about it like me.
What about you?
PS My wife Brooke has been so wonderful, encouraging and prayerful throughout this process. Coming home everyday to see my her and my little girls smiling faces just helps me remember how God’s story goes.
And enjoy the Elizabethtown trailer if you have never seen it.
You are totally under selling Elizabethtown. I think it is fantastic. The scene with the wife doing the stand up and tap dance, followed by the following performance of free bird is one of my all time favorite scenes.
It is outstanding on so many levels.
TT, it is one of Cameron Crowe’s most disappointing but like I said I liked many parts of it. I couldn’t get past Kristen Dunst’s terrible southern accent and the ultra intensity of Orlando Bloom. Miscast big time but it was still amusing. Fun seeing this area of the country and you can tell it was a personal story to the director. The best was actually “FREE BIRD!”
To me, it was a movie that was supposed to be over the top. Dunst’s accent wasn’t supposed to be good and Bloom’s character was supposed to be overly dramatic and intense. Those were things I liked about it.
yeah yeah.
I can relate to your statement, “… with a world crumbling and shaking around me, I tend to just dig in and trust in myself, not God.” There is a devotional book entitled “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young written as a conversation from Jesus to the reader and then supported by Bible verses. It speaks to my heart and encourages me to press ahead in hope and confidence. Yesterdays opened with “In order to hear my voice, you must release your worries into My care. Entrust to me everything that concerns you. …Let me free you from fear that is hiding deep inside you.” and it continues “Rejoice in this day that I have made trusting that I am abundantly present in it.” Suggested reading is 1 Peter 5:6-7 and a couple more. In the midst of the business, the schedules, the challenges, it’s nice to take just a few minutes in the morning with a message such as this to let me know that “I’m fine” even when it feels I’m not.
Oh I couldn’t agree more with you there. What encouragement!
I will have to see this soon. Elizabethtown is close to where I’m from
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