 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 1:12-13 (NIV)
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 This devotion started something like this…
Heather: “Even Jesus asked for help, Kim.” Kim: “He didn’t say LEAVE either, Heather.” Just being transparent here… Kim struggles with physically asking for help and wants to do everything herself. Heather struggles with allowing others to support her during weak emotional breakdowns and often says “LEAVE”. Neither of these are healthy choices. We are diving in today to see what scripture says about responding when “stuff happens”. There are days and moments that leave us feeling depleted, tired, and devastated. There are the small things that continue to hit wave after wave until you are depleted. Vacuum cleaners break. Tires go flat. Gas runs out. Pools collapse. Deer get hit. Flu. Kids disobey and have meltdowns. Houses get dirty. These seemingly little things can add up leaving us asking “Really God?” Many years ago, while I was driving home from a doctor’s appointment I heard God speak to my heart. The words forever changed my understanding of my place in this world. I had been battling chronic pain and health issues and refused to continue on a medication that just left me feeling not like myself. I was having a real conversation with God. I was frustrated and realized how easily so many people fall into reliance upon medication that doesn’t necessarily bring about a solution, but only numbness. I remember yelling out to God, “Why do people even consider this choice that could potentially lead to addiction and even more problems in life?” God gently spoke words that resonated with every part of me. “They do not know what to do with their pain.”
 Often, life’s problems start small, like a crack in the driveway that we walk over every day unnoticed. Then, over time with weathering and being left unattended, it becomes a much larger problem. The effect of ignoring a problem becomes more visible as time goes by. The devil will absolutely get a foothold and before we know it we are desperately searching for a solution. How do we protect our minds so that we are prepared for the things that come our way? The simple answer is staying in God’s word consistently each day, letting it soak in before anything destructive has a chance to take root. Personally, I struggle throughout the day not stopping to recenter myself. Sometimes I can start mornings off feeling like I can conquer anything. As the day goes by, the less patience I tend to have. Being consistent in addressing problems in the moment requires awareness. When I don’t pause to pray I have found regret. When I stop and pray regret never comes. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1st Peter 5:8 Author- Heather Lynch.  All of us can relate to a time in life when we have been awaiting an answer. Remember as a child anxiously awaiting a yes or no from your parents about something exciting like a sleepover? Or are you in the middle a more serious solution involving a doctor’s appointment to learn test results? Answers come in many forms and levels of importance and sometimes are big truths and other times they are just opinions. An answer is a response to a question or open ended problem needing a solution. Some answers are forgettable and insignificant and others can change the course of your life.
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