Bad Days can also be Good Days!

Have you ever had one of those days when all the traffic lights seem to be red or every road you choose is under constrution? You stubbed your toe getting out of bed and you spilt your coffee when you sat down? Those can be frustrating days but not necessarily the bad kind of day I am thinking about. 

I am thinking about the days when people you love deeply are beyond your intervention. You desperately want to rescue them, but you can't. I remember when I was  growing up and  my dad who was an alcholic and lived with us still. I wanted to fix his drinking. I thought if I could keep my room clean enough or even the whole house maybe then dad would not drink! I tried all kinds of things, none of my child like solutions worked. 

Then years later, I would have to deal with my brother whom I loved deeply. He struggled with depression and addictions badly. All my efforts to help him, would not be enough. It never mattered how long I sat with him, while I know he appreciated my company, it was not enough. There was nothing I could do in my own strength that would deliver him from what was tormenting him. 

Immediately we tend to think " it is so tragic" and it is. Though those situations and others I have faced since,break my heart, they also drive me to the place of prayer. I am not big enough or powerful enough to tinker in the hearts of these troubled souls I have loved to dearly.

God invites us into His Presence with our backpacks full of troubles that are well beyond our solutions. As we lay them down and leave them there, He picks them up, one by one. In the book of Isaiah, we are reminded that God does not do things always as we think He should. But, remember this, He is trustworthy. Psalm 121;1 says " I lift up my eyes to the hills- from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth. 

A bad day becomes a good day, because we are finally out of solutions and have become willing to lay them down at the feet of One who is bigger and more then able to care for what is so very dear to your heart. Trust Him. His timing is not yours, but leave the burden there with Him. All your efforts have not worked. Wait on God!