Be honest about it
Honesty is the best policy, sound familiar? I’m sure at least one of my teachers used to say it. Choosing to be honest is one straight and narrow path which forces you to take circumstances head on. It’s fantastic for bold people who have a way with life and diplomacy that they somehow always know what to say and what to do.
It’s not so great for the rest of us who struggle with knowing that danger is looming in the background and we are not in 100% control of the outcome when it reaches our door.
It’s hard to be honest when it might upset the balance you had neatly constructed for yourself. It’s like admitting that you are living way beyond your means or admitting that the relationship you thought was the best thing to ever happen to you is more toxic than constructive.
I can’t offer an easier alternative because none is more effective than the truth because unlike deception it sets you free.
I guess life is a series of tensions which if negotiated well can increase your quality of life tremendously. Church is one such place where these negotiating skills are taught but make no mistake God teaches whether the class is listening or mucking about. Those who listen and act on the teaching always have a good report to give when the results come out.
Acknowledge the monster under your bed
I’ve always been an enthusiast even in my down moments. There’s a part of me that reaches for the good in every situation but I have to be honest and say it gets rough sometimes. I know that I want to think positively and align myself to my answered prayer with positive action but when the mountain is pointing a bullying finger at my forehead I find I’m not as tough as I sound on paper.
Fear has this invisible but threatening kind of demeanour which is amplified by the dark at lights out. You can’t quite feel the comfort of your bed knowing there’s a grizzly, hairy bogy monster waiting to snap you up in its mean jaws the moment you fall asleep. So, you know what you must do, you have to brace yourself and slide out of bed to take a peep at what’s really going on under there.
This may sound counterintuitive with all the horror movies we’ve watched but there’s a hidden strength in being able to follow what unsettling feeling and hearing what it has to say so that you can confidently or not so confidently manage yourself away from that outcome.
Flight or fight is essential because there are situations that need you to stay and fight and other situations that need you to run so you can live to fight another day. The wisdom of what to do in your specific situation always comes from laying out your specifics on the table and unpacking them with humility and grace. This allows you to take constructive responsibility for your part in the disaster while allowing you to leave the heavier load on the one who has the capacity to lift it.
Say to the righteous it is well
The thing I love most about those words is that they never get old. Some days are diamonds and some days are stones but through it all we rise and fall but we are His and it is He who renews our strength daily. I have never met a perfect person, but I have met many people perfectly saved by grace. Those people hold hope in the hard times, they have this crazy childlike faith that they’re going to tell dad and when they do you better get out the way because dad is fierce, and He doesn’t tolerate bully mountains.
Make your victory playlist
I’ve never been a fan of local music but when you need a message some artists have a gift of sharing just the right message. There’s a song by Mai Shingisai Suluma “Fara zvakadaro” and just thinking about that track has got me lifted and ready to go.
