Do you remember jumping on the trampoline when you were a kid? You couldn’t wait to get your shoes off and throw yourself on the taught black netting. You’d squat down and launch into the air, land and propel even higher the second and third time.
The thrill was that feeling in the pit of your stomach. You know the one. When you’re at the peak of your jump with your stomach lifted into your ribcage and your hair floating and outstretched like your arms. It was the moment of flight just before you returned to the springy mesh for another go.
Do you ever feel like that in life? I know I have, especially this past year. I felt like I had jumped higher than I’d ever jumped before, reaching for a pivotal moment in my life, and then…I just stayed there. I hovered with my intestines wrapped around my lungs and my feet flailing in the air, anticipating the descent, but never getting permission to land.
I was stuck. Stuck because I had done all I could and I just had to wait for something to happen. Stuck because this could change everything. My life felt halted even though time did not. I kept thinking, “if I only knew, if I could only speed things along, I could get on with my life.”
But it was a season. A necessary one even though I still don’t know all the reasons why it was necessary. If you’re still in the air, let me give you some advice while you’re up there.
- Acknowledge it
It’s okay to know that this is how you feel and it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also okay not to know what’s going on. If you trust that God knows what He’s doing, you know that this unpleasantness is not just to make you squirm.
- Pray
I’ve never felt more dependent on God than I have this year. I could do nothing but make little attempts at controlling the situation, but ultimately, God had the final word. It could be a word you like and it could be a word you don’t, but know that it’s coming and the best thing you can do is pray God will help you wait for it and that He will help you prepare for the result.
- Don’t make impulsive decisions
When I get impatient, I start making rash decisions and paying for them later. As soon as you start to take matters into your own hands thinking you’re helping God along rather than the other way around, I guarantee you’ll regret it. They either hurt or do absolutely nothing to help the situation.
- Remember it’s temporary
I read something on Twitter that said, “all suffering has an expiration date.” I relate that to trials of any kind whether it be temptations, suffering, overcoming people and places, even feelings. All of it lasts for a season, even if it’s a long season. The best way to help the time go by painlessly is to let God do His thing, and to do less kicking and screaming and more surrendering. A drowning victim has a better chance of surviving when they stop fighting their rescuer and just simply let themselves get dragged to shore.
- Pray
Did I already say this? It’s worth repeating. Jesus wants to walk alongside us, especially through our moments of extra struggle. If we just grit our teeth and plow through on our own, we could miss out on valuable growth in our relationship with the Most High, who wants nothing more than our heart. Talk to God as much as you need and ask Him what He’s trying to say during this time. He’ll answer the way your heart needs to hear it.
I thought I knew what it would look like to finally come down from being suspended in the air. I thought I would drop and hit the ground running full speed ahead. Whereas that might be true for some, it wasn’t for me. Instead, God eased me down so slowly, I didn’t even know He was doing it.
He lowered me back to earth, rested my feet on the ground, and now as if I’m a child, He’s shuffling me forward one step at a time.
Remember what goes up, must come down eventually, and it will be at the pace you need with the next step laid out in front of you.
Your time of being unstuck is coming. But whether you’re stuck or unstuck, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and just keep going.
God bless!
-LJM
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11
Leah Jordan Meahl 