My mom's called getting sick "sickies" for as long as I can remember. "Oh mom, I'm feeling sickies," or "Mom, I think I'm getting sickies, pass me the barf bucket." As cute as that name is though, I feel like it's faaaar from being accurate to what being sick is really like. Throwing up is one of the worst physical feelings someone can feel. Not to be graphic, but your throat burns and your stomach feels like you've been punched and your limbs feel too weak to stand. Since you all know how it feels to be sick, I'm not going to go into further detail about what that feels like. In short, it's horrible.
With all of that said, here's my question:
Have you ever had to clean up someone else's vomit?
(I KNOW this is a really weird introduction, but KEEP READING. I promise this will make sense.)
If you're anything like me, you avoid vomit at all costs. I can't handle it because it makes me want to throw up, you feel? I'll be honest, there aren't a lot of people who will WILLINGLY come to clean up other people's nasty vomit. There are folks who will maybe hold someone's hair back or rub their back while they aren't feeling to hot, but who do you know who will get down on their hands and knees and spray down the floor with some carpet cleaner or some 409? I couldn't name a single person who would pick up after me at my worst out strictly out of the kindness of their own heart.
And if no one is around to help you clean up at your worst, then who's going to stand with you when you're at your best?
That's where "ish" gets real. Like I said, I can't think of anyone who would voluntarily clean up my vomit. But this scenario also applies to seasons. Not seasons like fall, winter, spring, or summer. Not seasons like salt, or herbs, or spices. Seasons in life.
If no one is going to stand by your side when things get really crazy, then who will be there to cheer you on when you come face to face with your biggest triumphs? There's no human that has the strength to endure all of that on their own.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 the Bible says that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."
This verse applies to both humans who will be in your life for the time period(s) that God places them there for, but also to the situations that you will face. There is so much that goes on in the little amount of time that we are on earth in the grand scheme of things, but if we trust God to be our forever, then we will always have someone to be with us at our worsts and at our bests.
Psalm 1:3 says, "He is like a tree planted by the streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
The Lord is a constant.
It may not always be an easy constant, but he's a constant.
He's laughing and smiling with us when we succeed.
He's weeping and sobbing with us when we fail.
He's carrying us out of the hardships we face,
and He's been delivering us from evil since Jesus Christ died on that cross.
As Easter approaches, take some time with the Heavenly Father to give your struggles to him. He's here. He's come to wipe up our vomit. To clean our mess. To remind us that we are beautiful and that we are loved and that we are masterpieces. And that's indescribable.
(I've missed doing devotionals. If I have more time to sit down and write, there will be more to come.)
Much Love,
Delaney Miller