OUR STORY Part 46: THE PARALYSIS OF STRESS OVERLOAD

Like a deer caught in the headlights, there's this internal mechanism that kicks in when you have so many overwhelming circumstances to deal with. Our human nature is to take control of our lives and to systematically prioritize. We are so used to being in control of our circumstances that trusting God and putting Him back in the driver's seat is often a very difficult task. Paris Reidhead once told a story where he was advising a young pastor: (Read full sermon here.)

"The great things Americans can accomplish without God." And he (the young preacher) accomplished a great deal, admittedly without God. Now he wanted something of power to accomplish his ends even further.
I said, "No..., no, you're sitting behind the wheel and you're saying to God give me power so I can go, You won't work, You've got to slide over."
But I knew that rascal, because I knew me. I said, "No, it will never do, you've got to get in the back seat." And I could see him leaning over and grabbing the wheel.
"No," I said, "it will never do in the back seat."
I said, "Before God will do anything for you, you know what you've go to do?"
So he said, "What?"
I said, "You've got to get out of the car, take the keys around, open up the trunk lid, hand the keys to the Lord Jesus, get inside the trunk, slam the lid down, whisper through the keyhole, 'Lord look, fill'r up with anything you want and you drive, it's up to you from now on.'"

That's where we are right now. We're in the trunk and we have NO CLUE where He is taking us. It's not for lack of trying to make things happen on our own. It's just been road block after road block and yet His grace has sustained us thus far.

http://www.cartoonstock.com

We send letters and make phone calls and most go unanswered or reply with the patented "not my job" response passing the buck on to some other entity. Right now we are waiting to see if Chase is going to budge so that we have enough time to sell our belongings in an effort to exist and to relocate. We send faxes, and make phone calls all day and have the Senator's office making their inquiry on our behalf, but these individuals are not motivated to respond with the same urgency that we are to have them respond so that we can effectively develop an exit plan.

Perhaps the customer service agents and decision makers at mortgage companies should be required to live on the streets for a week or even shack up with victims of foreclosure through the entire process in order to develop and refine their bedside manner attitudes and methods.

Well, that will never happen so we are back to what really matters; focusing on God's will for us and trusting in His grace to carry us over the seemingly improbable and impossible mountains ahead of us, or perhaps to just move them out of our way.

The last two days have been really difficult; emotionally and physically taxing on us. We feel a bit like the deer caught in the headlights, watching the foreclosure headlights headed for us at rapid speed, a bit paralyzed by the unknown of our tomorrows.

If you're looking for us, we're hiding in the trunk!