Interfaith Celebration Gathering

 

 

We Are Survivors

 

There is an old saying about “waiting for the other shoe to drop” meaning waiting for the next bad thing to happen. With so many disasters like earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes and tsunamis happening around the world and close by, and the financial problems many nations, including ours, are facing, it is so very easy to get into the “waiting for the other shoe to drop” mode.

 

But the ”waiting for the other shoe to drop” mode presumes that bad things will continue to happen to us. With this type of thinking we program the future to present bad things to us. When we lock ourselves into this mindset, we end up feeling like victims instead of survivors who, with God’s help, can deal with anything that comes our way.

 

So, how do we get beyond this type of thinking if it has taken up residence in our heads?

 

We simply make the next right move, and the next and the next, trusting that God will help us meet any challenges that come our way. We may plan for tomorrow but we live in today. We may also work through our issues from the past, making sure they do not carry over into today.

 

We take one step at a time. There is a joke that asks “how do you eat an elephant?” and the answer is “one bite at a time.”

 

When we find ourselves living in the “waiting for the other shoe to drop” mode, we are essentially living in fear. We are feeling victimized by circumstances and events. We have given up our power to others, and we need to move out of fear, take back our power, and become survivors instead of victims.

 

Survivors take what life has to offer, they reach out to God for help, and then they move past problems and challenges relying on God to guide them. Whenever we find ourselves in the “waiting for the other shoe to drop” mode, we need to remember that we are survivors.

May the God of love add a blessing to these humble words.

AMEN

© 2011 Rev. S. Suzanne Fisher