Stuck
I have a group of girl friends that I am truly so blessed to have! We started out as a disciple group in 2021 and now we are basically just life BFFs! God brought us together through scripture and we developed incredibly deep connections. Our group has been beside one another through the lowest of lows and highest of miracles. God has taught me so much about faith through these women. We keep in constant contact. We share what God is teaching us and when we need prayers. A few weeks ago my friend Alarie Warren shared some thoughts with our group. My response was, “Oh hey! This is a great blog post. Send it to me :)”
Crickets…… And probably an eye roll from Alarie. But I am proud of her. She leads us in this blog post today and I know you will identify with it! Thank you Alarie. Enjoy!
Stuck
By Alarie Warren
“You're not stuck, you're just not willing to move.”
That was my response to my youngest when he claimed that he couldn't get out of my chair because he was "stuck". Truth is, he crawled right into that spot. He wanted to sit with me, but there wasn't room. So, he decided to wedge himself between me and the chair. But he wasn't, in fact, stuck. He just wasn't willing to move.
And right then, God spoke to me. It wasn't, "Hey Alarie, listen up!" It was through an everyday interaction with one of my boys. He's always doing that; letting my kids teach me more about Him than I often learn on my own. What I learned in that moment was sometimes we feel stuck in situations and mindsets that may seem out of our control (me being overwhelmed with the clutter in my house), but instead of doing something about it, we hope that God makes it go away or, dare I say, “opens a door” for us. He’s not going to make my clutter disappear. I made the clutter, I've gotta get rid of it. I've got to be willing to move.
How many times do we sit in the midst of the clutter in our lives thinking, "If God would just get me out of this, then I could get ahead." or "If God would find me a job, then I could pay someone to get rid of my clutter." (I totally haven't said that before...) Oftentimes, we don't see ourselves as the culprit because acknowledging that tends to hurt. Putting your pride aside sometimes hurts. Decluttering can hurt. However, if we aren't willing to at least take a few steps forward, we'll always feel stuck…always helpless and overwhelmed. Have you ever completed a task and thought, "Wow, I feel so stuck and overwhelmed that my task is finished." Probably not. If I had to bet, you were probably feeling some serious relief.
One of my favorite things to do is check things off my to-do list. I write everything down. Literally everything:
· Eat breakfast
· Take vitamins
· Drink water
· Put clothes in washing machine
· Drink more water
· Put clothes in dryer
· Fold clothes--not today
You see what I mean? It's one of my favorite "life hacks." Now, do I always check everything off? No, but I try. The key to feeling productive is actually doing the things that are productive. Don’t let fear or anything else keep you from moving.
In Job 1:7, God asked Satan where he came from; not because He didn't know. He knew. He asked because he knew Satan was up to no good. Satan's response was, "going to and fro on the earth, and walking back and forth on it." He was wandering around with the sole purpose of causing chaos. When we "sit in the stuck", we are giving the enemy the front row seat to our emotions and our mindset. He is the most successful opportunist in history and his whole agenda is based on waiting and wondering when we'll be vulnerable enough to get into our heads.
But I have good news. Great news, actually!
Our God is not the God of overwhelm, confusion, anxiety, or "stuck." He is our helper and He's already gone before us!
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
So let’s all pledge to be willing to move in 2024! Who’s with me?!
Love, Alarie
Whew! Way to go friend! Proud of you for sharing your heart. How true is the statement, “You’re not stuck. You are just not willing to move.” That statement will stick with me this week.
