Verse of the day...

~ “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ~ Isaiah 41:10



Thursday, November 13, 2008

Putting on a brave face...

You may not be able to tell from this picture ... but my little man was putting on his best happy face for me so that I could get a picture of the scarf I made him. He was grieving over his pet mantis (Rex) at the time.. but agreed to take this picture for me. Mommy loves you David!

This is a close up shot of the scarf. If you cant tell what is on the scarf. Its Oreo cookies and a glass of milk. David loves the scarf. Thinks mommy is silly though... but loves his scarf.
How many times have you known someone to be putting on a 'brave face'? Or maybe you yourself have done it.
Have you ever sat at a school event/program and noticed a handful of children seeming to hang there heads in sadness? As you sit in the stands watching ... you overhear one mom tell another how little Bobby is sad because his father didn't show up for this event. You then watch as the children go on ... that little Bobby seems to put on his brave happy face to hide his hurt and perform for his mom who is so proudly taking tons of pictures.

We carry this behavior into our adult life. Putting on the brave face.. not telling anyone what is really inside. What we're really hurting from. It will all eventually get the better of you. Remember little Bobby... watch as the years go by ... his grades will slip... he will start to hang with the wrong kids... seem to find himself in trouble alot. He hurts his mom... and doesn't mean to. He just never knew how to deal with something that was troubling him. Its not easy to talk to another human sometimes... let alone someone we cant see. We know God is there... but as for me personally... I find myself wanting to see God... wanting Him to talk to me ... face to face. Needing to just cry in His arms. Bobby was feeling left out ... abandon. There are things we have happen in our adult life that leaves us feeling that same way.

Summer time... you spend alot of time with other parents during summer activities for your kids.... Swimming.. baseball.. riding bikes..etc. School starts and you lose all your friends. You don't see those parents on the weekends or evenings anymore. There is work.. .school and homework to be done. A really good friend gets a really awesome job. You find your conversations are all about their new world and you're feeling left out. Its like feeling alone in a room full of people. But you put on your brave/happy face and even though you are really happy for them... you're still hurting alone... you don't want them to know how you feel... you smile and nod your head in agreement. Feeling left out... abandoned is a tough thing to deal with.
The Holidays approach.... you've had a falling out with family members.... you wont be spending time with them for the holidays. They have given things of yours back to you... taken other things away... all while you have done nothing but love them and pray for them. That can sure leave you feeling abandoned.
Now ... for a minute... pile all these things together.... you have no one to talk to. Your friends are busy... your best friend has their own new world .. and your family has washed their hands of you. WOW... that can really build up... fester and cause heart ache/anguish!
Where is God in all this? He's sitting right next to you.... wanting so much for you to share this with Him. Give this grief to Him. Let Him make a difference in all these lives. You know... its good to sit in prayer with God. But sometimes... its better just to *talk* to Him. Share exactly how you're feeling with Him. Tell Him how hurt you are... Tell Him that you feel slightly jealous... Tell Him that you are even angry. Come on...you can do it. You've sat and talked to yourself before..and even answered yourself...So this should be cake. You sit and tell God all your troubles... and first of all... it will just feel physically good to get it out of your system... second ... if you give it to Him to deal with... the situations will become much better! As long as we hold on to these feelings... God cant work. You have to let Him have them.
So... lets try that today.. shall we. Pick one thing and one thing only. Talk (yes out loud) to God. Get it off your chest and let Him deal with it. *Whew* that's better. Tomorrow is a new day and you can let go of another issue. Before you know it ... you're completely free and you now feel LOVED and not abandoned. Don't let Satan spin you into a world of hopelessness. Let God take you to the wonderful open skies of HOPE.

huge hugs
lots of love
bountiful blessings...
.::Tam::.

**5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ~ Romans 5:5**

4 comments:

Sondra said...

I clicked over from the 'Ville to see the scarf, and I LOVED THIS! (((((HUGS))))) sandi

Hermione Bagnold said...

(This is really smiley_netta from CM...your blog wouldn't let me post a comment with my crafting journal, so I'm having to use my "alter-ego" blog...) Awww! How sweet of him to model for you when he's so heartbroken! My condolences for Rex to him. LOVE the scarf! Too cute! And as to the brave face...yeah, that was pretty much the story of my life. My father and I (who I've not spoken to since October of '06) have always had a rocky relationship. I mastered my brave face before I was 6. God blessed me with a best friend, Jenny, that was always (and still is) there for me when I need her. If not for her and my faith in God, I honestly believe I WOULD have gone down the road of bad grades and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Beautiful post, Tammy.

Anonymous said...

What a good brave lil man. When I was lil I was so crushed when my pet walking sstick died took months for me to get back to normal.

friendlychat said...

Wow, what a mess!
Have you tried talking to whom ever you feel badly about? God is in that too. He gives us strength through prayer to face the messes we must own up to. And we do make messes of our mortal lives sometimes. It is extremely hard sometimes to face our messes. It is hard to realize how much we hurt others. Facing and embracing these people sincerely with a true heart and airing the hurts and owning our part in causing them will surely be the beginning steps on the path to mending broken hearts. Was someone pushing you away? Or were you perhaps doing the pushing? Owning up is powerful medicine! It can set you free from torment. God wants us to be strong and brave. We as his children are not always able to be so. That is where prayer comes in. Strength is what we can pray to HIM for and also for guidance on what to say to make things better. Life is a ticking clock with each minute past another lost opportunity for happiness that we ourselves have the power to create out of love and devotion for people we miss almost as much as air itself. Would you want to be standing at the grave of an estranged friend or relative crying your heart out for what you know now is beyond mending? Ask yourself if you could live with that. Our time in this life is like the blinking of an eye.
God is with us always and in all things but we as earthly mortals must make the move with HIS strength in us to mend what we have broken.
Trust me.
God is in this but HE is in YOU to take the steps. HE asks of us as people only to ASK for the strength to do what is right and good. You sound so full of pain.
Read Isaiah 41:10 and Philippians 4:13, see if that helps.
Keep the faith.