Coping

Today I had a conversation with my cousin. She is older than I am, and I have always admired her. I had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home, where both of my parents were believers. The earliest time that I remember accepting Christ was when I was five years old. So I have never really lived a life without knowing the love of God. My cousin, however, was raised by two divorced parents who were dead set against any sort of religion. As she got older she began to make her own choices and while she was in high school, she gave her life to the Lord. I was beyond thrilled.

She and I have a very special relationship. I was always in her shadow but she looked out for me. She and I are a lot alike in how we deal with bad situations. We both have a love for photography and we like to see things just as they are. I have said it before, that my grandma is dying. Some of my relatives dislike that I share that information, others don't think those words are appropriate.

I realize now that the difference between us all, is that we cope with situations differently. My family has faced a lot of terrible situations, and so have many of you. Today I had the time to stop and think about how I actually cope with things. To be honest, I like things kind of blunt. I like to say and here things just as they are. If someone has died, just tell me they died. To others, that sounds rude and crude. When I say it, I don't say it to offend anyone, it is my way to understand what is happening. I like the cold hard facts, no matter how much they hurt, I would rather get it over with sooner rather than later. That way, when I'm on my knees (rather one knee because the other is useless for kneeling), I know exactly what to bring to the Lord.

So here it is, I've never had a desire to talk about how I cope, nor how I bring things to the Lord. However, today I realized that I cannot be the only one who copes with trials in this way. My relatives made me feel like I had done something wrong so I backed down. I did some searching within myself and came to the conclusion that in order for me to cope, I need to tell people. For me, I need as many people as possible to know because if I kept it all in, I would crumble. Its not a secret and its pain that I am feeling too.

When I was talking to my cousin I realized that I needed to think about it from a Christian perspective. The majority of my relatives are not believers. They may know who God is but, at this point, they choose to turn away from Him. I cope by telling everyone because I have a vast number of prayer warriors. It got me thinking that they can't fully accept what is happening because when they admit it, they don't have a savior to turn to. I pray that they can find the Lord. I do not understand how anyone deals with loss and pain, without the Lord.

God brought to my attention, that I cannot be selfish and angry with them for getting upset with me. In their minds, stating how things actually are, is not a way to cope. It brings them closer to something that they cannot deal with. It takes an army of prayer warriors and believers in Christ to get us through these rough times. I pray for people like my relatives, that they can find Christ. I pray that they don't wait until they hit rock bottom but if they are already there, that they find God and that they find the peace that He brings into our lives as believers.