You know, life is tough when problems arise.
(Captain Obvious is my cousin…)
We all know that, right?!
But for me, sometimes life is tough when things are going great.
WHY?
Because it seems like I'm always waiting for the "other shoe to drop."
Definition: to wait for something bad to happen.
(This expression originated in the late 19th/early 20th century. During the manufacturing boom of this time, tenement living – and other similar close-quarter living styles – was common. Apartments were often built with one bedroom underneath another bedroom right above it. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing their shoes, and sometimes hearing them loudly hit the upper floor. As one shoe thumped, the expectation of the other shoe making a similar disruptive sound was created!)
I know that this is a self-defeating thought process. I know that it exhibits my tendency toward negative thinking. I know that it doesn't say a whole lot about my faith and trust level.
I can make a bunch of excuses for it.
In fact, here are a few…anxiety issues, obsessive thinking, a faulty temperament. (OK, I feel slightly better doing that). But the truth of the matter is this – it isn't all that wrong to look at life this way.
There will always be *shoes*…and they will drop.
It is the one sure thing in this life.
Stuff happens.
It's Murphy's Law – (an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong...and usually at the worst possible time.")
I looked it up on Wikipedia. It's a rather interesting article. The one thing that really struck me was the many fields of study that have found this one basic adage to be true – physics, mountaineering, magic, engineering, medicine, law – to name a few.
Hey, I can even quote some Scripture that supports this idea:
"Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." (John 16:33)
Was that statement uttered by Murphy???
Nope!
Jesus Himself said those words.
And trust me, He knew what He was talking about!
Look at His own life.
He's born – YAY.
Herod tries to kill Him – BOO.
He's the Son of God – YAY.
His brothers think He's crazy – BOO.
He gets baptized, and receives God's blessing – YAY.
He gets tempted in the wilderness – BOO.
He brings the Good News to his hometown – YAY.
They try to kill Him – BOO.
He calls twelve disciples – YAY.
One betrays Him – BOO.
He's hailed as the King of Jews – YAY.
A week later, He's crucified – BOO.
I'm thinking that's why Jesus could say those words.
He knew it from experience.
LIFE. IS. TOUGH.
And just when things are starting to look up, just when things are beginning to go well, just when you think you can catch a little breathing room…
BOOM!
Is that that other shoe again???
(Like the giant puddle of antifreeze that magically appeared under one of our cars the other day – or finding out a certain beagle's preventive care medicine isn't stocked at the vet anymore, and you have to order it online, and now you have to pay for shipping – or the coffee that spilled all over my legs and feet and floor on a particularly tight mountain curve as I was
I don't mean to be pessimistic, but honestly – I don't know why it has to happen this way. It's just so discouraging.
In fact, I can't understand…
"Psst. Sharon."
As I was saying, I can't understand…
"Sharon. Listen to Me."
Huh?! Is that You, Lord?
"Yes. I have something to say to you."
Me, Lord? Am I in trouble?
"No, not in a punishment kind of way. But yes, in a forgetting something kind of way."
What have I forgotten?
"The second part of the verse. That's not all I said, you know."
Oh…
Right…
The second part of the verse.
The best part of the verse!
"But take heart, because I have OVERCOME the world." (John 16:33)
OVERCOME.
(Some great synonyms: succeed in dealing with, surmount, control, master, conquer, defeat, beat, trounce, thrash, rout, crush, vanquish, get the better of, triumph over, prevail over, win over or against, overwhelm, overpower, outdo, outclass...yeah!)
It's a word I have to hear in my head, and believe in my heart, over and over and over again.
HIS Word –
Take courage. You will not be alone. I will not abandon you. I understand what you're going through. *Stuff* happened to Me, too. But I won the victory. I overpowered the enemy. I conquered death.
YES!!
He was crucified and died – BOO.
But He rose again – YAY!
And you know what?!
In that moment, the *other shoe* dropped on the devil!
He thought things were going great. He thought he had killed the Son of God. He thought he now ruled with all the authority on earth. He thought we belonged to him – finally.
BOOM!
Did his heart quake? Did his knees tremble? Did his snarly little sneer turn upside down? Did he look over his shoulder and see a stone tumbled away?
Did he hear the shoe drop?
Jesus won.
In this life, there will always be shoes.
But we are not ruled by "Murphy's Law."
There is no randomness to our lives, no impersonal destiny, no out-of-control chaos.
We are kept in the hands of The Lawgiver Himself.
He brings victory out of defeat. He brings joy out of sorrow. He brings peace out of turmoil. He brings life out of death.
He wears the shoes – and when we are too tired to walk – He carries us.
YAY!
(This was a repost – with some 2015 tweaking! Sorry, but it's been a "Murphy's Law" kind of week!! Hope you enjoyed…)
 |
Hey, lookie here! The other shoe dropped!! (Hee hee...) |
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14, NIV)
"...[Therefore] let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." (Hebrews 12:1, NLT)
"[For] we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28, ESV)
"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." (Galatians 6:5, NLT)
"You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf...Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out...and the LORD will be with you."
(2 Chronicles 20:17, ESV)
"...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37, ESV)
"'Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.'" (Revelation 3:21, NLT)
"'I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.'
[My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]" (John 16:33, AMP)
Had any *shoes* dropping in your life lately?
Linked with:
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BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"
Thanks Sharon for such good spiritual reminders. Praying that no more "shoes" drop for you (or me) and we can keep walking with the King, knowing He overcame! May many blessings drop abundantly as you continue pressing on and looking up.
ReplyDeleteLove you Sharon and sending a BIG hug with my prayers, ~ Peggy
Oh, Yay! YAY, Yay! And again I say, Yay!
ReplyDeleteSo needed to read this this morning dear lady! Shoes dropping left and right in our neck of the woods. This constant barrage of health issues (poor Ed), and the uphill rocks I'm climbing with the books, publishing, and marketing on the path to getting Ed free of the debilitating day job, is grueling. Just one shoe after another. I like the shoe metaphor, but LOVE the second half of that Scripture! Clinging to my conqueror and holding fast. Encouragement for the day. May you know God's Champion in your shoe dropping this week. That furnace heat is turned up, but our Captain says full speed ahead, shoes notwithstanding. We'll be just fine.
Joy!
Kathy
Enjoyed your tweaking of the post, Sharon :) And it is so good that Jesus did overcome the world and he is definitely on our side! Ouch with the coffee spilled though!
ReplyDeletebetty
awesome reminders
ReplyDeleteYes, things happen and so does life. I loved the illustration of the dropping shoe.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can do that, too, Sharon...waiting for the other shoe to drop when things seem to be going "too good." But you're right that the other "other" shoe, the final one, is one of overcoming! Thank you, Jesus.
ReplyDeleteA great and much needed post! After a particularly hard, long Job season in our life I was full of fear of what would go wrong next. I found the Bible verse, "I will not give in to fear or evil foreboding but I will have a glad heart resulting in a continual feast regardless of circumstances" ( Prov. 15:15 in my own words) I began to speak it aloud daily, and still often do!
ReplyDeleteSharon, your posts are always so entertaining--even those that cut deep into our spirits. I love that, and I loved this. Funny (not haha funny--more of an odd, humph-funny) everything in my life is going well-I have no stress, not trials, no sicknesses. And yet, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop (I''ve actually been saying that). But something I learned in AlAnon was that we (co-dependents, messed up people married to messed up people) tend to look at life that way because in our messed up pasts, that's how it always was. The silence, the good time usually didn't last long. So that is some stinkin' thinkin' that I need to move past and enjoy the good in my life right now. Sorrow will come, trials will come, but right now, they're not here, so why fret about what's to come when we don't even know what's to come? Great stuff. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteVery good reminder Sharon. Although I'm pretty sure the "name it and claim it" crowd will not be too thrilled with the truth of this. :)
ReplyDeleteSharon - I always love reading your blog posts! You make me laugh and I love your sense of humor, it makes the deeper spiritual stuff so much easier to hear sometimes. Thanks for sharing at #Reflect link-up
ReplyDeleteWhen things get tough, it is so easy to think we are the only ones, that everyone else has it easier, that their shoes never drop. This is a great word to show that everyone has shoes that drop, but they don't drop randomly. God knows and sees and hears and has a plan for each and every shoe!
ReplyDeleteWow I was just wondering the other day where this saying came from! Thanks for the explanation. I really enjoyed your writing style and your message.
ReplyDeleteA really awesome way of describing that "fear" that seems to lurk in the back of our minds of what is around the corner, impending doom and gloom. Thankfully, like you already shared, there are plenty of scriptures that show us and that we can claim, that we don't have to live in that kind of fear, but we can walk comfortably with the Lord moment by moment, trusting in Him. May the Lord continue to bless your writing, and your heart for Him! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat truth here. That is pretty much the way my life goes too but I do not and choose not to live in fear...because I KNOW something will happen, it's just a matter of when...and I know that I know that I KNOW Jesus will be there to take care of things. When you are mother of a son who has fought alcoholism for half his life, you know that at any time some of his drama will overflow into your own life. I expect that other shoe to drop (as it has many times) and have actually used that term to describe the situation (and I'm glad to know the history of it)...until he finally gives it all to God and allows the Him to take away his pain, I know it will happen...God is working. There will be more shoes hitting the floor before it's all accomplished. Leaning on and trusting HIM!! I REALLY like the last part of that scripture and am looking forward to the day we are all OVERCOMERS! Thanks for the awesome reminder, my friend :)
ReplyDeleteMy younger sister died last Sunday morning - -Boo, But I expect to see her in heaven-Yay. Others things too - but they will NOT get me down, because I am seated in heavenly places where Satan is not allowed to harass me. Your post is a lovely reminder that things DO happen in life, but Jesus is there with us and we shall over come. Thanks for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderfully written reminder of something we all go through. Very encouraging and we are all in such good company....each other!!
ReplyDeleteYou reposted it for me. You reposted it for me. I LOVED THIS. Every.stinkin'.bit.of . it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even see the ending coming.....
Sharon, you described my personality....you captivated my attention...and then you left me encouraged and shouting!!!
Sharon, I just LOVE your sense of humor! The first sentence of this blog post I was already laughing! And then your "yays" and "boos" made me chuckle. But I love how you tied it all together in the end to show that every "Boo" is turned into a "Yay" in Christ!
ReplyDeleteThank you for blessing me and encouraging me.
Sharon, I also wanted to let you know that this blog post is being featured on my blog tomorrow. Please feel free to grab my button. :-)
Deleteooops. I forgot to add #joyhopelive
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun post - with such an important message! Loved it, Sharon! (And praying for your week to get better!) ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon! I love the list of "yay" followed by "boom". It helps me to see that there is blessing in the middle of the muck. If it happened to Jesus, it surely will happen to me too. The saddest part of your post was the spilled coffee. Thats a tough one my friend. But at least you didn't get burnt!
ReplyDeleteHere's to better days,
Ceil
yep know where you are coming from Sharon. It has been that kind of the week for me too, in fact I have more of those kind of weeks, of late, than I once did. I keep having the phrase this too will pass going through my head. You do have a great way of expressing things and combining positive with negative.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I like not only your writing style, but especially the Scriptural truths that you presented. I enjoyed finding your post on #JoyHopeLive!
ReplyDeleteI love this! And how you let God talk to you. He talks to me like that too!
ReplyDeleteAnd your writing style is so fun, and relatable. Thanks for all the Scripture! Hope the car is better now!
Oh brother, sister... I can relate (trying to be clever there) Love the light side of your writing and how it is so relatable and then you bring it all back home with deep understanding and wisdom from above.
ReplyDeleteI love that verse... and man oh man, how I needed to hear it today. Glad you reposted, Sharon.
I'll send you the private email for the cynics-anonamous meeting next week... Just a reminder it's your turn to bring refreshments. Please note, the McNally twins won't be there this week...
This is such a great reminder for me today. I too am one who sometimes waits for the other shoe to drop. I LOVE this reminder that He wears the shoes & carries us! Thanks for sharing with us at #RaRaLinkup this week!
ReplyDeleteThe Lord certainly does wear the shoes and knowing that makes me realize He will not falter. He's surefooted at all times so regardless of my insecurities, He holds me up every time. I'm remembering this one when the next time the enemy whispers otherwise.
ReplyDeleteShoes are constantly dropping around here...one and then the other when we are not looking. But that is the way. Luckily, we are very blessed and mostly able to handle things.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wish we would run out of shoes already! Great reflection.
ReplyDeleteLove this and you. :)
ReplyDeleteSharon, I love the etymology of that saying "waiting for the other shoe to drop." That explains so much! And I love your words here that we cannot live in anxiety but have to trust our good God. Happy to visit from #livefreeThursday
ReplyDeletePopping over from Thoughtful Thursday =) Plenty of dropped shoes here! One dropped today actually. Just when I thought I was in the clear. I've come up with 3 good resolutions for the issue; al lof which are reasonable and will get things done. I should be stress free at this point, but now it's a waiting game to see which option the other party chooses. I hate waiting.
ReplyDeleteCome share your crafts, DIY's, recipes & up-cycles at #2usestuesday (Mon PM to Fri PM) & your pinnable images at #Pinbellish (Fri AM to Tues AM) over at Sarah Celebrates if you don't already!
This is a particularly awesome post. Boom! A Murphy's law switcharoo
ReplyDelete!
DeleteOh how true. When things are doing great, the enemy works overtime to make it tough for us. To keep our eyes away from the prize.
ReplyDeleteHow encouraging is this post. Thanks for the reminder that life is still beautiful despite the hardships. :)
As a person overcoming the propensity to wait for that other shoe to drop, I really enjoyed the post. And I very much appreciate the explanation of where the phrase came from -- isn't it amazing how apt so many of our sayings are?
ReplyDeleteSo thankful Jesus won!! I needed to read that tonight! He is Conqueror, and we are more than conquerors through Him!! Thank you so sharing what He puts upon your heart. Love and appreciate you, sweet friend. :)
ReplyDeletegreat fun post. And so true. You really have a way with words.
ReplyDeleteYes! Shoes shoes shoes...yea and boo!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon, for participating in the Make My Saturday Sweet linky party on Amanda's Books and More! I'm sure your thoughts and verses are a great encouragement to many, and even if the shoe does drop, we have Someone greater Who is in control. ;) God bless!
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy it, Sharon. :) It's so easy to focus on the troubles, the issues, and the negative. Yes, we can be sure they'll come, but just as surely as there's death, He brings resurrection. Wonderful reminder. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat posts, thank so much for sharing with us at #JoyHopeLive!
ReplyDeleteI live that way each day wondering what is coming next. I have lost the happiness I once had when I was younger.
ReplyDelete