I sat in the third row. It was church. Church in my house. We were fortunate to gather with our family of fourteen and worship together. The pastor’s message took us through Psalm 23. One that is common to most even if you didn’t grow up in church. The part that fell fresh on my ears was verse 5.

“You give me all I can drink of you until my cup overflows.”

This passage was actually written by David in the midst of a valley. He wasn’t living his best life. David was smack in the middle of 2020. How could David talk about his “cup” as a place of blessing in the middle of his “hard.” I think he made a choice. Not to deny his feelings or ignore the obvious. But to rely on the creator of the cup to determine the lens by which he saw his circumstances. This truth caused my heart to commit. In that moment, sitting on the third row of my home church I decided. It is time to stop stating the problem. Instead fix my eyes on the solution. That is Jesus. So my cup overflows.

 

 

 

What have you decided?

 

And now I warn you, that commitment will be challenged. Less than 24 hours after my resolve to an overflowing cup, I woke up the next morning to a text. A punch in the gut kind of text. A text that was about another person’s decisions impacting my heart via text. Ouch.

Not today satan. That’s what rose up from my gut. We must not entertain ever giving up. When we forge forward expecting difficulty, understanding challenge will arise, knowing there will be curveballs, we are already ahead of it. The moments of difficulty do not need to derail you, they can fortify you.

 

So here’s a simple four step process I walked through to reinforce my decision to live my life in the overflow.

 

1. I cried.

“They that sow in tears will reap in joy.” Psalm 126:5

According to studies done in psychology, crying is also essential to resolve grief, when waves of tears periodically come over us after we experience a loss. Tears help us process the loss so we can keep living with open hearts. Otherwise, we are set up for depression if we suppress these potent feelings.

 

2. I journaled.

In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried out to my God. From his heavenly temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help. Psalm 18:6

This enabled me to process out my thoughts pen to paper. It strengthened my resolve and allowed me to process my prayers. On those lines in my journal God speaks, and when I can fix my eyes and ears only on Him, I hear.

 

3. I worked out.

There is a lot of power in a good sweat. I needed the science of my body to work in my favor. So hitting it hard physically released that serotonin that produces some extra endorphins leading me out of a funk. As a health coach I have learned that when we take the power back in the areas we can control like fueling our body well and getting it moving, other things are seen in a better light.

 

4. I gave it away.

I’m sharing this with you now as an attempt to give hope away. As they say in many recovery programs, “you can’t keep what you’ve got unless you give it away.” Not to mention that accountability increases when we invite others into our resolve. I need you, and you need me. We are created for community. It’s why I created my six week Significant Life group. Here you will receive the support, tools and truth to build the life you love on the foundation of faith. It’s not too late to join. A few spots are left. Click here.

 

So what have you decided? I’d love to hear from you.