Challenge, Anyone?

Challenge

My sweat glands worked a little too prolifically in my teen years, if you know what I mean. Yep. That. The conspicuous wet circle around the armpit. Devastating for a teen surrounded by those who didn’t ever seem to have an issue. Triple digit weather every summer in my childhood California town kept mine exercised on a daily basis. 

Imagine my surprise when that all disappeared. For forty years on the Oregon coast, winter storms and piercing summer winds kept me freezing year round. In a huff at not being needed my sweat glands decided to go dormant. Sort of like a hibernating bear. 

Oh, Oregon was grand in that respect. I truthfully thought age had mellowed them. 

Alas, dormant does not mean gone. Hibernating bears awake. I now live in Arizona and at the first triple digit day my sweaties yelled “Huzzah!” and arose to the challenge. Sticky, stinky, but very strong and healthy sweat glands won’t let this girl get heat stroke. They cool me down by sending wet to places I forgot could get wet. 

Aren’t we like that sometimes? When life skates by in ease (does that really happen to anyone), even for a short time, we can go dormant in healthy habits, thinking and disciplines. But then adversity hits again and proves whether our faith is still there at all, whether it’s there with lost ground, or whether it is still strong and healthy ready for the challenge.

We all hear that challenges cause us to grow, and, if you are like me, we groan and say we’d rather grow another way. We’ve heard the sermons on how muscles grow in response to stress – to being pushed harder. And the ones about the roots of trees being stronger if they are buffeted by storms than if they were not. 

But deep down. Do we buy it? Or do we try to avoid conflict and adversity at all cost? Do we pray for easy lives? For this problem and that to be taken away? 

I do.

At least I used to. I am learning to say, “Lord, give me the strength, wisdom and faith I need to trust You in this situation regardless of the outcome.” When I can rest in that trust, He always provides what I need, and I don’t get stomach aches caused by fussing. 

It’s profound growth when we get to where we trust Him, “regardless of the outcome.” No longer will we get hung up on trying to control the outcome instead of relaxing in Him and getting in the way.

Just like my sweat glands, the faith of my early years, is showing back up in the face of the continual testing of faith that we all experience. 

Thank you, Sweaties, for coming out of hibernation to do your job . . . and to teach me lessons. 

Come back next week to read what God used to bring about transformation in submitting things I can’t control to Him in “Peace or Panic.”