It was an unmistakable nudge. Honestly, I didn’t want to feel it.

Not because I don’t enjoy talking to women or because I don’t care about them because quite the opposite is true, really.

I was speaking at a local church and half-way through talking about how to take care of yourself during a busy season of mothering, it hit me right upside the head.

There she was, off to the side. Courage was written all over her face the moment I laid eyes on her sheepish smile and unsure steps to find a seat.

When you have been through a deep hurt, one that sucks the breath out of your every inhale, and you come out on the other side, you are more able to identify those who are hurting so badly they have to remind themselves to breathe.

But the nudge said, “Go.”

And it isn’t that I didn’t want to talk to her because I did. But what if I was wrong? What if she thinks I’m an absolute loon? What if I was off-base and she’s the happiest she’s ever been in her entire life?

I finished my talk and sat down. A few moments later, the event was over and there it was again.

You can’t hide from the beckoning of the Holy Spirit. And thank God. Literally. Because those nudges are for our own good.

I walked to her and asked, “Are you alright? I can’t explain why but I felt a nudge to check-in with you and I know enough about God to know I don’t want to disobey what He calls me to do,” I said with a slight giggle, just to lighten things up.

And that was all it took. The tears rolled down her pretty cheeks as she told me about her impending divorce, trouble with the law, and fear of losing her children.

Thank you, Jesus.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve ignored those nudges. I cannot tell you how many times I have felt God calling me to do something only to tell Him, “No thanks. Not today. I have too much going on for that!” And I cannot tell you how many times I’ve proceeded with my own plan – instead of asking Him what His plan was for the same situation. I know all about disobedience, sisters.

But positioning our hearts to be in alignment with God’s will tells Him, “I don’t understand but I trust You.”

And when conflict arises, I’m pretty sure God doesn’t want us to yell, scream, stomp our feet and lose our stuff all over town. Dang.

In Chapter Seven of Unglued, Lysa gives us four steps to work through when we start to come unglued:

1. Remember who you are. You are a child of God, holy and dearly loved. Fearfully and wonderfully made. Daughter of the Most High King. “I’m not an unglued woman who is a slave to her circumstances, her hormones, or to other people’s attitudes. These things might effect me but they don’t rule me” (p. 109).

2. Redirect your focus to Jesus. It’s so easy to let the flesh slip-in to those almost-unglued moments isn’t it? Pray and invite God to enter-in to the situation. Or simply just say the name “Jesus” a few times to re-center and position yourself to regain enough composure to handle said situation the way God would want you to handle it.

3. Recognize God’s job isn’t your job. Oh my stars. Do you know how many times I’ve gotten this twisted? It’s embarrassing, really. The battle is not ours but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15) yet sometimes we forget and think we’re the only warrior. “We’re not responsible for for figuring it all out. Our job is simply to be obedient to God in the midst of what we’re facing” (p. 112)

4. Recite thanks and praises to God. Remember the story about Jesus healing a group of lepers and only one of them turned around to say “thank you?” Let’s be the leper that turns around (yes, I realize how weird this sounds). Go back and thank Him for the lesson He knew we needed.

Chapter Eight is all about keeping our perspective and not get caught-up in the little stuff that really isn’t such a big deal but seems like a huge deal at the time.

On page 179, Lysa says “Gratitude diffuses attitude.”

Isn’t that so true?

And when we’re faced with a situation that’s grating on our last available nerve, it’s time to repeat the following phrase:

“If this is as bad as this day gets, it’s still a pretty good day.”

And all God’s people said “Amen!”

So today let’s talk about:

1. Have you ever been in a situation where the outcome seemed hopeless but God proved otherwise? Did this allow you to trust Him more?

2. How do you work gratitude in to your every day?

3. Anything else catch your attention from Chapters Seven and Eight?