“Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Sometimes I really, really identify with the person advertising the Life Alert services. Sometimes my ‘to do’ list is too daunting for me. At times, it seems as if the list has a life of its own and its sole purpose is to overwhelm me. Yes, I admit that, sometimes, I have prayed that there be an extra hour or two be added to the 24 I have already been gifted with.

My momma had a saying for days like this, “The faster I run, the behinder I get!” Sometimes I feel an internal chaos that my life is out of control; that I’m loosing my grip and the fantasy is that I will spiral down into a black hole vortex; that I will be viewed as a failure because I am unable to tie on my ‘Wonder Woman’ cape 24-7.

I wonder why I fear falling into the vortex so much—falling is a good thing when I know that God will always catch me. Why do I fear the chaos, when I know that God creates in and from the chaos? I understand that my need to be perceived as being able to leap tall buildings, is partly a matter of self-pride. But somehow, what I can do gets mixed up with who I am. I realize that I am oh so human and in need of God’s abundant mercy and compassion.

In the lectionary this year, we are spending the Gospel time in the book of Matthew. I am grateful for this—for it is in Matthew that Jesus is really on a roll confronting major human issues that would seek to overwhelm us. It is in Matthew (5:1-11) that we find the Beatitudes (the New Testament’s 10 Commandments), in chapter 6 we find not only the Lord’s Prayer (where we pray ‘Give us this day our daily bread’) but also the ‘Do Not Worry’ passage (6:25-34).

“Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Perhaps, I need to spend more time on the floor savoring the fact that nothing I do—can make or encourage God love me more. It is by God’s Grace alone that we are saved. The fruit of God’s love for us is that we work and do what is necessary to build up the Kingdom on this day and in whatever place we are in. “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (6:33)

Feeling chaotic? Loosing your grip? Forgetting that, first and foremost, we are creations called to love and be loved? Want to spend some quality time on the floor?