Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed. It’s a word I’ve used a lot in 2020. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to list all the reasons why life is overwhelming right now. For everyone. We’re all on the struggle bus. Excuse me, driver? I think you missed my stop.

Merriam-Webster defines overwhelmed as being, “completely overcome or overpowered by thought or feeling.” Yup. Sounds about right. Most of the thoughts and feelings overpowering us right now are not pretty. Anger, grief, depression, anxiety, confusion, division. We’re all feeling overpowered... and exhausted.

Ok, now that I’ve painted that bleak picture, how about some good news?

Did you know you can also be overwhelmed (overcome, overpowered) by something good? You know what I’m talking about. Those moments in life where your eyes leak, because you’re overwhelmed by beauty, gratitude, and grace. A wedding. The birth of a child. An upclose encounter with the incredible beauty of God’s creation. Listening to a piece of music you can actually feel in your soul.

Life is made up of both kinds of overwhelm. Sometimes it feels like we experience more of the hard than the beautiful. But what if, in some mysterious way, the hard was actually an essential part of the beautiful? The labor before the miracle of new life. The messy pursuit of two becoming one, which makes you cherish the hard-earned moments of “oneness.” The trees, every season giving up their life in a glorious burst of flaming color. It’s all bound up together.

It all points to a Savior, who promises to make all things new. It may take a while. New life usually does. The pain we experience in the waiting is no small thing. But in that pain, we are not forsaken, or left without hope.

No matter what is overwhelming you this season, friend, there is something you can cling to. A Savior, who has already overcome everything that could ever overcomes us. May this be our prayer, as we walk through this overwhelming season together. One day at a time.

“May your tender love overwhelm me, O Lord,
for you are my Savior and you keep your promises.”
Psalm 119:41 (TPT)

Photo by Leon Biss on Unsplash