My Mayhem

The funny Allstate insurance commercials that personify Mayhem are only funny because if you're watching them, you aren't currently experiencing them. Rarely does laughter ensue in the midst of our mishaps, but a great way to distance yourself from past pandemonium is to move towards amusement. Have you ever been so tired, so fed up, so beyond words that chuckling involuntarily escapes your mouth? It seems out of place, but it's a great gift from God.
No one on earth is exempt from mayhem or defeat (as Allstate would agree). No matter how positive or optimistic a person, it's inevitable that hard times will surface in his/her life. Then, there are those times that you think should end happily, or seasons where you feel you're due for some reprieve, yet more of the same hard continues. If I don't get one good night's sleep... If I have to hear one more scream... If I am slighted by one more person... If I am not acknowledged for another task at the office... If I have to visit one more doctor... If I have to experience one more cancer treatment... Whatever your if, is, how do you finish the sentence? What if you don't get anything good? What will you do? The sun will still rise; the sun will still set; you may still be handed a slice of suffering that you never knew you'd be able to handle.
Personally, I've found that my barometer keeps moving up: figuratively and literally. I don't want my callouses to make me cold, rather aid in my durability.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) I urge you to read the rest of this chapter as it sheds light on how truly limited our views are against the backdrop of eternity.
We only see our present suffering, and I think it is worth comparing to the sufferings of others who have endured much more mayhem than us. Those are the three things that have seen me through night after night, month after month, year after year of sleeplessness, screaming, and scary doctors. First look up and see who can carry you. He's always there whether you acknowledge Him or not. Second, look around you. There are so many hurting, suffering individuals whose hearts bleed worse than your own. Reach out and care for them, and you're own circumstance will heal. Finally, laugh. Whatever it takes, just find a way to bring laughter into your life; it's the best medicine on the market!

My broken glass mayhem didn't issue unfitting laughter, but this commercial did... (maybe because the first one hits close to home for me), so find your own mayhem to laugh at this week!