Before I started my current role, I was a local church pastor. There is a lot to love about being a pastor, and I did my best to be a faithful and effective one.
Like any task, there are some things you like better than others, and there are some things you don’t like at all. For me, the task I did not like at all was officiating weddings.
It’s not that I don’t support marriage. I do (Get it? I do!). I believe marriage is a sacred part of God’s created order and an essential part of any healthy society.
It’s officiating the ceremony I don’t like. "Why?" you ask. It is because there is so much going on at the same time. A couple has dreamed of this day for some time. They are excited and have invited all the people who mean the most to them. They have thought of everything. Dresses. Suits. Places. Songs. Lights. Entrance. Exit. Pictures. Receptions. Bridesmaids and groomsmen.
On and on we could go. It is exhausting to think about. And everybody wants everything to be perfect.
Moreover, you must be precise. As the officiant, you must say the right thing, the right way, at the right time. No pastor wants to be remembered for his mistakes on their special day. So, brides must be given. Vows must be said. Rings must be exchanged. Pronouncements must be made. All precisely right.
And behind it all is this strange creature called, “The mother of the bride.” This sweet, generous, godly woman can transform when her baby’s dreams are on the line. No minister wants to tangle with her. Trust me on that.
It’s exhausting.
During most of the weddings I have officiated, there has been a point where all of the stress crashes in on me. When it does, I sweat. I don’t mean gently perspire. I sweat—like buckets. It’s embarrassing. Everyone is looking, and I want to crawl under a rock.
What I hate about that moment is the feeling of being completely overwhelmed.
It is a common feeling for many during this time of the year. Teachers feel the strain of having an entire new group of students when they just got used to the last ones. Students feel the avalanche of new things to learn, new assignments to complete, and new people to meet. Parents feel the pressure. In the blink of an eye, there is a schedule. You go from zero to sixty in a blink with appointments and responsibilities piling up.
Overwhelm brings different responses from different people. Some complain. Some whine. Others cry. Some want to quit.
What can we do when we are feeling overwhelmed?
Jesus once spoke to people who were overwhelmed. They were filled with anxiety wondering about vital things such as what they would eat and what they would wear. In the face of need, questions of provision are overwhelming.
To these overwhelmed people, Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them.” Birds can’t farm. Birds can’t pass one of our ag classes. Birds can’t even shop at Wal-Mart—though some fly through the ceiling of our local one. And yet they sing “fat and happy” because your Heavenly Father feeds them.
Jesus then cinches the point. Are you not more valuable than they? That is, our God is a good Father. He will not take care of the lesser to neglect what is more valuable.
A few verses later, Jesus gives another example. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” There is a reason we give flowers to someone special during important moments. Sometimes nothing captures the beauty of the moment like the beauty of a flower.
“But,” Jesus continues, “if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?” The argument is the same. Your good Father knows how to take care of what he creates. He takes care of grass that dies in a day, and he can take care of you through the years.
Our response is the same in both illustrations. We are to have faith—to trust, to believe. We believe not just that he can do it but that he has and he will continue to provide what you need when you need it.
Understanding this allows us to breathe when we are overwhelmed. It allows us to face the challenge of each new day with joy and confidence.
So, today when you feel overwhelmed, take a walk outside. Learn from the birds. Be instructed by the flowers. Breathe in a lung full of air and live to fight another minute, hour, and day with faith in your good Heavenly Father.
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