You might want to make sure you’ve got your shoes on if you’re anywhere near me today. I’m standing in a pile of glass shards.  I’ve been spinning a lot of plates for the last 6 months or so, and today one started to go all wobbly.  I felt it losing momentum and concentrated all my attention on it.  In doing so, I lost focus on the big picture and, as you can probably guess, I lost total control.   One by one, they slipped and fell, crashing to the floor into a glorious mess.

I just stood in the midst of it all and cried.  It had all been going pretty well. Life was good.  We were getting by.  But, it’s hard to see hope in the face of brokenness or have faith that it can all be put back together.  None of the plates were that valuable in the big scheme of things;  they weren’t our health, our home, a job or the like.  Individually, they aren’t that big a deal.  But all together, it just seemed overwhelming.  Sometimes I just get tired, you know?

I know I can get things back on track.  It was just a bad day.  A really bad day.

Bad days happen to all of us.  By comparison, mine wasn’t all that bad.  Lots of folks are living in far worse circumstances than I am.  I’m healthy,  got food in the fridge, a roof over my head, and a family that love me.  Writing this, I don’t even know why I was so upset in the first place.  As I’m thinking about it, I feel rather selfish.  What do I have to complain about?

That’s the thing about feelings.  They need to be felt.  Sometimes you just gotta cry. Sometimes you’re sad and sometimes you’re mad.  Feelings aren’t rational.  When you’re standing in the middle of a mess, it’s hard to think things through.

Now, I’m ready to get the broom and sweep things up.  Tomorrow I’ll start spinning the plates again.  I’ll throw one up in the air at a time and get them all going in the same direction.  No doubt, some will fall again.  And I’ll probably cry…or maybe I could just switch to paper plates.