Rising Water
The flood of ‘72 hit Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 4 months after I was born. That year was a crazy year for my parents with several life changing events: my birth, my grandmother’s house being flooded, my father changing jobs, my parents building a house in Pennsylvania while living in New Jersey, and then later that same year, moving to the new house.
You’ve heard the saying - what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
It was a wild ride, but my parents made it through that year. Right now, you’re probably thinking the same thing I am. “We’ve had several years like that!” Years where significant life events stacked up against us. Even joyful ones can be chaotic and exhausting. When that happens, I’ve heard people say, “God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle.” I disagree.
I believe God allows us to experience things that we can’t handle. Things that would crush us and leave us utterly depleted. In 1972, my parents had one of those years. Mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting. And despite the circumstances, here’s why I believe they made it through.
If God gave us everything that we could handle, we would never need to depend on Him. We would become confident in ourselves, our ability and our success in life. We would completely miss out on our need to rely on God. When things happen that we can’t handle, we start to ask why, and then we search for the strength we need. When no one else can help us, it is in this moment that we experience who God is and learn to trust solely on Him.
Are you in the middle of a series of stressful life events or maybe even just one? It’s time to breathe. God wants to give us what we need, because we can’t handle this alone. Nor should we.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13
Searching for wisdom and asking for grace,
Jody Flurie
Jody Flurie is the Founder and Owner of Red Dirt Legacy Co. where family legacy stories are celebrated through each Little Legacy Film Series - a series of short videos that can be easily shared to keep children and grandparents connected by what matters most for each family.
Jody believes all kids, young and old, need to understand where they came from and why it matters. Everyday, she works hard to instill this in her family because it’s only through understanding who we are that we can be fully ourselves and make a true indelible mark on the world.
If you want the same thing that Jody wants for her family, visit reddirtlegacyco.comto find out how your family can celebrate the wisdom, love, and legacy of an earlier generation. If we don’t step up to bring hope to our families, who will?