Under Pressure
I am traveling this week so I've chosen to edit and share a previously written piece to allow me time to be fully present with my family. Enjoy.
In the fall of 2020, I was preparing a meringue for a birthday pie. I had followed the same recipe for years without any issue, until now! I put the ingredients over the heat, melted the sugar, removed it from the heat, and then began whipping the contents while the bowl cooled down. This process usually results in a marshmallowy meringue with peaks that stand up tall and taste delicious when toasted.
Yet, this time the mixture wasn't turning out correctly. No matter how hard I beat it with the mixer it just remained a runny liquid. The first time I thought I must have done something wrong so I threw it away and started over, but the results of batch two were the same. I was feeling pretty frustrated. I had allotted a specific amount of time, based on experience from previous years, to make the meringue and now I was out of time.
I decided to try one more time. I re-read everything to make sure I hadn't overlooked some small detail. As I was making the third batch of meringue a strange thing happened. While I was holding the mixer in my hand, intensely whipping the meringue, one of the beaters suddenly malfunctioned. The metal beater broke and completely collapsed in the bowl. I lost control of the mixer and the wet, sticky, meringue shot all over the kitchen. Here is a picture so you can see how spectacularly the beater failed.
It never occurred to me when the meringue wouldn't set up that there could be a problem with the beaters. Yet, that day, when put under pressure one beater, collapsed catastrophically.
The past few years have thrown us a lot of curveballs. Maybe there have been days when you found yourself experiencing pressure that was unfamiliar to you. Maybe you've even felt close to collapse. Who could have predicted what the last two years would hold?
We have all felt the weight of this new decade in some palpable way. The heaviness of all the unknowns. The losses. The difficult conversations. The vitriol. We all long for order, normalcy, and community.
If we only focus on the heaviness, the pressure will compound, and we will find ourselves collapsing under its weight.
Time and time again scripture reminds us that we are not meant to carry the burden alone. We are not meant to settle into the overwhelm and stay there. God does not ask us to ignore these feelings. In fact, he wants us to be aware of them and then he wants us to keep handing them over to him. He is on the throne. He is sovereign. He does not change. He is always faithful. His ways are not like ours. Not one thing in this world can change these truths.
Philippians 4:6-9 (The Bible for Everyone)
"Don't worry about anything. Rather, in every area of life let God know what you want, as you pray and make requests, and give thanks as well. And God's peace, which is greater than we can ever understand, will keep guard over your hearts and minds in King Jesus. For the rest, my dear family, these are the things you should think through: whatever is true, whatever is holy, whatever is upright, whatever is pure, whatever is attractive, whatever has a good reputation; anything virtuous, anything praiseworthy. And these are the things you should do: what you learned, received, heard, and saw in and through me. And the God of peace will be with you."
No pressure or pain is too big for God. He meets us in all of it! He isn't trying to rush us past processing our feelings and pain, but he wants us to daily, hourly, regularly hand it all to him. And then to focus our eyes and our mind on the things that will help remove the pressure and prevent collapse.
What is true? What is holy? What is upright? What is pure? What is attractive? What has a good reputation? What is virtuous? What is praiseworthy?
If you notice that you are under pressure, and unable to see goodness or joy, pause and ask God to meet you in this moment. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you find the truth, goodness, and beauty around you as you release all of your concerns at the foot of the cross. May we remember that God is near at all times.
~ Melissa