Tough Situations

I often find that there are times where I'm in a really tough spot. Sometimes people think ill of you, and you simply don't know why (and sometimes it's the other way around). Other times the circumstances are so overwhelming that you wonder, "How did it come to this?!"

Maybe you try to make things right, and when you make the attempt... well, it just ends up looking like a mess. Then you say, "Well... I tried."

If I wanted to, I could lazily look over my shoulder at the behemoths that taunt me. These problems come and go in groups for me. Some groups are bigger than others. These problems are weighing heavily on me and I'm not sure if I can continue trying to fix them all. In fact, I think I'd better throw in the towel. I can't fix everything with my own efforts. People will think what they want against me, but they'll never fully understand the whole story. I can't help them if they refuse to listen.

I've got a few things to tackle and pray through. Well, actually there are about five things. But I'm not going to spill everything out because that's personal. But what I can do is tell you things on a very vague level. This way, you can still pray for me if you wish.

-Family
-Friends
-Personal Life
-Schooling
-Ministry

I'll open up just a little bit about one of the five things. Today I will have to make some big steps being an older brother. This is something I was never very good at. But I have found it to be very gratifying when I reach out for my sisters. It's natural I guess. Our family was never really that close to begin with (at least that's what I think), but it still hurts when your family is being torn apart before your eyes.

Today I'm going to try to go out and spend some time with my sister's boyfriend. I'll ask him some questions that might put him on the spot. I'll probably even make him feel a little bit guilty... "So this home of yours...", "Do you really think this is best for my sister?", "If you really loved her, wouldn't you want her to be in a place that's safer?", etc.

But my aim is not to scare him or threaten him. Tactful in word, I need to some how enable him to understand the gravity and weightiness of the circumstances he's in. He's a 19 year old boy trying to make giant steps in a relationship with my sister. Now I think I'm beginning to understand how a father might feel when a young man attempts to see his daughter. It must be a scary feeling and I know a brother-sister and father-daughter relationship is not the same. I also know that those two groups share a certain bond that hurts when stretched or possibly breaks.

I'm praying that things go well tonight.