Put Down The Glass

I've been praying about this for a while now.  Asking God for direction.  Do I or don't I?  Confront or not to confront.  It was so much more than a prayer for me.  My heart was heavy.  I thought about my situation for days on end.  I even found myself dreaming about it.  Nightmares almost.  That's how much this has been weighing on my heart.

My feelings have been hurt.  Words have a way of doing that to me.  They hurt me.  Especially when they tend to be the attacking type of words.  Hurting, biting, mean, coming out of nowhere and ending up cutting me deep down in my heart.

And so, I prayed and prayed and this morning I got my answer.  I really do love how God works.  He has a way of talking to me at my level.  Easy, plain, basic.  I don't need much more than that.  Just tell me God--what do I do?  And when I hear Him, His voice, so pure and true--I know.  I know it's Him.

I read a little story on Facebook this morning and through that simple little illustration, God spoke to my heart.

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience.  As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question.  Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"  Answers called out ranged from 8oz to 20oz.  She replied, "the absolute weight doesn't matter.  It depends on how long I hold it.  If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'l have an ache in my arm.  If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed.  In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water.  Think about them for a while and nothing happens.  Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt.  And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed--incapable of doing anything."  
Remember to put the glass down. 

After reading that story I knew that there was something I had to do.  I had to pray and ask God to forgive me and to teach me how to put the glass down.  And so I did.  I prayed He forgave, and hopefully, I've learned (once again) a valuable lesson in life.

I wonder sometimes--how heavy do I make life for myself, just by holding onto something and not setting it down, how heavy?