Worst Case Scenario

Worry. I used to be an expert on making mountains out of molehills. What if the car breaks down? Could this headache be meningitis? Is that a funnel cloud on the horizon?  I had a big problem in worrying about the "what ifs" in life. What if the worst case scenario would happen?

Turns out, this year was a year of worst case scenarios. Things like-

• Having to pull your kid out of school mid-year 
• Finding out that your kid has another chronic illness
• Four ER trips for above mentioned kid
• Breaking a foot
• One ER trip for above mentioned mom
• A yellow lab slipping a disc in his spine THE NIGHT BEFORE the first homestudy visit
• One ER trip for the poor, above mentioned dog
• Postponing travel plans for a big, family trip
• And more.. 

Oy. You get the idea. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" was a motto of my younger days. I thought that I could better control the situation by preparing myself. Psyching myself and eventually praying for the situation to never happen.

I.HAD.IT.ALL.WRONG.

You can't prepare yourself for the worst case scenario. At least, not mentally, physically or emotionally. You can, however, prepare yourself spiritually.

This year, I've learned that faith is the only way you will make it through the worst case scenario. I've also learned that trials prepare you and help you grow...to be blessed. Today, our pastor gave an amazing teaching from the Book of James about how trials are tools to build our faith and bring us closer to God. Trials are tests. We generally don't like tests. I never did and our son especially doesn't like tests (and yes, you still have tests in homeschool!).

Without the "worst case scenarios" of this year, we also wouldn't have had the best blessings of our lives. The opportunity to homeschool. The opportunity to spend extra time with family members around the country. Moving into an apartment that was a better fit for our family. Learning that we were finally ready to build our family again and taking the steps to adopt a second child. None of these blessings would have happened without the trials of this year.

If we change our mindset, and our "heartset", we can see that the worst case scenario is like a midterm or final exam. A test that will get us ready for the next step or blessing in our lives.

There's a beautiful song called " Blessings" by Laura Story. If you've never heard it, go listen to it! Worst case scenarios. Trials. Tribulations. Tests.

She sums it up so perfectly-

"'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
  What if your healing comes through tears?
  What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?
  What if the trials in this life are Your mercies in disguise?"

I get it now.