If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs….

That’s really the secret of life isn’t it?  From the very smallest of agitations to life changing events, it’s how we handle them that proves whether or not we’ve matured, according to Rudyard Kipling.

I watched it today at a local sandwich restaurant as a large group of people in front of me ordered a ton of sandwiches.  The restaurant was full of people, groups of high schools girls, families who obviously have been attending local high school basketball games and one lone older couple who were watching the chaos with some amusement.  The two young men working behind the counter maintained composure, professionally taking orders and working together like a machine throwing sandwiches together freaky fast.  A silly example perhaps but one where keeping their heads meant that everyone was taken care of.

Keeping your head during life changing events however, is so much more difficult because we are creatures of habit and comfort and these events can change our life direction, our perceptions, our finances, our relationships, our belief systems.  In these instances, we have three choices – adapt, flee or perish.  I believe adapting and keeping our heads is the mature thing to do.  Easier said than done.

I have watched several people I work with deal with things calmly in situations that would give them every reason to curl up in a ball and hide.  And yet, they keep their heads,  stay strong and push through.  They’re dealing with life changing events, spouses or other family with cancer, adult children committing suicide, and parents passing away.  In private you know there is anger and there are tears but they keep their head up and trust in others to help support them.  In most cases, they depend on their God and their faith to get them through.

Sometimes however, we attempt to rely on ourselves for all the answers.  We suck it up, pull ourselves up by our shoestrings, clench our teeth and make it work.  Unfortunately, at least for me, things begin to “leak” when I try to do it all myself.  Anxiety rears its ugly head, and tears or anger come out of nowhere.  Why is it that during these tough times that prayer seems the last thing we think of?  I can only speak for myself, but being the fixer I am, I tend to depend on my intelligence and ability to trouble shoot for things to work.

I don’t mean this the wrong way, but sometimes being intelligent can be a detriment.  I’m pretty good at fixing minor things and when it comes to those large events sometimes I assume I can fix those too.  There’s got to be a way, right?  If I just create the right scenarios. look at all my options and think logically, I can fix it, right?  It becomes a challenge. Sure, I get lucky just enough to reinforce my belief in my own abilities, but the real question is, what if I had given it up to God instead?  What if I had allowed God to perform his work and do something so much more than I could ever imagine?  After all, he sees the big picture and I only see the one event happening at that time.  So maybe keeping my head means letting go and letting God.

Without details, a life event beyond my abilities to fix has occurred and I am once again working to keep my head even if others are losing theirs.  This is life, right? It is an opportunity to give it up to God, to grow, and watch to see how this will become a learning experience.  Don’t get me wrong, I still want to fix it with every fiber of my being, but I can’t.  This has to be a prayer thing leading to a God thing, knowing that whatever his answer, he knows best.  My job is to let go, trust and keep my head.