A few weeks ago, my nephew Kaleb and I had a Superhero Night. We dressed up and celebrated being superheroes by building a Batmobile out of boxes, eating Batman fruit snacks and watching The Incredibles. Kaleb has caught on to these spend-the-night-at Aunt Krishy’s-themed-nights and is now making requests.
Recently, his mom and dad were watching the reality show “Survivor” and he saw a little bit of it. Kaleb decided that would be his next themed-night, Survivor Night!
Little does he know about his Aunt Krishy’s Survivor history. I am by no means a true Survivor. When I worked for Brio magazine I had the opportunity to go on many missions trips. One of these trips was to Panama. The hotel we stayed at had a Survivor game they coordinated for their guests based on the reality TV show. On a free day at the hotel a portion of our missions team participated. The object of the game was to get through each of the obstacles without dropping your egg.
Our group headed to the first task, and as we walked over a bridge a swarm of wasps came up from under it and began to sting people. I was one of the first people stung, twice in the leg. The spots on my legs began to swell. I started thinking about how my mom is allergic to everything and wondered if I’m allergic to this sting as well. My mind kept going and going until I leaned over a picnic table and then passed out.
I dropped my egg!
When I woke up I heard all of these teen voices praying for me. I felt like I had been sleeping for eight hours. I had never passed out before and decided it would be best if I got some Benadryl and went to my room for a nap.
After all of that, the hotel still gave me a Survivor certificate. I think they felt sorry for me, in the midst of all the laughter. I can’t help but laugh at myself and the way anxiety overtook me that day.
are we meant for survival?
At the same time, that funny occurrence is such a great reminder of how I let everything else grab a hold of me rather than allowing God to hold me.
Too many times I live like a spiritual survivor, eating whatever is provided and even starving myself in difficult circumstances. I think like a survivor, You just gotta keep going, you can do it. I allow the highs and lows of life to dictate my attitude, emotions and responses.
Here are two verses that stuck out to me this morning: James 4:7-8a, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” and Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
We’re never told to survive the devil’s schemes. We’re told to resist, run, battle. I’m not trying to make light of life’s difficulties, tests and circumstances, but sometimes we try to survive whatever we’re going through rather than submitting ourselves to God, resisting the devil and being the more than conquerors we’re called to be in Christ. Circumstances may not change even when we choose to be a conqueror rather than a survivor, but maybe our perspective will.
I’m thankful God hasn’t called me to be a survivor but more than a conqueror. He knows too well that if left alone to survive this buzzing and sometimes stingy thing called life that I’d probably pass out.
Have a great week!
