Before you run to the phone . . .

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When things in your life go terribly awry, what's the first thing you find yourself doing?

If you're like most women, your initial reaction is probably to pick up the phone and dial your best-friend, mom, sister, or boyfriend and vent your heart out. 

I'll admit, this is a natural reaction even for me. 

We want to share our frustrations, let off some steam, and if we're honest, garnish a bit of sympathy.


It's okay to want to share your day or frustrations, but how often are you reaching out to others to share your burden?

With my "can-help" attitude, I find that I get bombarded by many many burdens. Sometimes it's from the same person and other times it's totally unexpected. Don't get me wrong, I love helping people live their best lives and giving advice; it's what I live for. 

What bothers me is the person who has an issue every single day of the week. You know, the one person who texts or calls you about one thing or another and you know it's more than likely not going to be positive. They seem to always be seeking help but never try to solve even the slightest issue on their own.


(These are the type of people I'm referring to so please don't take this article the wrong way).


The other day, I found my frustations beginning to grow as I listened to a certain stream of problems to the point that I consulted my husband for his opinion on the matter. He's very impartial so he gave one of his "Well maybe they just really need your help." to which I answered, "Yeah but do they ever pray to God themselves and trust that he'll do it for them? Why do I always have to be involved?"


And that's when it hit me. 


So many women want their problems to be fixed by venting, constantly asking for help, or just plain calling around from friend to friend until they receive the sympathy they're looking for.


Are you guilty of this?


My challenge to myself and all my readers is:

Before you run to the phone, run to the throne!

We have to stop seeking for people to solve our problems and know that God is there for us and wants to help. He's not just there when things get bad, he's always there, just waiting for us to ask for help. 

Now I'm not saying if you're about to have a nervous breakdown, on the verge of divorce, or have just been laid off not to seek help or guidance from those close to you; that would be insane. 

Please go cry, eat a box of brownies with ice-cream, and talk with that someone.

I'm just saying to pick and chose what you share with others. Most of the time, writing something out in a journal and/or crying out to God for help can release a lot of the anxiety; the same anxiety that you would've released onto someone else.

When I first started practicing this method, I wanted so badly to call my sister and tell her what was going on but each time God stopped me. He reminded me that He was my source, strength, and really the only one able to bring about change, so why keep running to others?

And that's just it . . .

What's the point of venting to someone who can't help you? All you're doing is putting it out there for the world to know and making yourself upset again by talking about it.

As I determined to make my frustrations, failures, and disappointments a me and God thing, I began to see my faith and trust grow in him.

So my question for you today is, will you continue to run for your phone, or run to the throne? Change is waiting.