Blindsided
Have you ever seen or experienced being hit while driving and you didn’t see it coming?
Usually, if that happens the driver will say, "I didn’t even see the other car coming-I was
blindsided." Definition of Blindside: catch someone unprepared, attack from an
unexpected position.
Have you ever been emotionally blindsided before? All it takes is an unexpected phone
call, text, social media post, a letter in the mail or a knock on the door. Maybe you were in
the season of life where you thought your friendships were going well, and then out of
the blue your friend that you were so close to has bonded with someone else and you
are left out in the cold. Or maybe you were deeply in love with a guy that you just knew
was perfect for you and that one day you’ll would be married and live happily ever
together. Then one day you receive a text that he thinks you would do better as
friends. Or maybe you had expectations of having children but when you went to the
Doctor they told you that you’ll never be able to conceive. Perhaps you or your loved one
went to a routine appt and received an unexpected report. There are so many different
types of scenarios that I could list.
So what do you do when you feel like you are emotionally punched in the gut?
Having recently been emotionally blindsided I want to share with you what I did and am
currently doing in this unexpected season of life. First, I acknowledge the fact that I was
emotionally blindsided and felt hurt, sad, and honestly a little lost. Second, I knew that I
needed time and space to grieve (*we can grieve any type of loss in our lives, not just
someone who has passed away). I went out of town and spent a few days by a beautiful
river walk and ocean and I used that time to Reflect, Relax, Rejuvenate and Reset. The
third thing I did was to really lean in on my family, church family, and friends to let them
know of this unexpected change in my life so they could be praying. I am beyond
blessed because I couldn’t ask for greater support, love, and encouragement.
I wish I can tell you that you will never be emotionally blindsided but then I would be
lying and as a Christian, we try our best not to purposely lie. (lol) But what I can tell you is
when you are emotionally blindsided to be real about it. If you hide your true feelings
you won’t properly heal. Then take some time to yourself, maybe you can’t go out of
town to the ocean but still find a place where you can be still and reset. Allow your
family/friends to minister to you, because we all need a village in life.
Most importantly lean in even more on God! (My brother just preached a dynamic
message about leaning on Jesus-see below) Even when we don’t understand why we
were emotionally blindsided we just cling harder to Jesus and allow Him to give us
strength and to refill our JOY tank!
Let’s Choose JOY even in the midst of challenging times, JOY is a choice let’s be
intentional in choosing it daily!
**If you are going through difficult times we invite you to be a part of JOY Ministries, we
are a ladies encouragement group of women that meet monthly either virtually or in
person. We cover various topics: How to have JOY in our health, family, finances,
marriage, career, etc. As well as how to prevent burnout, how to navigate through
anxiety and more. For more information visit us at: joyministriesunited.facebook.com or
email us at choosejoy4life@gmail.com. If you are reading this before August 20 th, 2022
then please join us at our next virtual session on 8/20/22 at 11:00, message us for login
info.
7 Reasons why you should lean on Jesus
1)He is the only one that can give you strength (Psalm 20-6-7, Isaiah 12:2)
2) He is the only one that has all power (Matthew 28:18, 1 Chronicles 29:11)
3) He is the only one that knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 41:4)
4) He has a plan that we can trust (Psalm 23: 1-6)
5) He WANTS you to lean on him. (2 Chronicles 20-20-21)
6) It means that you are close to him!
7) He loves you! (Romans 5:10)
*Excerpt from Rev. Stephen Matthewson
