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Gratitude Brought Us Here

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“I am thankful for the wind. I am thankful for the wind. I am thankful for the wind.”

I can’t remember if I said those words in my head or out loud, but I do know that I repeated them over and over again. It was day four of a six-day road trip that I was taking to Atlanta, Ga., which was to be my new home.

Several years ago my life was a blur. I had given away most of my belongings and what remained was loaded into my tiny red coupe. Despite the fact that it was thirteen years old, I was confident in my little car. I had it thoroughly inspected by a mechanic and was assured that it would survive the trip. I knew that what my car lacked in trunk space, it more than made up for in gas mileage, gumption, and overall cuteness.

So, I set off with my best friend (who had kindly offered to take the trip with me) at the wheel. I sat in the passenger’s seat with my puppy, Sparta, on my lap and stared out of the window marveling at the beauty of nature.

We were having a blast during our trip! We relaxed by the budget motel pools, we met people from around the world, improvised meals in supermarket parking lots, and sang at the top of our lungs to whatever was on the radio.

And then, it happened.

Somewhere between Oklahoma City, Okla. and Little Rock, Ark., the car’s air conditioner stopped working. I reminded myself that things could have been worse. The air conditioner could have broken when we were in the Arizona desert. And it wasn’t really that bad, when you have the windows down and are traveling 65 mph, you hardly miss the air conditioner.

And then, (the other) it happened.

Somewhere between Little Rock, Ark. and Nashville, Tenn., we hit traffic and were forced to sit in sweltering humidity for two and a half hours. Every once in a while, a gust of wind would come in and give us three seconds of relief from our suffering and I would repeat, “I am thankful for the wind. I am thankful for the wind.”

This may not seem remarkable to some, but I was quite impressed with myself. For someone with a temper like mine, thanking God for the wind in lieu of kicking and screaming was a new and welcome change.

When we got to Nashville we found an amazing mechanic who offered to fix the car very quickly and for a very reasonable price. Seeing my license plate he exclaimed, in a thick Tennessee accent, “How’d you make it all the way over here from California?!”

I smiled as I replied, “Gratitude.”

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV).

Jael Amador writes from New York, New York.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

I’ve Got Friends

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And they said that the worst is over. Boy, were they wrong! After having defended my dissertation, I am now going to embark on the final leg of my graduate school program: the internship. The fact that I actually have a place to go is a blessing all it’s own.

When I entered my graduate program, I came in with the knowledge that a large number of psychology graduates students find themselves adding on one or two years to their graduate school careers because they were unable to secure an internship. I’ve seen intelligent, talented and dedicated friends and colleagues be forced to repeat the arduous and expensive internship application process more than once. So I am humbled and grateful for this opportunity to move to the other side of the country and begin my internship.

But that doesn’t make it any easier.

During the past five years, California has been my home and I have formed relationships here that have helped me to grow, learn, and become a better version of me. I am who I am today because of the people that God has put into my life.

So as I pack the little that I own into boxes, tears well in my eyes. Not because I am saying goodbye, but because I am surrounded by people. You see, without my even asking, my friends volunteered to come over to my house, put on music, and help me pack. They fed me when I was hungry and held me when I cried. One of them even gave me a massage when I was feeling anxious about my move! This show of support makes me think that maybe I’m not as alone and misunderstood as I think I am.

“You guys!” I say, feeling the need to express my gratitude. “Thank you so much for coming to help me pack! I’m so overwhelmed by your show of support and love! I couldn’t have done this without you!”

“Aw! That’s really sweet!” says one of my friends. “Now stop stalling and move those boxes into the car!”

Wow. These people really know me!

“It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. 
And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there’s no one to help, tough! Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night. By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, The Message).

Jael Amador writes from New York, New York.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

A Future Without Me

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I did it. I did it? I DID IT?! I DID IT!!!! I just passed the oral defense of my dissertation proposal! I can’t believe it! If you’re not familiar with the process (which I wasn’t until a few years ago), here’s how it works. A doctoral student, (in this case, me), learns everything possible there is to learn about a subject, comes up with questions about the topic that, up until now, have remained unanswered, and then the doctoral student comes up with a project that will answer one or more of those questions. Make sense? (Yeah, I don’t get it either)

You can only imagine the things that were going through my head as I embarked on a journey that I didn’t quite understand. These thoughts included, but are not limited to:

  1. How is it possible that I made it to this point in the program without having learned anything?
  2. Is it possible that I’ve gotten dumber?!
  3. What would REALLY happen if I packed up my car and me and my puppy ran away forever?
  4. Who do I think I am?! I’m not smart enough to do this!

I don’t know if you can tell, but the underlying all of those thoughts is my worst enemy, anxiety. I can safely say that I’ve spent the better part of the last month afraid. Like hiding under the covers afraid. I prayed and asked others to pray for me, but my fear seemed to consume me most of the time.

Until one day, earlier this week when I found a devotional book that I had long been ignoring: Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. I opened it up and on that very day, the topic was anxiety. The very first sentence blew me away (meant to be read as if Jesus were speaking): “Anxiety is a result of envisioning a future without me.”

I know that Jesus wanted me to find that devotional on that particular day to read that particular sentence. That experience is nothing short of a miracle for me. I wish I could say, I never felt afraid again, but I did. But each time anxiety came over me, I’d remember to think of Jesus being at my side, carrying me through whatever situation was scaring me. I thank God for speaking to me so clearly!

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3, NLT).

Note: In writing this, I want to make sure that I’m very clear about the nature of anxiety. For some people, it’s a very real, debilitating disorder that can’t be cured by reading a random sentence in a long lost devotional book. If you are one of those people, please seek out help. Jesus made therapists too, you know.

Jael Amador writes from New York, New York

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

Memory Triggers

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Have you ever been to a restaurant with a large group? Now, I’ve never been a server, but I can only imagine that serving a table of more than three or four people would be incredibly anxiety provoking. Which is why I am incredibly impressed when someone can serve a large table of people without having a crying spell. I’m even more impressed when the wait staff can serve a large number of people and remember exactly what each person ordered! How in the world do they do that? How is it that they know that my plate belongs to me and not to the person at the other end of the table?

I recently learned that this is what scientists call the Zeigarnik Effect. The phenomenon was first studied in the 1920s by a graduate student named Bluma Zeigarnik. Bluma went out to dinner with a large group of colleagues and noticed that her waiter was able to remember everyone’s order. So she decided to run a set of experiments to investigate what she observed. She discovered that waiters are able to remember many details of open restaurant orders. These details are quickly forgotten, however, once the meals have been paid for. Through her experiments, Bluma discovered that human beings tend to remember unfinished tasks and will continue to remember them until the work is completed.

Have you ever felt forgotten by God? Maybe you’ve wondered when He’s going to give you the sign, the job, the child, or the relationship you’ve been praying for. Maybe you’re stuck in a rut, and have no idea how you’ll get out. I pray that you find comfort in the assurance that God is still working on you and on your circumstance. And He never forgets His unfinished business.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians, 1:6, ESV).

Jael Amador writes from New York

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

Don’t Give UP

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“We’ve reached the end of the cave,” said our guide. “It’s time to turn around.”

It had been approximately four hours since we had begun our decent. My colleagues and I, who were on a service trip to Belize, initially believed that we were on our way to a relaxing afternoon of tubing. That relaxing tubing trip turned into an arduous spelunking adventure into the ancient Mayan cave called called Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM).

Although our journey into the cave began as a surprise, we eventually began to thoroughly enjoy it. In the cave we saw pottery, human remains and other artifacts that were thousands of years old. We stared in awe at cave art left there by Mayan men and woman hundreds of years before us. Little did we notice that there was something in that cave that was even more awesome. US!

We had begun our journey with fear and complaining but were now climbing, crawling and jumping as if we’d been spelunking for our entire lives. We didn’t think twice when instructed by our guide to climb a shaky century’s old ladder. We reflexively extended our hands to help the person behind us. We were in our element! I don’t know when it was but at some point during those four hours something in us had changed. We were no longer terrified; wishing that we could be safely back on our bus. Instead, we were enjoying the beauty and wonder of what was before us.

The journey out of the cave was much quicker than the journey into it. Before we knew it, we were on the bus heading back to where we would be spending the night. The bus ride was initially deafeningly loud as we all recounted our adventures in the cave. Eventually though, quiet took over. I suspect that at that moment everyone was, like me, thinking about what had just happened. How we saw a challenge, faced it (some more willingly than others), and came out the other end of it stronger, more determined and a little bit less afraid. I suspect they were also thinking about the challenges they have waiting for them back home and how after today those challenges seemed a little less scary and a little more manageable.

I like to think that my suspicion was confirmed when I looked over at my seatmate and saw a broad smile form across her face.

“What’s that big smile for?” I asked.

“Dude!” She beamed. “We spelunked!”

“We are glad for our troubles also. We know that troubles help us learn not to give up. When we have learned not to give up, it shows we have stood the test. When we have stood the test, it gives us hope” (Romans 5:3-4, New Living Version).

Jael Amador writes from New York, New York.

The post Don’t Give UP appeared first on Answers for Me.

Read more at the source: Don’t Give UP

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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