Havin’ a Pity Party

Have you ever thrown yourself a pity party??  One that you go all out and decorate for?  Balloons and streamers and a huge banner that states, “Oh Poor Me!!!” in big, bold letters.  Ever have one of those?

Yeah, me too…

And I don’t know about you, but at these parties of mine, I’ve noticed that, if there’s any music playing at all, its usually sad and melancholy…maybe a violin in the background, creating the perfect mood for the occasion.  And the only ones that are invited are Me, Myself, and I.  I mean, they really understand how I feel and they never make me feel bad for feeling the way I do!  What perfect “pity party partners!” (try to say that 3 times real fast!! 😉 )

They get it why I’m hurt and tell me that I have a right to this little party of mine.  They welcome me with open arms to the “Hurt Club”  and, as I walk through the door, they let me know that it may take a while for me to be seated, because the room is full to overflowing with other hurt folks – (now, what they don’t tell me, is that they’re actually building on a huge addition to the “Hurt Club” meeting place and if I would have turned around when I was in line, I would have noticed that the line behind me went on for miles and miles…and miles.)

I don’t know about you, but its really easy to throw myself a little pity party…to think that I’ve been hurt worse than anyone I know, and that I deserve to go hide somewhere and lick my wounds…and never come out.   Woe is me.

What’s that I just heard?  Was that a “woe is me” coming from over there…and over there…and way back there?!  Oh!  And was that another one over there?!!

Welcome to the “Hurt Club!”

All of us are part of the “Hurt Club.”  I mean, who hasn’t been hurt?? …Hmmm…I don’t think I see anyone raising their hand out there.

And I think its safe to say, we’ve all been hurt more than once…or twice…or a bazillion times!!  As long as we move and breath, we will be hurt – by someone or something – and being hurt is just part of life.  Not a nice part, or a fun part, but a part nonetheless.

It’s what we do when we’re hurt that really makes or breaks us.

When I was a kid, our neighbour up the road, shot our little dog, Ginger, with his shot gun.  We didn’t realize she had been shot until she ran under my bed and I tried reaching under it to pull her out.  She yelped and nipped at me and when I brought my arm out, I noticed blood on it from her buck shot wounds.  Now I really wanted to get her out from under my bed to try and help her, but she wasn’t going to  come out until she was good and ready.  She was having a pity party for herself under my bed, as she lay under there licking her wounds…and no one else was invited.

As I look around me today, I see Christians everywhere who are quitting on God.  They’ve been hurt and now they’re under their beds, licking their wounds and they’re not coming out until their good and ready…if they come out at all.

 Have you been hurt, my friend?  Bad?  Are you throwing yourself a pity party…are you under your bed licking your wounds?

Ok.  Now what?

Yes, now what.

It doesn’t have to end here.  Let’s take down the balloons and streamers and that big ugly sign.  Lets come out from under your bed.  Come on.  You can do it.

Now, lets put some different music on…how about this…

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessings!  Go get your journal or a piece of paper and a pen and start writing down the blessings that God has showered you with – it really will lift your spirits!  And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!   He IS good, no matter what the devil is telling you!

Now go grab your Bible and open it to the book of…yes!  Psalms!  Read…and read…and read some more!  What better person to get encouragement from, than from David, the writer of Psalms.  Someone who learned to encourage himself, who was hurt by friend and foe, and who had to run for his life for years, and…shall I go on??  David truly understood what it meant to be hurt.  But because he walked with God and trusted Him, he let God take care of his enemies, and in turn, God used him to write the book of Psalms and look what a blessing it is to us today!  So read, my friend, read!!

I in no way want to minimize you being hurt.  At all.  We’ve been there, done that…and it hurts.  A lot.  But crawling under my bed didn’t help.  Yelping and nipping didn’t either.  (I’m so thankful for a husband that keeps the yelping and nipping at a minimum around here!)  So let’s pull down those balloons and streamers and let’s have a “Singin’ and Bible-readin’ Party!”  We’ll sing and read those “gloomies” right out of here and send the devil packin’!