Sitting in my office scrolling mindlessly through Facebook, my phone begin to ring as I held it in my hand.

“We need to schedule further testing.”

~heavy sigh~

No one wants to hear that, but instead of sticking my head in the sand I went forward with scheduling appointments.

As I tried to go about my day, I reached out to a select few individuals for support.  I encountered different reactions for sure, and it made me think of the saying I heard long ago of “different strokes for different folks.”

The first individual I reached out to said right away that they would pray for me, and I believe it with my whole heart that they have and will continue to do so.  The second individual didn’t take it so well and begin to “freak out” over the situation and question, expecting me to say something more or different than I had previously.  Yet, the answer would remain the same.  The third individual was no support whatsoever as they found every negative to grasp ahold onto in our limited five minute conversation before I found a reason real fast to hang up.  I felt worse after reaching out to this person than I had before placing the phone call.  Another individual reassured me that I can always count on them, while the final person I chose to engage quite literally laid their hands on me and begin to pray for healing.

We all have different ways in which we deal with things that come at us.  In my situation, I chose right away to go in for more bloodwork and the ultrasound the doctor recommended.  Others in my own family would have chosen to take a few days to “roll this around” as they thought on it before actually going in for additional testing.  When I was told that the scheduler wouldn’t be in until tomorrow, I asked if I could schedule my own ultrasound.  When advised that I could, I took the bull by the horns and will be seen this afternoon.

There’s no guidebook that tells you how to navigate the waters in life.  You just do the best you can, and I imagine each of these individuals feel they handled it to the best of their ability.  I appreciate each one for they have shown me who they are and how I can count on them in various different ways.  For the one that chose to immediately encourage me with knowledge that they would pray for me, my heart thanks them completely because I know that ALL things are possible with and through God.   For the person that had a “freak out” moment, I know that I have to be selective about what I tell them in moments when I’m feeling fragile so that I do not “freak out” even more so myself due to their energy.  For the individual that piled every negative and felt it their job to shovel doom and gloom on top of my head, they have taught me never to reach out to them again for support because encouragement is foreign to them.  And for the precious individual that laid hands on me and began to pray, I cried … there was no holding back those tears at that particular moment in time.   All that I had been holding back the entire day came like a flood past the gates or like a river bursting through the dam, as the tears spilled down my cheeks.

Let this be a lesson to choose wisely who you turn to for support and encouragement.  And follow the believers who will take it to the Lord in prayer each and every time.  When we feel hopeless and not in control of anything in this life, we can take it to the One that controls everything.

I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow.