Two weeks ago I had a noodle in my shoe. Maybe I should rewind a bit before I get into that.

It was Wednesday evening and I was frantically running around the house trying to frost 24 pink cupcakes, take care of homework, and get myself ready so I could leave to church to help set up for our monthly women’s event. I was supposed to be there at five, and it was five, but I was still home.

Once my husband showed up, he took the kids and they headed out for dinner. Like a bobcat, I ran up the stairs and loaded myself up with 12 cupcakes on each arm. Then I ran back down the stairs and carefully placed them in the car, ran back up stairs, got the giveaways for the night, a bowl of leftover spaghetti (dinner for the night), my purse, and carefully flew down the stairs thanking God for each step that I took without falling down.

Huffing and puffing, (half from anxiety and half from being severely out of shape) I jumped into the car, put my seat belt on, rested the bowl of spaghetti on the console and took off. It was somewhere between reciting some scripture on peace and praying for green lights that IT happened. Somehow, (I’m still not sure what I did) my elbow must have come down on the side of the bowl, flipping it over and landing spaghetti all over the car and me.

Instantly everything became silent. The panic that I had been experiencing about being late came to a halt and I couldn’t even hear the cars racing by me anymore. All I could hear was my heart beating. What had happened? I was praying, I had my sword up. Why in the world did I have spaghetti all over the seat, the cup holders, and was that a noodle in my shoe?! I was already late and now I was going to be dreadfully late. For a split second I thought I was going to crack.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Trouble. That’s what I had and it was all red and making stains in my car. Instead of crying I decided I needed to have a little chat with God. And after getting some perspective, and a little humor back (hence the picture), I made my way to church, where I was greeted with a sweet hello and no real awareness that I was late. God bless those women 🙂

Of course this illustration is simplistic for this verse because most tribulations are not usually that trivial. Sometimes the tribulation is like an earthquake shaking your life hard, leaving you dumbfounded. Sickness, loss of loved one, struggles in your marriage, financial problems, the list goes on. And when you’re in the middle of it, its hard to see if you will have any peace. When trouble comes these are some of the truths I hold on to.

God is the one who makes beauty out of our ashes. Isaiah 61:3
He is the one who restores our tired souls. Psalm 23:3
He is the one who causes all things to work towards good. Romans 8:28
He is the one who restores what the locusts have taken away. Joel 2:25

When times are tough just running these verses off in my head will do nothing. It’s when I take time to meditate on each word, letting the truth really sink in and take over that I begin to believe. Then the transformation begins, hope arises, and my heart starts to change. It’s not always easy but it always works. It’s true His word has the power to change you.

Finally remember this, trouble is not around every corner but when it does come knocking remember God told you these times would come. But He also told you, He has overcome the world.