{"id":1562,"date":"2017-06-02T17:21:50","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T22:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=1562"},"modified":"2019-05-17T14:59:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T19:59:43","slug":"want-something-done-right-diy-series-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2017\/06\/02\/want-something-done-right-diy-series-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Want Something Done Right… (DIY?? Series Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DIY??\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n

We have all heard the saying, \u201cIf you want something done right, you better do it yourself.\u201d\u00a0But is that really true? Are you really the best person to fix every problem?<\/p>\n

Think about it. \u00a0If your car is\u00a0mechanically failing, are you going to watch a You-Tube video and pull out your wrench and start taking the engine apart?\u00a0 If you have appendicitis, are you going to check Wikipedia, climb up on the kitchen table, get the butcher knife out, and whack away? I don\u2019t think so. You, like me, are going to find the best expert available, and trust them<\/em> to take care of things.<\/p>\n

So, why are we so quick to take things into our own hands, when it comes to matters of faith?<\/p>\n

Sure, we will trust a surgeon to take out our appendix and handle any post-op complications.\u00a0 And, we will wait patiently for the best mechanic to fix our car properly.<\/p>\n

But in difficult situations, especially those that don\u2019t resolve promptly, we are quick to lose faith in God, who happens to be the best disaster-management expert in the universe.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an all-too-frequent scenario from my life:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0I feel pain.\u00a0 This may be a physical pain, but often it is an emotional one, such as an unpleasant interaction that leaves me feeling wronged or slighted.\u00a0 I\u2019m not talking about the momentary unpleasantness that happens, say, when someone cuts me off in traffic. I\u2019m talking about an ongoing dilemma, like a difficult relationship or an uncomfortable work situation, or a chronic health issue.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0I get restless. If the uncomfortable situation doesn\u2019t resolve quickly (which for me is more than about 5 minutes) I get antsy. I don\u2019t like pain. It needs to go away.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0I pray\u2026.maybe. (sometimes I skip this step.) I tell God, as if He didn\u2019t know, exactly what my situation is, and politely ask Him to take care of it. \u00a0 Before long (say, about 5 minutes), if nothing seems to be happening, I stomp my foot. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you do something about this, God? Don\u2019t you see what is happening here?\u201d \u00a0Pretty soon, I start demanding, \u201cGod, get me out of this!\u00a0 Make this go away! NOW!\u201d<\/p>\n

“\u2026or else<\/i>,” I whisper to myself, “I may just have to do it myself.”<\/i><\/p>\n

4. \u00a0I decide it\u2019s up to me. Here\u2019s what goes thru my head: \u00a0“Somehow<\/i>, God has missed the boat here. Maybe He isn\u2019t seeing how much pain I am in.\u00a0 Or maybe He sees it but just doesn\u2019t matter to Him. Fine. Whatever. I\u2019ll just handle it myself. After all, \u2018if you want something done right, you better do it yourself.\u2019\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that in the Bible somewhere?”<\/i><\/p>\n

5. \u00a0I do my own thing. I try to eliminate the hurt (or the cause of it) myself. Here are a few ways I might do this typically by reverting to old coping mechanisms:<\/p>\n