Coping mechanisms

The other day I realized something. A lot of our lives are made up of coping mechanisms to deal with things we don't like, that are uncomfortable, that make us sad, etc. Some are small, and some are huge.

Some small ones for me are... If I'm standing in a long line to get coffee, food, checkout at a store, etc. then I get on my phone to be on Facebook, e-mail, etc. (I think this post will have a lot of etc's on here, haha.) It distracts me from realizing that I'm waiting. And it doubles up as multitasking. Sometimes I eat chocolate because I had a bad day, as if that makes my day better. When I have a lot of things to tell my friend Emily but we can't get together soon then I make a list, and then I feel better because I know I won't forget what I wanted to tell her. At work, when I don't like the way something smells (toffee nut syrup, hazelnut syrup, cinnamon dolce syrup, trash, bathrooms, old coffee, spinach feta wraps...) then I breathe through my mouth. Sometimes when I'm washing dishes for hours at work or I'm driving a long distance, then I day dream. Either totally made up scenarios, possible scenarios, or just thinking about future events that are coming up (leadership retreats, church events, trips, etc).

I won't describe the bigger ones in my life, but they are surely there.

It makes me think of these verses...

"We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing." - 2 Corinthians 5:2

"But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior." - Philippians 3:20

"For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us." - Romans 8:19-23

Simply living in our bodies, physically, we are in constant "coping mechanisms" mode! When we get cold we put on more clothes or a jacket. When we are outside too much we have to put sunscreen on to protect our skin. When we get hurt we have to take medicine, put on bandaids, or rest more. When our skin is too dry, we put on lotion. To prevent smelling bad, we put on deodorant and shower. To sleep better, we get body pillows, specific pillows and mattresses, or sound machines.

Don't let your coping mechanisms be negative, harmful, or dangerous. I get it - life is hard. And other people's lives are harder than mine, and I can't say "I know you feel," to everything everybody is going through, as if that would make someone feel all better. But getting drunk, doing drugs, watching porn, avoiding everybody for long periods of time, always running away from dealing with problems, lying, cheating, stealing, watching Netflix for 8 hours every day and doing nothing else... The list could go on.

Don't let your coping mechanisms be a cop-out if you really need to deal with something. "Band aids don't fix bullet holes." - Taylor Swift.

Some of your coping mechanisms will always fail because what you really need is God. God isn't a coping mechanism, He is the ultimate problem solver, the only one able to change your circumstances or outlook, the healer of physical and emotional pain, the one who can give you patience and self-control that is directly from Him that you couldn't muster up yourself, and the one who can provide for you in ways you couldn't provide for yourself. It doesn't mean our lives will be all perfect once we decide to follow God, because we still live in a world where other people's lives affect ours negatively or we make bad decisions and then have the consequences to follow up with those decisions. But will do great things.