{"id":5495,"date":"2020-08-30T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T14:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5495"},"modified":"2020-07-05T21:05:21","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T02:05:21","slug":"it-is-what-it-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5495","title":{"rendered":"It Is What It Is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of my philosophies is not to worry about what I can\u2019t control. Boy, do I love to be in control! Unfortunately, life is full of uncontrollable situations. It\u2019s then I say to myself, \u201cIt is what it is!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say you are seated in a restaurant, they bring the menu, and you notice there are no prices. You are too embarrassed to ask what the items cost or leave, so you order. When the bill comes\u2014\u201cit is what it is\u201d\u2014and you pay it, but the tip may be a little low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say you are traveling and have car trouble in a remote town. There is only one gas station and you need your car fixed. When the bill comes\u2014\u201cit is what it is\u201d\u2014so you just pay it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life is full of what I like to call \u201cit is what it is\u201d situations. Some are inconveniences such as: Your child gets sick at school and you must leave the big meeting you planned to go get him. You have a really, really bad hair day. Your car won\u2019t start and you are late. You get lost. Men forget to shave. Women get a run in their pantyhose. Do women even still wear pantyhose? Whatever! \u201cIt is what it is\u201d\u2014so you deal with the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some circumstances are just so unfair. The other person gets the promotion. A debilitating illness strikes a loved one. Your girlfriend breaks up with you. Someone gossips about you. You do the work; your supervisor takes the credit. \u201cIt is what it is\u201d\u2014so you cope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other things may be unfair but you get the benefit. You get the promotion when the other guy should have gotten it. You survive the accident when you should have died. The cop didn\u2019t give you a ticket even though you were speeding. \u201cIt is what it is\u201d\u2014so you rejoice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have learned that I can\u2019t control life, but with God\u2019s help I can control my reaction to it. That\u2019s what the first part of the serenity prayer is talking about. \u201cGOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The serenity referred to here is not complacency to what we are going through. The prayer goes on to ask God for \u201cthe courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.\u201d This serenity is a peace that can only come from God. It passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). We don\u2019t need to fret or worry. We know God is with us. This kind of peace or serenity can only come through participating in a relationship with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of life is a mystery. I don\u2019t know what will come next all the time. It is what it is! I think God planned it that way. If I knew everything, I wouldn\u2019t need faith. I don\u2019t know what tomorrow holds. It is what it is! Fortunately, I know Who holds tomorrow. And God will see me through whatever lies ahead, if I let Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s much comfort in knowing that the great \u201cI AM\u201d (John 8:58) can help me make it through any \u201cit is what it is\u201d situations that come along in my life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*****<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

O God, You are the great I AM! You always were and You always will be! I\u2019m so thankful You hold my life in Your loving hands. You never promised the Christian walk would be without problems, but You promised to be with me through it all! And You have been and You will continue as long as I rely on You. I know You can help me cope and survive the confusion and uncertainty in life. Grant me Your peace when those \u201cit is what it is\u201d moments come my way.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026 One of my philosophies is not to worry about what I can\u2019t control. Boy, do I love to be in control! Unfortunately, life is full of uncontrollable situations. It\u2019s then … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5495"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}