HEADLINE: MEN AND WOMEN AFFECTED BY SEVERE PMS

Most of you have heard of it and all have experienced the debilitating effects of PMS. Yes Poor Me Syndrome is spreading across the world like frogs in the Egyptian plagues of old.

Take me for instance! I am probably one of the most blessed women I have ever known, but have been suffering profusely from Poor Me Syndrome of late. Here are just two examples:

Last Friday we were getting ready to have a garage sale and my husband, through absolutely no malicious intent whatsoever, suggested we sell something that I had made in high school and my mother had gone to great lengths to keep for me. I immediately started to cry, but after a short prayer realized that it was just a thing after all and most likely fit into the category of a treasure laid up on this earth. BUT that is not the end of the story. You see later that day I continued to pine over the incident telling my daughter-in-law that NO ONE ever remembered anything that was just about me and swore her to secrecy about my feelings.

Monday morning arrived and my husband and I are sitting in the office with the radio on. A song came on that played on the first date (and only date) we had before we were married, he rose from the desk and said this is our song do you want to dance?

Now having stretched back out from the one inch size that brought me down to, brings us to last night.

I had been telling the same two people that I felt abandoned by all of my friends, and no one ever wanted to just get together and be with us. Now that was bad enough, but when it came to my prayer time, I told God basically the same thing and said, "God, if I have even one friend please let them contact me tomorrow." ARE YOU CRINGING YET?

Two thirty in the morning arrives and it is burning up in our bedroom. I ask my hubby if he wants to go in the office a while to cool down. So that is what we did and that is when things get started.

First I checked my email and a blog I usually look at about half way through the day by O.S. Hillman was already posted, so I went in to look at it. The reference to the scripture was about the story of the garden and Jesus asking His disciples (also known as his friends) to just stay up with Him while He prayed so they wouldn't fall into temptation (they fell asleep) Luke 22:41-46, one of the twelve betrayed Him unto death with a kiss Luke 22:48, then there was Peter denying Him three times Luke 22:55-62, and finally Jesus ultimately dying on the cross alone all who knew him and followed stood at a distance watching Luke 23:49.

It was as though the Lord were saying to me, who are you to gripe about ANYTHING? (He always makes me laugh and cry at the same time. So convicting and shows me my smallness too!)

These two incidents are maybe the smallest of all of the trials in my life right now, but because I was feeling sorry for myself, they had become monsters in my life. There are no sufferings or trials we have that Christ Himself did not suffer with the agony of all of us together. We cannot begin to perceive the depth of anxiety He must have felt.

What we can experience is the depth of His love and forgiveness daily. All we have to do is ask. By the way, a friend did get in touch early this morning and ask us to just come be with them for an evening. So when you are experiencing Poor Me Syndrome just remember GOD ANSWERS BEFORE WE EVEN ASK! PRAISE HIM TODAY AND FOREVER or the rocks will! Amen.