Faces of Blindness
“I’ll think about that tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.” Scarlett O’Hara’s famous line in the movie, “Gone with the Wind” perfectly describes what I call “The Scarlett O’Hara Syndrome.” As we look at the two most used coping mechanisms for coping with chaos, we discussed structure last week and the other psychologists call “Blindness.”
When tough times come, blindness is the method developed as you resist the chaos. By using avoidance, procrastination, or the literal refusal to even acknowledge the chaos (which is called denial) you attempt to cope. You become “blind” to the issue at hand. Often without even realizing it, you choose to believe the problem doesn’t exist.
As a counselor, my husband Reen sees many people who go through life never facing the issues in their life. It is as if they think the chaos will disappear if they ignore it. But as he says, this coping mechanism is a killer. While you refuse to acknowledge the problem, it mushrooms. It finally explodes causing devastation.
This seems to be the problem with so many marriages in trouble. The issues are never resolved and finally divorce is the result.
As we identify our “coping mechanism of choice,” whether structure or blindness, we begin recognizing that these methods rob us of the intimacy of knowing and trusting God. These mechanisms can actually become idols in our lives, as we can come to cherish them more than God Himself.
When we trust anything to manage life rather than trusting God, the methods come crashing down around us. We are then finally forced to look outside ourselves to God for the direction, answers, hope, and healing we so desperately need.
David tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” When chaos assaults and the resulting fear attempts to swallow and immobilize us, rather than turn to old, ultimately destructive coping mechanisms, you can turn to God.
God is not only familiar with all aspects of your situation (as The Sovereign One), acutely involved with every detail of your situation (as The Omni-Present One), sees every angle of your situation beyond anything you can even imagine (as The Omniscient One), but also is the only one with the power and ability to do something about your situation (as the Almighty One).
Doesn’t it make more sense to turn your chaos over to God and trust Him to act on your behalf? He understands and loves you, simply waiting for you to ask…why not ask today? In Him, we will find the peace we so desire.
To find out what coping mechanism you use to deal with life’s chaos during these difficult times, you can take the “Chaos Management Quiz” and purchase Linda’s book found on our website, www.yourrefreshedlife.com.
For more information, listen to our podcasts on Podbean, iTunes, Spotify or Pandora. Join us in a Biblical conversation, “Refreshing Reflections” about chaos on our YouTube Channel “Your Refreshed Life”. We’d love for you to email us with your thoughts or questions at linda@yourrefreshedlife.com.
