By Mandy Baldwin, MA, LMFTA

 

Do you remember the story of Chicken Little? Well, in case you don’t, it is the story of a little chicken who was hit in the head by a falling acorn. Believing the worst was happening, she ran off telling all she came in contact with that the sky was falling. They all believed her because it had actually hit her on the head. They were all running to tell the lion. Now remember, Chicken Little was the only one who had experienced the acorn falling on her head. The others ran with her, spreading the news because they believed what she had said. When they got to the lion’s house, he invited them in and like most fairy tales go…they never came back out.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase Chicken Little used…”The sky is falling!” In our western culture, we have adapted that phrase to mean the worst is going to happen. And we all know people who walk around every day believing that very thing…that the sky is falling and the worst is going to happen. I see it in the news. Every night and every morning when I turn on the news, I hear about all the shootings, fires, car accidents, drunk driving wrecks, teenage deaths, sexual assaults, and child abuse that happened in the city. The national news is even worse because then it becomes all the horrible things that happen in the world.

Over 1 million people die by suicide every year across the globe. The rate of suicide has increased by 60% in just the last 45 years. For me, that is not a statistic. I knew 3 of those 1 million people personally. Each of them had a unique influence on my life. They were each very different from each other. You can’t look at their lives and say, “oh yeah, that makes sense. I can see why now.” I don’t see why, I can’t be ok with a simple answer. Life and death is much more personal and complicated than a mere statistic. In all honesty, I can see why they would get overwhelmed with this life. It is hard! It can be so lonely. It can be nonstop…confusing…hurtful…ugly…beyond comprehension.

All of us, like Chicken Little, have been hit on the head by falling acorns. Some of them are bigger than others. I have never experienced sexual or physical abuse. I’ve experienced mistrust, anger, hate, Pride and self-righteousness. And that’s just from me personally! I’ve experienced those same things in others towards me. In all honesty, I struggle with how we treat each other. Especially those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. We complain about how Christians are portrayed in the media and yet, there is good reason for it. So no wonder the suicide rate is going up. No wonder there seems to be more violence and hate in the world. But…is there really?

I can easily fall victim to the Chicken Little believe. I’ve been hit in the head by something which overshadows everything else. Plus, I have struggled with a clinical depression that is most likely genetic. Sweet! Hit in the head and then knocked down. I struggle all the time with seeing just the acorn. Does that make sense? How would life be different if I saw the acorn that hit my head and not the entire sky falling down? What’s your acorn? Name it! Where does it begin? Where does it end? Because the truth is, the sky is not falling.  

I know you don’t believe it right now. And that’s ok. We have a God who is so much bigger than the acorns and the sky. He holds the reality of our lives in his hands. He is capable of seeing beyond what our human understanding will allow us. God created a world that is amazing and beautiful.

I’ve started to realize that there are a lot fewer acorns than I ever believed.

For all the Issis militant Muslims in the world, there are millions of Muslims who are living peaceful lives. Working and raising families. Loving and being loved. For all the murders, there are millions of other people who are walking the streets to work and back home; helping their neighbor shovel their driveway; volunteering at their child’s school. For every sexual assault there is an individual who gives their lives to restoring hope. The same day that a tornado hits a small town in Kansas, the sun sets over a beautiful beach in Florida, or Mexico, or Brazil.

Do you get it?

For every acorn that hits our head, there are hundreds that do not. We lose hope because we focus on the acorn…not the blue sky. Where can you find blue sky? Here is where I find mine.

• A child’s smile.
• A good decision made.
• Actual blue sky!
• The kid who chooses to say, “I’m not ok, and I don’t want to stay this way.”
• The family that gets help.
• My sister with Down syndrome who gets so excited when she gets a new word search book.
• The business man who got out of his expensive car to help push the pizza delivery guys car off the street.
• My God who says… “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:30, 31

• A cup of coffee.

What is your blue sky?

There are more people in the world, just like you; going to work, going home; trying to make enough money to support themselves and their family. There are more people loving and living well, than are trying to murder and steal. There are more beautiful people child molesters and rapists. There are more people trying to live by faith and walk with Jesus, than condemn and destroy. There is more blue sky than falling Acorns.

It may take you time to see it. The blue sky…but don’t give up. Keep looking for it. You’ve been staring at the acorn for a long time and it takes practice to see the blue sky.