The phrase "It is what it is" has become extremely popular these days, denoting that "this is just the way it is" or "this is the truth." But I dare to challenge that phrase. Just because we feel, see, or experience something a certain way and believe it to be true, does not necessarily mean that it is. Maybe what is, really isn't!
Before you think I am unjustifiably stretching reality into some kind of fantasy, let me explain.
Just this past weekend I wound up in the emergency room with a blood pressure reading that had skyrocketed off the charts. A very scary event for me, because I have past experiences that fuel my mind's anxiety if a BP reading is above normal, so my mind can quickly send it out of control. I have tried so many ways to try to conquer this problem...relaxation methods, prayer, and yes, even meds. After spending hours Friday night into early Saturday morning in the hospital, I was determined that even though the easy solution is to say "it is what it is," I had to try to find a way to help avoid this ever happening again. So I decided to try some serious meditation.
Early Monday morning I shut myself in my bedroom, sat in a typical yoga position, palms up, and put on Pandora radio, set to "peaceful music." As the ocean waves gently washed the shore and dolphins happily communicated with each other, I let my mind take me to that peaceful, sandy beach. I was a little girl again, playing and skipping in the foamy water as it brushed the sandy shoreline. I could see Jesus, sitting on the beach, lovingly watching me. Every once in a while I would run to his arms and he would playfully lift me in the air and smile. It was a very rewarding time of quietness for me, and I believe it brought a new phase of healing to my internal feelings of having been abandonment by Him as an abused child. I thought of the 23rd Psalm and let its comforting words penetrate deep into my mind and soul.
This morning, I decided I'd try this meditation technique again, and the thought of using Psalm 91 popped into my mind. But I quickly dismissed it. Why? Because it has always been a psalm that I have struggled with. When I was in my early teens, my pastor's wife was my Sunday School teacher, and in her class, we learned this psalm by memory. I still can recite it today! My resistance to this particular psalm is not because I didn't like my teacher; on the contrary, I adored her. But her husband, the pastor, and 50 years my senior, was sexually abusing me at the time that I learned this psalm. It was especially hard for me to believe verse 11: "For He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways..." So I dismissed it as the psalm I would use, and started my time of meditation by reading Psalm 108 instead. As before, I set Pandora Radio to the station I had created for peaceful music. Instead of instrumentals or nature music, it randomly played some hymns. There was a song about resting our minds in Jesus. It was perfect, and I could feel my body and mind relaxing as time went on. A praise song followed, right in line with Psalm 108. I was losing myself deeper and deeper into the tranquility of the music and words. Then the most beautiful song about God's love played, and at the end of the song, a soothing male voice read Psalm 91. I sat in awe. Tears welled in my eyes. Each verse penetrated my heart as he softly read. I knew God was healing another part of my soul. "It is what it is" concerning this Psalm in my life, gently became something it hadn't been in the past. It became truth for me for the first time, and truth always sets us free. What were the chances of Pandora playing that particular song with Psalm 91 at the end? I knew it was no mistake.
Many times we are content to say, "It is what it is," but we must be aware that even though we perceive things a certain way, our Creator has the ultimate word. I am so grateful that that's the way it is!
