This past weekend has been pretty special. It is a different kind of special. Have you ever had a chance to celebrate? I am having that kind of Monday. If you have followed my blog, first off, thank you for your interest. I appreciate it. Second, if you have been plugged in recently, you know I was diagnosed with cancer on May 21. Friday, I was told by my oncologist that I had great tests as of my December 12th PET scans. You see on Friday, I was told my cancer was gone. So today is a good day. We have those. And sometimes we don’t. My wife, within this same period was told her uncle, my father-in-law’s brother died. While none of you know the circumstances, he didn’t need to pass away. He really didn’t, he just did and I am so very sad. This doesn’t manipulate his life or how it played out. It makes it relative to what I am going to suggest.
Ever felt lost? Consider it. What about when you were five or six in a big store and Mom and Dad drifted off? What did you feel? Panic mixed with your heart racing, sweating hands and lack of focus. Nothing was familiar and you wanted to (and probably did) scream and cry out and want Mommy and Daddy right then and there. “I’m lost!” Can you relate? And the feelings…well, you know what you experienced is based on a bit of biology. You have something called the adrenal gland. It does some pretty amazing things. You see, the brain will sometimes say “I’m stressed” or “I’m freaked out” and the adrenal gland sends out the cortisol. Cortisol is primarily a brain protector. The brain needs food and when the body feels threatened, cortisol coordinates glucose. Now, it also is the reason we gets sweats, a raise in heart rate, a sick or upset stomach and we get a bit freaked out. It is not a very comfortable state. And while the brain needs to be protected, cortisol in its efforts to support the brain, also diminishes its function to ensure its nutrition. In other words, we make bad decisions because our brain needs food, especially when we are stressed. I can tell you without hesitation, I get that one.
My point, we don’t have to be five or six. We can be twenty or thirty or sixty and feel lost. Nothing is familiar and we get sweaty. We get freaked out. We want everything to be alright and it isn’t. Life is not clear and we make bad decisions. Cortisol is protecting the brain. We can be lost. And we want to be found. Listen, it is hard to solve every problem out there and some cannot be solved. It’s immensely important that I share we are never really lost. We just feel that way. I have never made my belief system part of my business. I felt risk. And in light of everything recently, I feel compelled to make the outward commitment to say I believe that God never loses anyone…we can sometimes lose Him. It can be subtle and maybe it is bigger than anyone can imagine. We’re not in a department store. We are managing and leading a team of two or twenty. We are living in a troubled moment. We are battling cancer. We just feel like there is no hope. I do get it and I know my God.
This is not about management tactics or cortisol or even telling you about my faith. It is about knowing what it is like to feel lost. And knowing that even in the worst scenario, He is with you…despite what you may believe. You see, I think I know best and He knows me better. So is this really a question of being lost?
Today I celebrate and I am also sad about my wife’s uncle’s passing. I need to say something. While I have felt lost in life, God always, always knew exactly where I was. I just needed to tell Him, “Thanks for having my back.”
Cheers