What to Do When You Feel Dumped On
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and
shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in,
their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.
~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
“In the end only three things matter; how much you loved, how gently you lived and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. (ANON OR HAND OF GOD from TENDING DANDELIONS)
Lord, sometimes I feel like a dumping ground. A place that people who have life issues that they’re not working on, try to spread their venom and death. Let me not get caught up in their many dramas, I pray. Help me to keep my eyes up on You, ever mindful that You are a kind and loving God and Father.
You keep me when I don’t want to be kept, and You vindicate and reveal truth in Your timing. I lean on You. I trust in You. You’ve said in Your Word, many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34 is one of my favorite psalms. THE WORD OF THE LORD
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
Magnify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;
their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
Young lions go lacking and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who delights in life,
who desires to see good days?
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and His ears are inclined to their cry.
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to sever their memory from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;
He saves the contrite in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him from them all.
He protects all his bones;
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked,
and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems His servants,
Sometimes the only thing to do when you feel like a dumping ground is remove yourself from the drama until it runs its course. That being said, it’s not always easy but it may be necessary for a time. People pushing your buttons are doing it for a response and even if it’s a bad one, they feel vindicated that they’ve won or had the last word.
Mark Gregston speaks about this, “Drama draws and demands our attention. Kids are the same way. They perform. They magnify things. They embellish their stories. They are crying out for people to look at them. The essence of drama is conflict, so when kids look for attention, they often use conflict as a means to get it.
The problem is that once we respond to that drama, we often become part of it. Unwittingly, we get sucked in. Hey, this is your teen we’re talking about. He or she knows exactly what buttons to push that incite your emotion. Right? It’s tempting to respond by matching, or increasing, the level of conflict. And the result is always the same: a virtual meltdown between child and parent. Once we get hooked into his or her emotion, we can become defensive … only adding fuel to the fire.” https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/teens/drama-responding-to-your-teen.html
This is how I want to be, instead of a dumping ground, a watered garden of the Lord.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (From Isaiah 58)
Personally, I find that my heart loses joy and my body may even respond with health issues when I allow myself to take it all in to myself, as if I could fix anything but myself. Prayer is a wonderful tool that the Lord gives us. It can be used to change the coldest heart to the glory of the Lord. When joy runs low, I return to “living from the heart that Jesus gave me.” It helps a lot in the world we live in, to try to live that way.
Dumping ground or watered garden? Sometimes the choice is up to us.
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