Where Is God When Life Piles On?

When I was a child, my family played a game called "Don't Tip the Waiter." A cardboard waiter, balanced on a swinging base, held a tray over his head. We took turns piling tiny cardboard food tokens onto the tray. The goal was to add one more without sending the whole thing crashing to the floor. There was a pork chop token, a pie token, and I think a very questionable cardboard fish. Someone always groaned, someone always gloated, and someone always had to crawl under the table to find the pie.

It was great fun until recently when I became the waiter. Now, not so much!

For the past couple of months, life has been handing me tokens. Here's an obligation. Have a little sickness. This circumstance is for you, and here's a second helping of the same one. I have watched that tray pile up and thought, Well, this is it. Somebody call the cleanup crew. Yet here I am, still upright.

Dana Rongione 14/10/2026 Dana Rongione 14/10/2026

Overwhelmed and Out of Strength? How to Turn Pity into Praise

"LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah." (Psalm 3:1-2)

David wrote Psalm 3 while running for his life from his own son. Absalom had stolen the hearts of the people and then the kingdom itself. David was terrified, heartbroken, and worn thin. When he spoke those first two verses, I think he meant more than the people against him. I believe he also meant his emotions, his circumstances, and the weight of everyone who had fled with him and now needed him to hold it together.

I can't say I understand being betrayed like that. But I understand the pile-on that followed. Here's a peek at what has “troubled me” and "risen up against me" lately:

Dana Rongione 02/10/2026 Dana Rongione 02/10/2026

Worry Never Sees the Plot Twist

I had the calendar memorized, not because I wanted to, but because every time I glanced at it, my heart picked up speed and my stomach tied itself into a sailor's knot.

First, a team meeting. Then a harvest service, meaning extra time on church pews, those lovely wooden torture devices designed by someone who clearly never had a back issue. Then Sunday: out the door at 8:00 a.m., two and a half hours of travel, a full day of services, and the drive home, rolling in after 8:00 p.m. Then another harvest service, more pews, and another weekend away with another long drive, an overnight stay, and yes, more pews.

Meanwhile, life refused to take a vacation. The dog still needed walking. The dishes still multiplied like rabbits. Paperwork needed filing, devotions needed writing, and events needed planning. I had been dreading it for weeks. I told myself not to, and I really tried. But my nerves, apparently, didn't get the memo.

Dana Rongione 04/09/2026 Dana Rongione 04/09/2026

Planning Without the Panic

I sat down last week to plan the month ahead, calendar app open, herbal tea in hand, feeling almost productive. Then I actually looked at the upcoming schedule: two back-to-back travel weekends, a harvest service sandwiched between them, two large community events to plan, and of course, a handful of appointments that always seem to multiply the moment I schedule just one.

My first honest thought wasn't "Lord, what an opportunity." It was "Lord, I am going to be wrecked. This month is going to kill me!"

Here's the thing: That thought wasn't wrong. I know my body. I know that travel weekends cost me days of recovery that healthy people don't have to budget for. I know my pain will spike, my energy will crater, and I'll probably need a nap disguised as "quiet time" more than once. All of that is true. I know it from experience.

Looking for a specific topic or Scripture? Try the search feature:

Looking for a specific devotion? Try the archive:

Where Is God When Life Piles On?

Overwhelmed and Out of Strength? How to Turn Pity into Praise

Worry Never Sees the Plot Twist

Planning Without the Panic

Don't Forget to Subscribe!

Thank you!

Dana Rongione