Day 25: Some Things Will Blow Over

• Transcript

  When I was a kid, I came home from school with head lice — or nits, as we called them in the '80s.
  Mum shampooed us with that weird chemical stuff and then wrapped our heads in Glad Wrap like we were leftover lasagne.

  The next day, she walked straight into my classroom and started checking everyone's hair. No subtlety. No warning. Just straight into it.
  Obviously, this meant I was ground zero for the infestation. So for the next week, everyone called me Nit Head.

  But two weeks later? During show-and-tell, Mum helped me make pancakes with ice cream and chocolate sauce for the whole class.
  And just like that — I went from Nit Head to Ice Cream Legend.

  It made me realise: a lot of things blow over with time.

Let’s talk

We’ve all worn a label we didn’t choose.
Nit Head, failure, tosser, over thinker, narcissist, ranga, nutcase, stupid, slowcoach, the list is endless.
When you’re in the thick of it and your reputation takes a hit, it can feel like it’ll never go away.

Here is the crazy part, some of the things that feel so very important today won’t even be on the radar in a month.
Pain passes. People forget.
And more often than not, Jesus has a way of rewriting the script.

That doesn’t mean everything magically heals with time, but it does mean that time often gives us space to breathe, gain perspective, and heal.

If today feels like it’s all gone wrong — like you’ve got metaphorical lice and your metaphorical mum just exposed you in front of your metaphorical classmates — just hold your horses! The story isn’t finished.

Scripture

“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5 (NIV)

Even the darkest, most embarrassing, most anxiety-inducing seasons eventually give way to light.
God isn’t afraid of your mess — and He’s far more interested in where you’re going than where you’ve been.

Mental Health Moment

Shame has a way of shrinking your world. It convinces you that one moment, one label, or one failure is your whole identity. But feelings are not facts. And most of the things that feel world-ending in the moment lose their grip with time, perspective, and grace.

Psychologists call it “affective forecasting” — our tendency to overestimate how long negative emotions will last.

And as followers of Jesus, we have even more reason to hope. God is in the business of redemption. He takes old labels and writes new names. He takes shame-soaked chapters and uses them as testimony.

So if your reputation’s taken a hit, if your face is red with embarrassment, if you’re carrying a name that doesn’t belong to you — breathe.

This isn’t the end of your story.
God’s not finished. And neither are you.

Practice for Today

Think back to something that once felt like the end of the world…
But today? It barely even registers.

Let that be your reminder: this too will pass.
Give your current struggle some room to breathe.
Don’t make permanent conclusions based on a temporary storm.

A Prayer for the nit-headed legends.

Lord,
You’ve seen me at my most ashamed,
my most anxious,
my most overwhelmed.

Thank You that your love is not based on how others label me,
or how I label myself.

Help me get through the hard days. Give me perspective in the panic, and hope that holds steady when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

Amen.

Reflection Prompt

What’s one label or moment from your past that felt like the end of the world at the time… but now just makes you smile or shrug?
How might that memory help you see today’s struggle with more grace?