Have you ever been at a complete loss? No words. Nothing to say. Not even a prayer comes to mind. You just got nothing. You’re in a bad situation and you have no idea what to do, think or say. Then three little words come. Oh. My. God. If you’re like many people those words make you feel ashamed. You hear older people in your head saying things like, “you’re not supposed to say that.” “That’s not appropriate.”” Good people don’t say that.”” Say gosh instead, or OMG, that would be better.” Technically it’s the same thing. So shortening it or changing one word makes no difference. The real question is whether or not you should use that phrase in any form. Is it blasphemy? I say if it’s all you got, use it. In fact, don’t just use it. Consider it a prayer. Let me give you some examples that may help you see what I mean by that.
You walk into the school to pick up your overly sensitive, anxious kiddo (who has been struggling all year with a less than understanding staff), only to find him pinned to the wall by the hand of his one-on-one aide. Her fingers are around his throat and his little eyes are darting around the room with the rawest fear you have ever seen. You’re on fire with hot, molten anger and you want to do the exact same thing to her. Instead you breath deep and utter, “Oh My God.”
Here’s a different situation. You wake up late after a particularly rough night of being up with the child with medical issues and walk into the kitchen to discover that the youngest has decided to “help” you. It appears that every spice in the spice cabinet is on the counter, the floor, or in your large soup pot. That soup pot contains a large amount of unidentifiable liquids and powders, some spices but some questionable items like maybe baking soda and, is that dish soap? Your brain hurts as you hold back the urge to scream. You’re already living on the edge all the time with so much stress and you want so desperately not to hurt this child with your words. You’ve done that so many times lately. You look at his face and see pride in what he assumes is a good thing he has done. You sigh deep as you exasperate, “Oh. My. God.”
Or how about this one? You’re in the brain surgeon’s office for the results of the latest MRI scan of your daughter’s brain tumor. You are told it has more than doubled in size in just 3 short months. There are no words to come. No thoughts that make sense. Your head is spinning and you feel faint. Is that vomit in your mouth? Your voice barely works as you rasp out, “Oh MY GOD.”
All three of those situations happened to me. I am absolutely unapologetic for using the words, “Oh My God,” as I did. In fact I find it a comforting prayer. Even Jesus said it. When Jesus was hanging on the cross he said, “My God, My God. Why have you forsaken me?” In other words, “Oh My God!” I figure if the son of God can call out in despair, so can I. Some situations just feel like God has forgotten you. “Oh My God,” is a prayer you should pray if you feel that way. God hears it. He honors it. He understands some situations just don’t have better words. Sometimes your brain can not formulate eloquent words or well thought out prayers. “Oh My God.” will do. He knows that you are calling on him in desperation, not with belligerence. He can read your heart and know.
Now let’s go back and see what the results were of my OMG prayer in each of those circumstances. It is my belief that what the words really did was call on God. I called him by name and specifically to my situation, to come to my aide and immediately take over my mind and actions.
In the first situation, my oldest was in third grade. He had struggled and struggled to make his aide and teacher accept him. He wanted so desperately to please them and couldn’t. That scene I walked in on was the push I needed to pull him out of school and take on his education myself. We walked out of the building that day and into homeschooling the very next. No turning back. No questions. No choking the “professional.” And I feel like my calling on God in that room with my son pinned to the wall gave me the strength to walk away and pursue the path we needed to be on instead. That path proved to be the healing balm we both needed to find better ways to deal with his conditions. Homeschooling him became the single best thing my husband and I ever did for the kid. Had that incident not happened, I may not have been so bold to strike out on my own. The anxiety of being his only educator was too daunting. Until it was the only safe choice.
The second scenario was my Tommy the summer that we were immersed in end of life care for his sister He wanted so badly to help me and make something easier for me. His way of going about that was not so good, but his heart was right. I was correct in calling on God to guide me in that moment. With the help of The Spirit, I did not yell at or shame him. I simply requested that he come help me clean it up, which he quickly complied with. After cleaning up we made what we call “sugar toast” for him and his sister and read a story. I feel that by calling on God, I was guided immediately into making a better choice than yelling at him. Shaming him for trying to help would only have added more stress to our overflowing cup. As we were cleaning he reveled that he was trying to make me “spice soup” for breakfast and truly believed that to be a good and tasty thing. How could I not appreciate the intention? He didn’t need scolding. What he needed most was love, reassurance, and positive attention. We connected and worked together to bring a little peace and comfort to his sister and our house that day.
And finally, that last horrible scene was at the brain surgeon’s office with my Miranda. Her brain tumor had indeed doubled. This let the neurosurgeon know that his worst suspicion was correct. He now knew with 85-90% certainty that the tumor in her brain was caused by Radiation Induced Glioma, brain cancer caused by the treatment of a different brain cancer, the leukemia she had at 3 years old. “Rare, fast, and dirty are the only words for this cancer,” The doctor’s words still echo in my head. Oh. My. God. I called Him and His spirit came. We walked through the next two months with all the grace Heaven could send us. And now, more than two years after her death, that grace is still coming. I believe it will come as long as I need it. God is walking right next to us, carrying us when He needs to. We will make it through.
I called and God answered. How about you? Have you called on God with those three words, “Oh My God?” Did He come along beside you?
