"It Is What It Is"

This particular phrase was included in some article listing ten lazy phrases or words.  I don't think it's a lazy phrase at all.  It's become one of my personal favorites.  I do think it has the potential to equate with apathy or even stagnation, but it doesn't mean that for me.  In this age of self-interpretation and redefinition, please indulge me as I share what "it is what it is" means to me.

When I use the phrase "it is what it is," I'll be honest; there is a dismissiveness to my tone, but it's because I can stop prioritizing the subject.  I also have a new text initials which I associate with this phrase:  SSER, which is "shoulder shrug, eye roll.  To declare "it is what it is" means I no longer have to analyze the problem, try harder, or spend any more energy or effort on the focus of the phrase.  It's a declaration of freedom!  "It is what it is" means I've gone the second mile, I've turned the other cheek, I've shrugged it off, bit my tongue, and I can now let it go!  "It is what it is," is also sometimes, just a statement confirming my first impression.

We all have make those acquaintances that have an odd rub, but we don't want to be negatively presumptuous.  Then when the rub becomes apparent, the phrase is verbal permission to accept it and acknowledge that we instinctively recognized this, or in the case of being Holy Spirit filled, discerned the situation.  I've learned it's not about being unfriendly, it's about maintaining a certain reserve in the relationship.  Not everyone is going to like me or want to be my best friend, and even if they do, that doesn't mean I have to give something I don't have.  I am called to be kind, humble, and caring.  I am called to show compassion.  We are to love people as Abba loves us, which also includes the fact we do not have to reinvent ourselves to win the approval of another, or stretch beyond our limits to accommodate demands.  YHWH changes not, so we should not allow people to change us.  YHWH should be the only one calling for and causing change in His children.

If we're appreciated, most of us will go far, far beyond what is expected.  Even if I'm not appreciated, I will be patient for a time, but when expectations become demands, I stop in my tracks.  My Heavenly Father, the King of the Universe allows me choices!  He doesn't corner us as He leads.  He does have a plan and I can certain attest to the fact His plan works better than mine ever did, but sometimes His plan doesn't include what we are striving for or who is striving against us.  That's when it's time to accept the situation for what it is and simply tell Abba, "Thy will be done," which sometimes includes the acknowledgement, "it is what it is."