During this pandemic, I’ve experienced some spiritual growth. Even though I received Jesus at the young age of nine, there are still some lessons that God is teaching me. Today’s blog is not coming from a position of expertise. Instead, I’ll discuss the imperfect progress I’ve slowly made day by day. My hope is you can gleam from what I’ve learned so far and maybe even progress farther.
In the first few weeks of all this craziness, I was stressed out! As an Enneagram Two, I felt like it was my responsibility to take care of everyone around me. Since my coworkers are high risk, I felt compelled to create the perfect work environment. I went overboard in making sure the proper procedures were in place to keep them safe. Then, I considered my family. I didn’t visit as much because I worked at a medical facility. I went out of my way to tell them necessary information. Guys, it was bad! I remember sitting at my desk one day hunched over from the weight of it all. Picture a large wooden beam with two buckets full of water hanging from each end. I felt as though I carried this across my shoulders.
The stress manifested in horrible ways. My neck and shoulder ached. I couldn’t turn my head left or right without experiencing sharp pain. At times, my head hurt. I noticed snaps and pops from joints whenever I stood or sat down. Initially, I assumed the joint pain was from getting a new mattress. After weeks passed, I realized the symptoms were from stress. I could no longer live this way. Something had to change.
Here are some things that helped me through. First, I heard God speak to my heart so clearly. He said, “It’s not your job to protect them. That’s my job.” When I heard that statement, I literally felt the weigh come off. I no longer felt responsible for the care of others. There was a reassurance that I could trust God with the people closest to me. Next, I started meditation. Don’t worry. I’m not chanting or praying to Buddha. For me, meditation simply means pausing for a moment. I set aside five minutes at the end of each day to simply breathe. I found several songs with the words “be still” or “quiet” somewhere in the lyrics. It’s a scientific fact that our bodies calm down during exhalation. This can be done by deliberately slowing your breath. You intentionally exhale longer than you inhale (for example six seconds versus four seconds). This tells your body that you’re no longer in the “flight or fight” response and you’ll naturally relax. The idea of meditation may challenge some people’s theology, but don’t get lost in the weeds. I simply mean bringing your mind into subjection. Tell yourself that for five minutes, you will just rest. Lastly, I let worship be the background soundtrack of my life. Worship sets the atmosphere by ushering in the peace of God. My church started doing daily worship broadcasts. During this time, I received healing and words of encouragement that set the course of my day.
My hope is you never forget the promises of God. The Bible is full of verses assuring us of His protection. Our job is not to bring about those promises in our own strength. Instead, we should pray and release it to Him. When we find ourselves slipping back into worry, we can pause for a moment. Put on some worship music. Meditate on the goodness of God. Command your mind to stop racing. As you put these steps into practice, you’ll get out of the habit of worry and enter a rhythm of peace.
Be encouraged! 😊
~I own no rights to this photo!!!!
Scripture Reference: Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT) “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
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