How quickly life can change.
The diagnosis.
The phone call.
The job loss.
A birth.
A death.
The quarantine.
One minute before, your life was “normal”. One minute after, your life was changed forever.
None of us are immune to these moments. And it is in these moments, we come face to face with the reality that we don’t have nearly as much control as we would like. While these things may take us by surprise, they do not take our God by surprise.
I don’t consider myself a fearful person, but in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic and being “stuck” inside my house–I have felt moments of fear rise up. There is so much uncertainty.
How long will this go on? If the people around me get it, will my children with asthma be okay? Will my church kids and families be okay? Is my grandma going to be okay? Will my mom be able to find the groceries she needs? Will my community members survive and take the precautions they need to? How are my Parents as Teachers kids doing? Will our hospital be overwhelmed with people? Why is it still increasing so quickly? Why can’t we get the tests needed? What if our food supply is interrupted? What if we lose power or water? How much longer can I be in the house with these people? (ha)
Do you see how quickly my questions can lead to my worries swirling out of control and giving way to fear? It reminds me of this quote from Corrie Ten Boom:
Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.
Corrie Ten Boom
That is where I am some moments: a whirlwind of worries because of the fear of the unknown.
But, just like I tell my kids, we don’t have to be slaves to fear! In fact, I was reminded about a song we taught our Pre-K kiddos a few months called “Fear Get Out of Here”. When we trust God, we can rest in His perfect love (and we know that perfect love casts out fear). His Word says He is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And because of that, we can say…
Fear Get Out of Here!
We know it isn’t always easy though, so what does this look like in the middle of the day when we turn on the news or see the latest panic on our social media feed?
You know I’m all about the practical, so here are three things I’m doing:
1) Meditating, reading and writing God’s Word
I’ve always found writing Scripture helps me focus and put God’s Word in my heart, so I went through the Bible and found passages about worry and fear. Then, I put them together in a 30 day reading and writing plan. Simply read the passage and then write down the indicated verse(s) in a notebook. You can download it for free here:
30 Day Write Through Scripture – Overcome Worry and Fear
2) Taking news and social media breaks
I am so thankful to be able to connect to those around me via social media, but I’ve found myself glued to news coverage and my Facebook feed. I’m instituting some time limits on my media consumption to help me stay sane and keep a better perspective.
3) Managing stress
While stress is bound to be part of our lives during this time, I’m taking some steps to manage it by keeping a rhythm/routine to our days, exercising regularly, getting out in the sunshine, deep breathing, laughing, listening to music and eating as well as possible.
Remember that we are doing all of this to keep those around us healthy and safe. Let that mindset shift help you reframe your thoughts and focus on love….and not fear.
FEAR GET OUT OF HERE!
Blessings,
Stacie
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