I saw some pictures of the first good snow in Boston. I was instantly reminded of a good friend of mine who moved there, who hates the snow. All I heard was complaining and misery every time it snowed. So, seeing a picture of snow also instantly made me think of her misery.
Here's a secret: when you imagine someone else's misery, you begin to feel miserable. Even if it's someone else's misery and not your own...just my imagined perception of her feelings on seeing the snow made me begin to feel miserable (even though I'm nowhere near the snow and sitting in 70 degree weather).
I could write a very long article on thoughts, and how they impact both your energy levels and your feelings. That's an article for another day, but I'll sum it up here: if you start thinking of someone else and how they're stressed, or telling yourself you should feel stressed because the situation is just so hard or the worst or you'll never make it through (notice: all only thoughts up to this point), you will physiologically start to feel stressed yourself (a feeling). And if you let yourself do this, without stopping yourself in this pattern, you will not only find yourself in a spiraling cycle of negativity and bitter acidic thoughts, you will feel physically tired as if you've been fighting a battle all day, or reacting to real stress. Because you have. Your body can't tell the difference between imagined stress in your mind and real life stress around you.
It is exhausting to live in stress during most or all of the day, every day.
Scientific research is full of negative outcomes that result from stress. Not only do you feel physically tired, you probably don't have the energy to work as well towards your goals. At the same time, stress eats away at your self-esteem, so you're also probably less likely to think you can achieve them, leading to depression or a depressed outlook on life. Also, it's well known that stress breaks down your immune system, so you're more likely to get sick. You can look up the rest for yourself, but it's quite clear: stress sucks. It destroys your body and your mind.
I've been there. If you're struggling, I've been there.
A few years back, I was around a very negative person and got into such a negative spiral of thoughts every day just from adopting their judgments and opinions, or at least imagining what they would say in every situation, that I lived in constant stress. I went through my day in a mix of fear and harsh judgment. I got to the point where I was terrified to be home alone, and terrified of my thoughts. And all because I let my thoughts spiral out of control.
I've learned a lot since then and now have much better ways of thinking in place. It took time, years actually, and didn't happen overnight, but my point is if you start imagining others' emotions or negative thoughts, it will spark your body and psyche to think they are your thoughts, and you will wear yourself out.
If you are living in an emotional war zone or otherwise have a constant drain on you and you just feel weary, know that you are not alone. It does get better.
This is turning into a rather dark post, and I know there are lots of reasons people can feel weary. Especially around the holiday times. Maybe you're burned out emotionally or financially from Christmas. Maybe you're burned out from traveling and just want a rest.
Getting back to seeing the picture of snow, part of me yearned just a little to have snow for just an afternoon to be able to play in it. But as soon as I thought of my friend and my imagined dialogue of her stress and misery, guess what? I felt immediately weary and miserable
So it was a relief a few posts down when someone posted this part of Isaiah 40 (v. 31):
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary
If you are weary...the Lord is like a breath of fresh air. A sip of cool water. A sweet moment of stillness.
And just like that...I was immediately refreshed. Felt new and relaxed and at peace, as if I'd had a brief, much-needed drink of cool water.
I urge you this holiday season to take just a breather every day. Find your stillness. Rest in the Lord. Whether it's a moment in quiet prayer or just appreciation, taking the time to eat right or stretch your body, take care of yourself. Your body and mind are worth it.
Here are some things I've found that have helped me this holiday season. And if you have fallen off the wagon up to this point (it's okay! I did too!), just try to work these in when you can. Be easy on yourself. After all, you don't need to beat yourself up - the rest of the world will do that for you. You need to take care of yourself, as if you were caring for an injured friend.
- Yoga (I love the mindset this puts me into. I do it more for stretching and meditation than a true workout, but I feel so peaceful and stretched, as if every muscle is happy. I also feel much more in control of my life, and it's a gentle reminder to take care of myself).
- Eating healthy. Hard to do over the holidays but when I begin eating crappy, it really does throw off the rest of my day. I feel sluggish and 'uggghhh'. So I make the choice to eat healthy because I know it will make me feel better.
- Exercising. Stretch your body when you can, and do something fun to work up a light sweat. Your body needs it to be operational, so take care of your body in this way as much as you can.
- Christian meditation. This is something I've decided to try after many of the other Christian techniques (praying, going to church a lot, reading the Bible) failed me. Just doing those other things doesn't bring me closer to God. But I love reading the Bible as if it has a message for my life right now.
- Get good sleep. If you're not giving the body the rest it needs, it won't feel well-rested the next day, and you won't be as likely to take care of yourself in other ways.
- Know that God is in charge. Let Him be. Give up, and let Him control things. He will work things out beyond what you could imagine.
The rest of Isaiah 40 is great too, and absolutely speaks on this theme of refreshment after feeling weary.
v. 1-2 - Be comforted! Your warfare (emotional battles; worries about finances; stress in general) has ended.
Wouldn't it be great if someone told you that? Your problems are over. Rest now, dearest. Your battles have vanished. You can rest in peace.
v. 2 - even if you battles are emotional, and you're burdened with things like guilt or shame, it has been removed! A weight has been lifted from your back! You are free! In fact, you'll receive double the blessings from the Lord as any emotional burden that was there!
So, not only the joy of freedom (which, if you've been emotionally bearing a hard burden, in itself is the prize), but will be receiving many blessings on top of that! It would make a person think, what did I do to deserve this goodness?
v. 3-4 used in reference to Christ often, through John the Baptist.
This really speaks though to the restitution Christ brings. Lift up your face, you with tears and Christ will wipe them and make you joyful again. If you're burdened, He will bring you peace. He fixes all the bad in the world (even while he was with the world, he did so many miracles of healing!) See passages in Revelation about the world being made right. The Lord takes places or hearts that are low (the valleys) and brings them back up to level. He takes all the inequality in the world and makes it level and right again.
And who is the one doing this? Not us (the flesh referred to in the passage), but God. And if you've been in those low, weary points, you know how thankful you are when God makes things right. How thankful we are when anyone makes things right, but the fact that God can correct all of it, all the injustice...that makes Him so amazingly good, beyond all understanding.
Think of someone who not just makes you feel better when you're down, and then goes to your best friend and does the same thing, and then goes to someone else who has so much trouble and burden that no one thinks they will ever get better. And that person makes that suffering person completely better and happy. Wouldn't that person who is making everyone better be amazing? Who helped not just one person, but people over and over?
And God does this over and over, and over. So far beyond our comprehension. Who can help not just people but right whole systems of corruption.
Isaiah 40: 10-11 paints just this picture of God's goodness, and the way He cares for us.
v. 17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
I wish I could instill this in people, and quote this at every "God Loves America" meme. God doesn't love America. He loves people, and people everywhere. God could care less about America as a country defined by boundaries.
The rest talks about how awesome God is. We admire earthly things but to God they are trite and meaningless. Instead, look up - God created the stars, much more amazing than anything on Earth (and as Star Wars lovers, we know just how awesome they are). Scientifically speaking, stars and star systems are very complex. God's handiwork is far beyond anything you or I could create, so we need to worship Him.
And yet, as numerous as the stars are, as easy it would be to get lost or feel like you don't matter...God knows each star by name. And as Star Wars lovers, we also know that each tiny or backwoods planet can be important, can be holding the fate of the galaxy. It's like that with people too. Each one of us is worth an infinite amount. Each one of us has the potential to have a great effect on the rest of the human race, much greater than we could ever know or guess.
The Lord God knows you. He loves you. You are not lost in the crowd to Him. He not only knows your name, He knows all your details. He cares about you. He will personally send His power and spirit to refresh you when you are down or weary, and you will ever after have a spring of guidance and peace within you. You will never be the same again.
Trust in Him today.
No comments:
Post a Comment