Are you struggling right now and finding yourself asking "Can we just skip to the good part?" Seasons of illness, poor relationships, hard parenting, tough jobs, dark mental health - the list goes on. Sure, the easy route would be to skip to the good part, get past all this angst, and finally feel like things are good.
We can hold on to the belief that if we just work a little harder, pray a little more, have a little more faith, push ourselves that extra step, then everything will start falling into place. But eventually, it will burn us out. What then?
How we handle our thoughts is important to how we handle our anxiety. But equally so is our ability to communicate between our mind and our body. Our mind may believe that we are safe, but our body may not have received the message. Such was the instance for me in the kitchen that evening. I knew I was safe and there was nothing to worry about, but my body hadn't gotten the memo.
Today on the blog I am sharing my friend with you! Megan and I have met through the writing community and we have quickly connected over our similarities when it comes to our awkward personalities, our love for sharing God's Word and how He is shaping us, and our mutual struggle with anxiety and mental health. I hope you are encouraged by her words today!
In addition to finally getting the practical help I needed, I also made the surprising discovery that embracing the reality of my limited number of days on earth has been key to unlocking the peace I had been longing for.
When I was at my lowest point with my anxiety and depression, it took all of my mental energy to convince myself to get out of bed and move through my day. Most of my days I went through the motions of getting the kids off to school, working my secretary job, and being back home in time to welcome the kids home from school. Outwardly, I did my best to hold myself together when inwardly I was vacillating between wanting to cry in the dark or scream into a pillow.
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We can either choose to follow our feelings of overwhelm, procrastination, and fear that are telling us that we can't handle the day, that we're not up to the task, and we are a failure. Or, we can dip into the toolbox for anxious days, remind ourselves that our feelings may be real, but they may not always be true, and take some practical steps to address our anxiety.
You know time is precious, and you don’t want to waste it. You desire a life that has meaning and purpose. But your day is filled with dishes, laundry, carpooling, the nine to five, texts to respond to, soccer practice, and bedtime routines. You say you want a life that matters, but how do you do that in the middle of … life?
The world gives us more and more reasons to divide ourselves from other groups who don't think like us and there continues to be media sources that use fear instead of facts to inform, and our mental health is paying the price. It can become so easy to focus on what is going wrong in the world and begin to worry and fear for the here-and-now and for the future. Just one news article or passionate pessimist conversation can derail our whole day. What do we do about this? How do we combat the enemy and all the lies that he throws at us on a daily basis?
