Month: November 2021

We all have rough days – days when we would prefer to just give in, go home, and pull the covers over our heads.  These come, they just do.  Many times, those circumstances are out of our control.  They happened to us.  I can easily find myself getting angry and start ruminating on those bad aspects.  I think of them over and over again.  They fill my day and they flood my mind.  It consumes my thoughts and takes over my entire attitude.  That bad day can carry not just through that day, but spill over into many days.  Even when I feel like I am over it, when I think of it, the anger comes right back.  And I may be justifiably upset.  But does it help to continue to let this fill my heart and my mind?  Does it contribute to my overall wellbeing to allow this to become a part of me?  Am I really doing anything advantageous by allowing this to consume me?  I have a bad day, you have a bad day…now what?

Because we all have these rough days, how do we move forward?  Instead of allowing this to overtake our heart, mind and spirit, maybe we consider our alternatives.  What we are angry about – is it fixable?  If it is, spring into action (not revenge but in productive action to better the situation without harm).  If it is not, what have we learned that can help us to become better?  If there is nothing to learn, what is it doing to us if we hold onto this?  What are we accomplishing by allowing this to overtake us?  What is good about carrying this bad day forward?  The answer is likely…nothing.  We probably instead find we are just being torn down by our thoughts and emotions.  We are hurting ourselves.  There has to be another way.

My best lesson for this comes from the Psalmists.  I love the Psalms because they are raw, real, and shockingly honest.  They write (or sing) about how they are angry and scared and overcome.  They write about how they want to destroy and how they feel abandoned (by God and others).  And yet…And yet…they find their way back to center.  Where is their center?  Read the Psalms.  The center comes back to words like this:  Deliverance belongs to the Lord, I will sleep in peace because the Lord brings peace, the Lord has heard my prayer, I will give thanks to the Lord for he is due, how majestic is Your name.  These all come from just the first few Psalms.  They go on to remind us of his mercy, his grace, and his everlasting love.  They have the bad day, week, month, etc and yet…they find their way back to the center – the center of God, our Creator, the One who loves us more than we can imagine.  That’s what matters.  How can you come back to your center today?

May your day be filled with good things, May you find peace, May you be comforted and loved.  And if you are having a rough day, May you find your center in God.  

Psalm 13
¹ How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I bear pain in my soul,
    and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
    my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵ But I trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing to the Lord,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

One of the greatest challenges for people who are servants, givers, and followers of Christ is to take care of themselves.  When we constantly give, we forget we must have something from which to give.  When we are not taking care of ourselves, we run down, get exhausted, and may even find ourselves becoming angry or resentful.  We don’t mean to be this way.  It isn’t that we want to feel these things.  It simply happens because we have taken all of our energy and given it away.  And the one person we forget in it all is ourselves.  We forget to take care of us.  Why do we do this?

When you are naturally a giver, it can feel selfish to take care of yourself.  It can be hard to justify taking some time to do the right things for you.  It can feel as if we are wasting time.  But that is actually the opposite of the truth.  We are not God (that seems obvious).  And because we are not God, we are not made to be everything for everybody.  We are not Creator.  We are not the ultimate fixer.  We are God’s children and we are the created.  And we need to take care of what God has given us.  We must take care of us.  What does that look like?

For so many, that is a foreign concept.  When we go, go, go, we can put our needs on the back burner.  But the flames will catch us.  They will burn us out.  We will eventually crash and become good to no one, not even ourselves.  We must catch it before it gets to that point (or start from scratch if you are already there).  This isn’t a “one and done” type of solution.  You don’t take one day to take care of yourself and expect that to take care of everything for the next month or year.  This should be part of our regular practice every single day – in some way, shape or form.  Here are some thoughts:

-How are you taking care of your body?  What are you eating?  Are you exercising and taking care of this beautiful creation God has made?  Are you being a good steward of the gift of your body?  Are you considering what you are putting into you daily?

-How are you taking care of your mind?  Are you taking a few minutes to simply breathe?  What or who are you listening?  Are you listening to the truths of God or the opinions of others?  Are you putting good things in (through your eyes and ears)?  Consider what you are watching.

-How are you taking care of your spirit?  Are you taking the time to read and meditate on God’s Word?  Are you listening to what God is trying to tell you?  He isn’t expecting you to be God.  He is expecting you to be the best YOU.  You won’t know who you are in God if you aren’t reading what he has for you.  A little each day can feed the soul.  

What are you doing for you today?  How can you take better care of you THIS day so you can love God and love others with your everything?  This is the day the Lord has made, may we rejoice and be glad in it!

Matthew 22:37-39 (NOTE the yourself in this)

³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’