Hello, readers! I just want to say 'thank you' for reading! Thanks for enjoying my stories, amusing and mundane, and for letting me know you've appreciated my writing. I love getting comments on each of my entries and hearing your thoughts! Keep 'em coming!
Unfortunately, I don't have anything too interesting to write about today that I feel comfortable unleashing on the world wide web. It was mostly a usual Thursday… I took the kids to school, did a little tidying and ironing, spent my day at Oxfam and listening to BBC Radio 1, collected the kids, made them tea, went to my small group… which seems less small each week!
In small group tonight, we talked about emotions and how to deal with them in a healthy way. This was so weird to me— some would say that it was such a 'God thing'— because I have been pretty emotional this week. Seeing Stef and spending time doing so much Canadian stuff on the weekend and then coming back to Birmingham where I don't feel totally at home left me a bit anxious. Monday and Tuesday were a little rough, since I had a lot of time on my own to brood over my predicament and to worry about things coming up in my future. So talking openly about 'emotions' without feeling like a sissy or feeling like I had to 'suck it up' was nice. It was also humbling hearing about the reasons for the emotions that my fellow group members were feeling. It was nice to be prayed for too.
One thing I have done this week to help me process my anxiety was to write down all the things I am stressed about, pray about them and look at some verses in the Bible that remind me that God's got my back. This really helped. I was able to see all the things that are causing me anxiety, realize that they're not all that significant and then just give them up to God and trust that he will help me deal with them. I'll leave you with the verse I've been looking at this week (I used a few translations/paraphrases… sometimes it helps me understand better):
John 14:27 (Jesus speaking)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. (NIV)
I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left— feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught. (MSG) I'm not usually a huge fan of 'The Message', but I think this passage is worded perfectly.
I am leaving you with a gift of peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. (NLT)
I give you peace, the kind that only I can give. It isn't like the peace that this world can give. So don't be worried or afraid. (CEV)
1 comment:
That was really wonderful (as you well know it would be to me these days). Thanks for sharing! When know that everyone else is stressing and worrying, doesn't it help us to not be bogged down? Not feeling alone. Feeling a part of humanity. A part. It's good. Thanks again for letting us/ me in.
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