Do I dare mention it again? COVID-19 is everywhere. When you’ve put in nearly seven decades of life, you’ve seen shifts in direction in many facets of life and culture. Some are better than others. My life having personally touched lives of those born at least as far back as the 1880’s. I’ve heard first hand the stories of endurance through major hardships, storms, and difficulties life held in previous generations. I’ve also seen the joy these same folks shared in spite of what they endured. Many of you have as well.
That said, brings me to one trend I have seen emerge over the last 20 years. When we suffer any challenge at all, we are unhappy. Being unhappy has become for many, one of the worst possible conditions in which to find oneself. Is it? We will be unhappy at times. Many things in life make us sad, and they should.
When we look for joy in spite of our circumstances there is more ease in handling the difficulties we face. This goes for other emotions as well.
We were created to be emotional beings. Sometimes we want to scream life’s not fair. (It’s not.) We have feelings of anger, sorrow, fear, being troubled, being abandoned, feeling victimized and you can fill in the ______________.
There are also times of joy, hope, calm, confidence, cheerfulness, even euphoria. The key to handling them all with grace is finding the balance. Like the little boy on the bicycle, to keep balanced he keeps moving ahead.
My other job — the paying one — is reflexologist. My mission is to help people find balance in their life, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Navigating our current situation in March 2020 requires balance. How do we find it?
Not just America, but the whole world is facing the scariness of COVID-19. We’re in this with brothers and sisters around the globe, including the poorest nations whose population faces hunger and housing challenges all the time. We can panic. We can trust in governments that often let us down. We can hoard everything.
OR we can turn to Jesus. My friend, April Rogers, shared this on her blog this week. Wisdom for all of us.
Read your Bible! God’s promises bring the greatest peace.
And I’m adding a thoughtful article on a simple exercise to handle anxious emotions. If you choose to do this, please add it to your time in God’s word, not in place of it: How to Calm Your Anxiety about Coronavirus-19 in 90 Seconds.
Copyright 2015, 2020, Lynn U. Watson — adapted from a post on my Footsteps In Eden blog.