Ok for Today…

Scattered, anxious, overwhelmed, drowning, never enough…time, energy, etc! These are thoughts/words that have taken up space in my brain more often than not lately, and words I’ve heard my friends and family utter as well. As I was trying to send some encouragement to a friend the other day, I thought this might be a good topic to expand on. These past couple of years have brought unprecedented stress, which have stretched us all beyond what we could imagine. Some may feel we are coming out of it, some are very much still in the thick of it, and some are wondering why they are still feeling SO many emotions depending on the hour of the day! I think this last one is where I and most people are living…and it makes sense! We are beginning to move forward with more and more activities, and in some cases at the same frantic pace we had pre-pandemic, and yet, we are doing so without our minds and our bodies and our souls having had a chance to process all we have been through. No wonder we are exhausted, scattered, anxious, and overwhelmed!

As I was replying to my friend, these are a few of the things I came up with that have helped me continue to move forward…and yet, if you read through to the end, you will see that the answer is not truly in DOING the things on the list…

Here is my reply to my friend…”I’m so sorry the anxiety monster is creeping in! There are so many hard things going on right now in general. I’ve been having some mental battles requiring lots of self-talk too lately! There have definitely been some fun mountain top moments in there too, but the regular life stuff–phew!–that puts me over the edge sometimes! Here’s my current unsolicited advice 😂…

1) Remember we are promised “enough for today” (Matt 6:34, Luke 12:28). This has been probably the biggest thing I am having to tell myself right now–literally repeating it inside my head, “Enough for today.” I cannot think too far ahead or look too much at the big hard things coming up—that’s when I get overwhelmed. And in the overwhelm, I forget to trust the Lord. I forget how many times He has come through before–guiding me through each step, creating time and rest when I’ve needed it. When I instead look at my schedule or my plans through my own eyes, I panic and think there is no way I can ever get all of this done, or do it well. But “Enough for today” also reminds me of the promise that we will have “new mercies every morning!” (Lamentations 3:17-24). Things often look the most bleak when we are tired at night and we are ruminating on sometimes EVERYTHING! But, when darkness turns to day, and hopefully we have slept, everything looks better in the light. New mercies–we can start fresh each day!

2) Find beauty and be thankful! I NEED to either BE outside or at least be able to see outside every day—sunshine, beautiful blooms, etc. You know me, everything is tied to God—so those are the times I am easily able to be thankful—thanking Him for all of that beauty! We often tell our kids, “He could have chosen to make everything grey and white and black 🤷🏻‍♀️, but aren’t we lucky He didn’t?” 😄🌸 And thankfulness on the hard days at work when my schedule is FULL of patients/families suffering from heavy real mental health issues, is remembering to fully enjoy a giggly smiley carefree 4 month old, or the crazy unfiltered comment of a 3 or 4 yr old!! We just have to laugh!! Truly laughter is medicine for our souls!! 💟 (Proverbs 17:22)

3) SIMPLE joys. The boys and I have been doing a lot of mental games/activities—enough to engage your brain, but not stress it out—word finds, “paint by picture” mosaic sticker books, “grown up coloring books,” and simple brain games like that old school triangle golf tee game where you try to hop over the pieces (like checkers) and only end up with one left! 😉 We also probably have 4 different types of Rubik’s cubes the boys like to try (they’re too hard for me!) Also, so many jigsaw puzzles—they are so relaxing for us! Oh, one more thing of course—those darn fur babies!! 😻 Who knew I would EVER say that?!? 😄 But man, they sure are calming and comforting for all of us!

4) Trying to not be on social media too much. You also know me—I love sharing pics! But when I am scrolling mindlessly, it never makes me feel good. I’ve been trying to read more books, or even watch more movies with the boys! Research actually supports this–watching a movie is actually different, more relaxing than other screen time. And you are engaging in the same thing with someone else when you watch together–who knows, it might actually bring up conversation topics later on? Of course, there is also the snuggling benefit if you are lucky and they are in that kind of mood!

5) Being “ok” with my body…for now! 😝 I am DEFINITELY not at the weight I want to be right now!?! But, I also know I don’t have the mental energy right now to stick with anything specific. So…I’m letting myself be ok with where I am. I still fit in MOST of my clothes 😜, I’m still generally eating healthy, and I’m moving my body at least a few days a week. Notice I said “moving my body” and not “training for a marathon” or “beating all of my personal records!” Nope! Literally some days that looks like walking around the block with the boys because we’ve been inside all day, or going for a leisurely bike ride in the neighborhood. But sometimes that might mean going for a long, brisk walk if I have time, or a more challenging longer bike ride with my husband or brother & sister-in-law. 🚲 Maybe if you ask me in the fall, I might feel differently about this one—maybe it will be a good time to start something (maybe Noom this time? or WW again? Something structured, and hopefully with a “buddy” or two–let me know if you are interested!)

6) Finally, spending time with people who fill my bucket the most! What I mean by that is sometimes when I am so busy or working such long hard hours and I only have a limited amount of time to actually be with people (or only a limited amount of mental/emotional energy for other people! 😬), I try to choose time with friends I know who “get me” and my crazy life, who love me unconditionally, but also who will tell me hard things if I need to hear them, especially pointing me back to Christ and the wisdom and comfort of His words!! 💟 This also may happen when I choose (or feel led) to spend some time with someone I know has been having a hard time or feeling down. Sometimes I get to be the encourager! And guess what? It almost always makes ME feel better too! ❤️ Getting our thoughts off of ourselves and pouring into someone else sometimes helps fill our OWN buckets! 🥰🪣 But sometimes I’ll admit, even that is too hard, and it might just feel better to be by myself, listen to some great praise or worship music and just BE QUIET & STILL! ✝️ (Psalm 46:10) Just REST. In HIM. Knowing that He is ENOUGH. Jesus tells us to come to Him to rest! (Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”)”

That last part is often so hard for me, and I know for many others. But it is true. HE is ENOUGH! One of our pastors was just reminding us of this last Sunday. We often spend way too much time “listening to ourselves,” which often means, listing off all of the ways we fall short, or can’t do well, or all of the things we feel like we need to do better, instead of “preaching the gospel to ourselves.” The gospel is the good news! We ALL fall short…on our own. (Romans 3:23) None of us can do it all right…in our own strength. But, God, in His mercy, loved us so much that He sent a Rescuer! He sent His own Son, to live the perfect life that none of us could live, to die on the cross IN OUR PLACE for OUR SINS, and to be raised from the dead, conquering sin and death once and for all, and allowing us to have relationship with God, the Father, forever! On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!” And He meant it! If we believe Christ did this for us, there is not one more thing we could possibly do that would make God love us more than He already does. We can REST. In Him. We can allow Christ to continue to work in us, changing us to be more like Him, (Phil 1:6) by BEING STILL, listening to Him, reading His word, and allowing Him to guide us in the way we should go. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

If you’ve read all the way to the end, hopefully you see that yes, the list of ideas of things to do above, may be helpful, but the most important thing for our hearts and minds and souls, is to rest in Him. He will help us to have Enough for Today. We can feel “Ok for Today” and that will just have to be good enough for now! By the way, my picture for this post, is truly one of my “Ok for Today” moments…I really don’t like it–it’s not a good angle, it shows my real hips right now–a little more generous than I would like, and it was definitely taken in a less than ideal emotional state in the midst of an anxious mess with our family! But the Lord was faithful to bring us through that day, and I am continuing to trust He will carry us through the next day and the next and the next…

I will keep praying for you!! You are not alone!

If you still have a few moments today to begin your practicing of BEING STILL, I would encourage you to use this song/video to let Him speak to you about how much He loves you, and how it is okay to give up control! One of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite bands, Tenth Avenue North’s, “Control”. Enjoy!