Yep, it’s another coronavirus episode. There are so many events, stats, feelings to process. And that’s what I do here on this podcast. I process and I try to find hope through it all. 

So, the first two weeks of “shelter in place” I was actually feeling super good. Then last week things started to feel not so good. I’ve felt a range of emotions from sad, to irritable, to frustrated, then sometimes to content, happy, grateful. It’s A LOT to process in a short amount of time, and I’m sure many of you feel the same way.

One thing that’s contributing to the feelings is that there is so much noise in our world right now! So many posts about what to do, how to do it, what you should be doing, how you should be thinking and feeling. On top of that there are SO. MANY. ZOOM CALLS. I actually feel like I am talking to people more than normal. There are also so many interesting things to do or watch. Museum tours, drawing lessons, reading hours, etc. At first it felt exciting to me, now I feel overwhelmed. I don’t know what to do with it all. 

It is normal to feel whatever you’re feeling. Kristin Brabant shared a great quote on her email ist recently:

“It’s normal…if you’re denying your fear & pain to get through the realities of your day.

It’s normal…if you feel furious when you see leaders or loved ones making decisions purely for their own benefit. OR rage when you see others ignoring social distancing practices . 

It’s normal…if you’re desperately seeking a solution but feeling hopeless while reckoning with HUGE, heartbreaking changes.

It’s normal…if you feel depressed because you don’t know when normalcy will return (if ever) and just want to feel a loved one’s hug or walk on a sidewalk without fear again.

It’s normal…if you’re in the messy test-kitchen, uncertainly experimenting with ways to pivot and grow in the wake of massive change.

And it’s normal…if you feel EXCITED for what’s ahead, if you’re experiencing a BOOM in business or creativity. It’s okay for you to be in a season of JOY, optimism & all-cylinders-firing creation, while your sister reckons with her rock bottom. It’s okay to be thriving personally right now, even as we collectively grieve.

 You are normal.” 

Kristin Brabant, Business Coach

I would add, it’s also normal to be any one of these at any given moment. It might even change throughout the day. That’s normal. But just because something is normal doesn’t mean it’s right, or good, you don’t want to stay in that state of depression. 

So what can you do? 

First of all recognize your pace may not be someone else’s pace. You don’t need to compare your performance with someone else’s. We all have different things going on in our lives and we respond to things differently. But even just recognizing that your pace may not be someone else’s payce is an attitude shift, and attitude shifts are HUGE. We can’t control what happens, but we can control our attitudes. Some days better than others I admit it.

But that’s so hard, isn’t it?? But you see, Jesus wants you to take allllllllll your fears to him. Allllllllll your worries. Listen to the words of one of my favorite hymns:

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

What a Friend We Have in Jesus by Joseph Scriven

Do you go to God first? Or do you grumble to your friends like I did yesterday on Marco Polo? 

Honestly, for me it’s been harder to spend time in the Word. I’ve been sleeping in, feeling like I’m iin a funk, also, just being around someone else 100% of the time has made it harder. Marriage is great but I am really realizing how selfish I actually am. And sometimes I just don’t want to put in the work it takes to fight my sin. And it does take work. It’s not passive. But that’s another soapbox. 

So, again, what can we do?

1. Give yourself time to feel and process
2. Give yourself grace for not accomplishing everything on your to do list
3. Take time for quiet, lamet, prayer
4. Take your sorrows to Jesus
5. Lean more into his word than ever
6. Get out and serve
7. Pray.
8. Keep your eyes on the truth of who God is
9. Do all this OFTEN

I’ve said it before already, but it’s so applicable. Isaiah 26:3 says “you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in thee. For the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

I think something God is doing is simply showing us how wealthy we are. How much we rely on our comforts. Our activities. Our conveniences. Think about history and how most cultures haven’t had the luxuries that we are losing. Like I’ve said before, maybe God just wants to get our attention. 

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

I’ll finish with the words Kristin Brabant finished with in her email: 

“Let yourself be transformed and expanded by this pressure. You will grow and change NO MATTER WHAT. That’s hardwired into your design! But you have choice in HOW you experience this transformation — in a tantrum of resistance, or in a sometimes-painful/sometimes-exhilerating state of willingness.

Kristin Brabant, Business Coach

Let’s surrender to God’s leading and watch him transform our lives through this together. 

Hear more from the podcast here: https://christijohnsoncreative.com/category/the-podcast