“Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.
It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.
It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].
Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].
Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].”
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8 (AMP)
Heavy stuff today.
This morning, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed—not just the wrong side, but more like the floor beside the wrong side of the bed or the old, stinky pad under the carpet across the room from the wrong side of the bed.
Yeah, not my best self this morning. Lots of deep breaths and silent prayers as the boys and I were getting ready for our day.
Anxiety can be deceptive like that, disguised some days as just a bad mood and irritability, dependent upon so many variables that, when slightly tipped in the wrong direction, add up to an overwhelming unsettledness or heaviness that can’t be simply shaken off.
It lingers and deceives and pokes and prods and shames.
Thank goodness for the truth of God’s Word meeting us right where we are at just the right time!
These verses from 1 Corinthians 13 helped refocus my anxious energy; it’s still there but I’m not giving it total control over my thoughts and actions.
Rather, I’m making a choice to be more mindful of how anxiety is presenting itself and am allowing God’s love to take charge instead … with some added help from a low-dose prescription medication.
So thankful for God’s provision via science and modern medicine!
Have y’all heard the saying, “When you’re hanging on by a thread, make sure it’s from the hem of His garment.”
I’d add, “… and not from your own shirttails.”
Our feelings—both physical and emotional—cannot always be trusted, so we have to make sure that what we’re telling ourselves (and what others tell us) is the truth before we allow our hearts and minds to believe it.
Without fail, scripture brings me back to Truth and empowers me to fight when I need to fight.
More often, though, I’m reminded to be still, stop striving out of my own strength, and trust the One who fights for me and on my behalf.
Just writing this down today has already lifted some of that unsettledness.
Being intentional in gratitude for the ways He loves and guides and shapes my life, for the little remembrances of His presence and power, has lifted some of that heaviness.
These gorgeous hydrangeas were begging to be clipped and arranged in this red pitcher. They’re my favorite for several reasons, but I really love how these tiny, delicate (fragile even) flowers grow alongside one another and form these vibrant, impactful, beautiful blooms.
Individually they may not seem like much, which isn’t the truth—they’re actually quite detailed and complex up close, but TOGETHER … WOW!
They’re hard to miss.
Embrace your village, friends, or if you’re without one right now, find ways to start building one.
When you’re struggling, take some deep breaths and reach out to the people who love you and the people whom you trust, who are wise and lovingly honest.
Love is patient, not irritable.
Call your doctor or therapist. Take your medications as prescribed and see your doctor if something seems “off.”
Study scripture.
Journal. Make a list of everything you’re thankful for.
Pray.
Go for walks. Get some sunshine.
Prioritize sleep.
Eat foods that don’t leave you feeling even more drained at the end of the day. Drink more water.
Play uplifting music.
Do that thing that brings you joy but that you haven’t done in years because life.
Preaching to myself here!
I just wanted whoever it is that needed to hear this today to know that you’re not alone. “Alone” is a lie anxiety uses to keep us down and isolated.
You’re not alone, my friend. And you’re loved so very far beyond your wildest imagination … as you are … right now. God’s love and mercy and grace have no bounds for you and for me and for the whole of humanity.
And that’s the Truth.
Feature photo by Christiana Rivers on Unsplash
