I, like many of you, am terrified about what’s happening in our country. Every day we hear about more layoffs and program cuts aimed at our most vulnerable people. Our economy is taking a beating as prices rise and tariffs against so many countries increase prices exponentially. It truly is the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. It makes my heart hurt. It makes sleeping difficult. And a feeling of malaise troubles my spirit. As we get sucked into doom scrolling it’s hard to have a hopeful attitude.
As I read the posts on Facebook and watch the news reports, it’s a mixed bag. Yes, there’s trauma inducing reports but there are also stories of people speaking up and standing up for people who can’t defend themselves. Even as Christianity is being maligned, the true followers of Jesus are not allowing His name to be sullied. His message of love and forgiveness is being extolled. His call to help the needy, welcome the foreigner, and love our enemies, still rings true.
This is where our focus needs to be. We need to look our society in the face and speak the truth, but we don’t need to despair. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus. I’m always reminding myself that as much as I love my family, God loves us even more. As easy as it is to be “us” and “them”, we are ALL children of God. God is working on all of our hearts and His love WILL conquer all.
It’s easy to feel stressed and afraid but we are not helpless. We can call, write, protest, and give. We can fix our eyes on the good that still exists in the world: the givers, fighters, lovers, and prayer warriors. We can remember that God is in control, and we can rest assured that this world is not the end of our story, it’s only the beginning. We can be grateful for what we do have and even if it may be taken away, we can share our gratitude for what we have, now. We can be still and rest in the love of the Lord.
We must find ways to nourish our souls. Our church offers a ministry called “Grace in the Wild”. It is the concept of “Wild Church” where we take time to be in nature and appreciate God’s handiwork. It is a moment of peace surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. We all need to find these moments to just take a breath and be in God’s presence. Take a moment, breathe deep, and know we aren’t alone, there is love in the world, and God’s got this!
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
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