This year we seem to be repeatedly knocked off stride. We get blind-sided. Our bubbles burst. So much of what we’ve done seems to be for naught – and we despair.
Stress and exhaustion push us to work even harder, until we verge on physical and emotional collapse. The predominant question: What more can I do?
The moment comes when we have to quiet ourselves. Take a time-out.
Withdraw from those surroundings that are constant reminders of the pain. Sleep if you can. Give your body some care.
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Let your memory take you back to special moments.
Repeatedly you’ve cursed the darkness that has descended. Look now for the pin-pricks of light – an unexpected gift of kindness, a gesture that carried special meaning, a phone call from someone who sincerely wanted to know how you were.
How often, in your bustle, have you passed these moments unnoticed?
Savour them now. For this one moment let those blessings seep down into the bedrock of your being and give you sustenance.
How often, in the Gospels, we find Jesus doing this very thing.
Stories tell of him getting into a boat or climbing a hill or walking in a garden, withdrawing to a place where he could be still and listen for the still small voice of God, within and without.
In that story of footsteps in the sand, it wasn’t until the storyteller looked back that he or she realized there was a time when someone bigger carried the whole load.
When our lives are turned upside down with turmoil, it is natural to verge on panic. We try to grasp whatever comes our way and stamp our feet and insist things get back to normal.
“Be gentle with yourself,” the quiet one says. “I’ve carried you through crises before. I’ll be with you always.”
– Joyce Sasse is a retired United Church minister and author who lives in Pincher Creek, Alta. Her writings can also be found at www.agri-ville.com/spiritualvignettes.
