The first family who lived in our current home moved in before women had the right to vote. They knew nothing of Prohibition, the Spanish Flu, the Stock Market Crash, and the two World Wars to come.
Despite the expansion of travel and increased connectivity, you and I probably share many of the same worries and concerns as the other families who have lived in my home over the past 100 years. I think we have added few more worries to our minds because of the speed of modern life coupled with the amount of information we access daily.
What you do with your worries makes more of a difference than you might think.
There are many who say self-care is the answer to internal agitation. Get a massage or take a vacation. Others would say forget about it by pushing through, it'll all work itself out.
Despite this advice, many women are moving from just plain worried to anxious. Clearly, these answers fail to get to the root of the problem. Our health, relationships, and faith are suffering as a result of our worrying.
What’s a Christian woman to do with all of the whirling, swirling thoughts waking her up in the middle of the night?
Our emotions are real. There are a lot of things going on which stir them up. God created emotions and empathy as a way to keep us connected, connected with Him and with each other. Unfortunately, we know all too well how emotions can divide.
Here’s what I really want you to know: It's possible to experience and process your emotions (and your worries) with God and others rather than carrying their weight alone.
How do we move from inner agitation to inner calm?
First: Pray. Name what you are worried about, inviting God into your daily cares and concerns. Connect your worry to the emotions you’re feeling by giving context with details of the story. Something along the lines of, “I am feeling ____________ because ____________ happened and I don’t know what to do now.” Many of our worries hover in our subconscious like moths to a flame. Naming them, we can pin them down. (There is no worry to big or small for God.) I’ve found that sharing my worries in prayer, bringing them into the light of day, makes the future less scary.
Next: Ponder. Instead of ruminating on your worries, ponder what aspect of God's character you need to rely upon with this worry. (If you need help here, email me and we can work on this together.) Pondering keeps your conversation with God open-ended so that He can inspire you with your next steps. Remember, you are never alone in your worry.
Then, Act. There is always something that can be done in response to our worries. Maybe you are being called to take a concrete action (i.e. get involved, donate, write a note, make a phone call, or write the worry on a rock and throw it in the water). Often, God is calling us to be “spiritually productive” by turning inward, finding our interior silence, and discovering the leap of faith He is asking us to make.
Taking action closes the loop on our worry. This allows you to regain your focus and return to your place of inner calm.
This process takes practice and might feel clunky at first. Over time, it becomes automatic and you are free to maintain your inner peace no matter your external circumstances.