Gratitude | Searching for Gratitude in Dark Times

This has been a dark year, and with the recent switch to daylight savings time, we now find ourselves rapidly losing daylight. So our physical environment now matches the psychological and spiritual darkness we've been experiencing these many months since the pandemic began. Now is the time to increase my Vitamin D intake, and find the happy light I purchased on Amazon last winter. The lack of light can have a big impact on mood, and this year it's already hard enough to have a positive outlook.

I think it's important to be able to name the things we've lost and grieve them. My children have lost 5 months of in-person school and counting. This includes my son's last year with his preschool friends, and the beginning of kindergarten. We've lost birthday parties, playdates, sports, visits with relatives. My favorite special occasion restaurant in Eugene went out of business. I've had to take two months of leave from my job to help manage things at home.

But — I'm continuing to feel cautiously optimistic about the future. For all that's been lost during this pandemic, it's given me an opportunity to focus on the things I still have. Much has been lost, but perhaps some things have also been gained.

John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

I've managed to fill almost an entire journal with gratitude lists since March, in an attempt to stay focused on the positive.

In July, my family and I took a weekend trip to Central Oregon to stay at a lakeside cabin. We'd been there a few years before, and had fun, but this time I was struck by just how beautiful the surroundings were. I hadn't realized how beautiful it was the first time I'd visited — but after months of quarantine, it seemed spectacular.

As I write this, my daughter is doing online school at the kitchen table, and I'm thankful for how far we've come. My daughter and I both hated the online school experience in the spring — it was just a horrible experience for our family. Now I'm just filled with gratitude that it's actually working for us on so many levels. I have the ability to be at home with her to help support and supervise. The district provided her with an iPad to do her work on so she has her own device. She's actually learning and has in fact made fantastic progress in her reading since schools closed in March, and seems to be above grade level in math. Online school is even fulfilling some of her social needs, as they're providing lots of quick opportunities for chatting.

I'm thankful for the opportunity I have right now to take leave from my job. I'd been trying to just keep going and try to make things work, and suddenly a few weeks ago I felt like I couldn't do it anymore. I was getting chronic headaches, the kids were watching way too much TV, Paul was sneaking sweets everytime I turned my back, and my house looked like a disaster zone. So I made a plan with my work to take November and December off (with partial pay). On my first official day off, I spent most of the day doing chores. I tackled the bathroom over the weekend, and am now working on a deep clean of the kids’ bedrooms (not a project for the faint of heart). I could devote the bulk of my time off to housework, but I'm hoping to be mindful of also taking time for myself for things I enjoy like exercise and writing.

As for my candy-sneaking son, he's been spending a lot of time with Grandma, which is another thing I'm thankful for. I'm also thankful that he is enrolled in a low-tech, play-based kindergarten program. He only has three 15-minute Zoom meetings per week, compared to my 3rd grader, who spends about 5 hours per day completing schoolwork on her iPad. I think he's a bit bored and understimulated, but I'm trying to make up for that in other ways. The kids are taking a PE class two afternoons a week this month, so hopefully that will be a positive experience for both of them. I've also discovered that Paul loves crafts! Part of his kindergarten curriculum involves a weekly sewing craft, and it is his favorite part of kindergarten. This month I also purchased a package of 16 craft projects for the month from our local children's museum, and each of my kids will get to do eight of them. Paul and I had fun making a toy watch for daylight savings time and various other crafts over the past two weeks.

I celebrated a birthday recently, and to kick off the day Spencer made me a special breakfast — cornmeal biscuits with shiitake mushroom gravy, topped with fried eggs. This was in remembrance of my favorite breakfast place in Portland, where we lived during our twenties. I had a sweet day with my family, and challenged myself to a long (for me) run of 3.5 miles. I also got some new books that I'm super excited to dig into. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion (the end of a hilarious trilogy), The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow (loved her last book), and Freckled: A Memoir of Growing Up Wild in Hawaii by TW Neal. Dark and stormy days ahead means the perfect time for curling up with some good books.

Are you able to find gratitude in these dark times?

“People who have come to know the joy of God do not deny the darkness, but they choose not to live in it. They claim that the light that shines in the darkness can be trusted more than the darkness itself, and that a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness.” — Henri Nouwen

Bringing light to the darkness on a lantern walk in November. Lantern walks are part of the traditional celebration of the Christian feast of St. Martin (Martinmas), and a precursor to modern-day jack-o-lanterns.

---

About the Author

Ursula and her husband Spencer have two young children, and their family enjoys playing hide-and-seek and dancing in the living room. She works as a communications and events coordinator with the University of Oregon.

You can read more from Ursula at motherbearblog.com.

Gratitude | Wearing Gratitude as Armor

Important Note: I will not be discussing my, nor anyone else’s political views in this blog post.

On election day, I planned to start my day as usual, at my desk reviewing my list of priority tasks to accomplish. But I couldn’t get myself to look at my calendar app. I was distracted, restless, and unsettled. The only things I could manage to do were to read the latest election commentary, listen to live interviews, and watch the projected vote counts. Later that night I made phone calls to friends and I discovered we all felt the same thing that day: strong subconscious anxiety. This was a familiar feeling I have fought too often about a variety of topics.

I remembered times in my life in which painful situations that I couldn’t change left me feeling stuck. I remembered the intense frustration of not knowing which corrective actions to take for the sake of my emotional, spiritual, and physical health. I kept thinking about what I needed to do and how I felt virtually handcuffed, which intensified my anxiety.

It’s interesting how anxieties and fears can so easily attach themselves to us. Lies that jump on our backs, and once there, become increasingly heavy, weighing us down with an ungodly burden. Lies that want to limit what we can do and who we can be. Why would anyone believe a lie that would hurt them and rob them of God’s richest blessings? It’s an insidious process. These lies bombard us in such high quantities that it can be very hard to fight them off. And they try very hard to convince us that they do not exist. They work hard at becoming invisible to us. What we cannot detect, we cannot fight.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT
“But the lord is faithful; He will strengthen you, and guard you from the evil one.”

We can trust our Heavenly Father to faithfully protect and provide for us. He is the creator of all good things. His truth enables us to see how things really are. No shadows, nothing is hidden. Our God is the author of truth who gifts us with many things.

I remembered a sermon from years ago which described one of the most powerful pieces of our spiritual armor: thankfulness for God’s love and faithfulness. I made a mental list of the things I am thankful for. It quickly became a longer list than I first expected.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

I have adopted this strategy: When I feel bombarded with a heavy burden of lies, I list the many, many occasions and ways God has blessed me! As I do this, I am filled with relief and gratitude. And as I thank God for His many gifts and freedoms, I have felt the shouting lies fade into peaceful quiet. Gratitude protects us from spiritual and emotional illness, and frees us to continue our pursuit of becoming the person that God created us to be. Christ is patiently helping me grow into a more spiritually mature version of myself.

Philippians 4:8 NLT
“Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about these things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

An ongoing practice of gratitude is the precious antidote to the poisonous lies that assault us all day long. And as you keep living in thankfulness, you get better at focusing on what is true by remembering all that God has already done for you. You realize how rich you really are. You have all that you could ever need in Christ.

James 1:17 NLT
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

What life experiences are on your thankfulness list? This new habit is changing my life. I encourage you to create your personal gratitude armor today!

---

About the Author

Sara has attended CitySalt Church since 2004, the year it was founded. She studied Journalism, wrote for her college newspaper, and is a member of Oregon Christian Writers. Sara also enjoys singing hymns with friends: “there is a sermon in every hymn waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.”

Gratitude | Thankful for God Himself

1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 118:1
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.

There are so many Bible verses about gratitude/thankfulness, in both the Old and New Testaments. In fact, many of them are almost exactly the same! 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 118:1, and probably many others, all say to give thanks to the Lord because He is good and because His love endures forever. Amen!

The concerns of our hearts, whether personal, political, or anything else, can be overwhelming and weigh us down. They have for me lately, at least! I think that’s why God calls us to declare our gratitude, so we can refocus our attention on Him. Of course, I don’t think that we should ignore our concerns or the stress that they cause us. We can take these to Him, but with a heart willing to thank Him despite these burdens, and for any silver linings that they come with.

I love how these verses focus us on being thankful for Him specifically, for who He is and how great His love is. We can be thankful for the things in our lives, good news or hope that we see in the world, and many other things. But sometimes we can’t see these, or they just seem too small compared to our concerns, or we get focused on them instead of Him. I think that’s why it’s so important to be thankful for Him, as a foundation of our gratitude.

This morning, I was listening to this song from Everybody Duck in my car. I think it captures the gratefulness for God’s love that the Scriptures above declare. If you get a chance to listen to it, I hope it helps you as it did me to thank Him for who He is.

Lyrics: Great Affection by Everybody Duck

God of my awakening, I thank You for this day
And master of my breath, I thank You for the life to pray
Oh Jesus light behind my eyes, to you this praise I bring
And keeper of my heartbeat, to you rhythm now I sing

Cause I've been seized by the power of Your great affection
Taken captive by the size and scope of Your amazing love
I'm so incapacitated that You'd send it my direction
You fill me up with Your huge love like a hand inside a glove

Architect of joy, all happiness comes from Your hand
Shepherd of my mind, you take the time to help me understand
O Jesus, light behind my eyes, it was for this I was made
Great composer on my heartstrings, now Your masterpiece is played

Father thank you doesn't seem enough for sending Jesus
And Jesus, no word can suffice to thank You that you died
I praise You, Holy Spirit, for it's Your embrace that frees us
One yet three Your love for me the hope I hold inside, inside

I've been seized by the power of Your great affection
Overwhelmed and overcome by all the love You have to give
Saviour, Your bright shining love light warms my soul with it's reflection
You fill me up with Your huge love giving me the strength to live

---

About the Author

Jessie is an educator, she currently teaches teens and has taught overseas. She is also a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a (long-neglected) blog about the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her trusty sidekick cat, Arwen in the foothills of South Eugene, where she can go hiking within minutes of the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

Guarding Your Soul

Introduction:

This blog post was originally posted in the summer of 2016.

This morning I woke up so thankful for the rain. I did a search on our CitySalt website for ‘thanksgiving’ and ran across this 2016 post. It is so relevant for today, I am reposting it.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Enjoy! ~Darla Beardsley

---

John’s post…

From time to time over the course of the last 15 years I’ve dealt with low back issues. When I’ve done too much of the wrong thing my back will “go out”. To me that means I’ll feel spasms like electric shocks whenever I move just slightly the wrong way. It means I can’t stay in one position for very long, I can’t do my normal work routine, I can barely get in and out of a car, I have to be very careful when sitting down, laying down or getting up from either of those positions. I can’t go out and play. I get grumpy and self-focused and depressed. I absolutely hate it. In so many ways and for so many reasons, I hate it. Did I say “I hate it”? Well, I really do hate it. 

I have learned over the years that with the help of good chiropractors, physical therapists and exercise trainers, there are a number of things I can do to help myself out of this bad place. I can ice, I can stretch, I can do certain exercises, I can get laser treatments, I can walk and walk and walk. I can learn to guard my low back by better engaging my transverse abdominals (muscles that wrap around your body below the navel which act like a belt supporting your back). I can also protect my back by keeping good posture, holding my head in line with my back, and using my glutes instead of my low back muscles for stability. I have to be very aware of how I’m moving, but if I’m careful, I can still function fairly well until my back muscles finally relax and get back to normal. I am so thankful for what I’ve learned over the years and especially for the knowledgable people who have helped me so much. 

So I was reading in Philippians this morning and I was reminded of how God, as a good and perfect Father (and as The Great Physician, as well) gives us such wonderful instruction and advice for living well. In Philippians He tells us not how we can guard our backs, but how we can guard our souls:

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Wow! He tells us that His peace is what guards our hearts and minds, our souls, and He even tells us what part we have to play in getting that peace. He gives us strategies for guarding and protecting our souls. I love that! There is something we can do. We need to realize first and foremost that He is near us. He has promised never to leave us. Then, rather than worrying and being anxious about things, which we are all inclined to do, He tells us to talk to Him instead.

Bring to Him our concerns and troubles, pray about them, ask Him for what we need and above all, bathe all of these prayers and requests in a pool of gratitude. To me it’s interesting and significant that the little phrase “with thanksgiving” sits right in the middle of this whole section, set off by commas, as if to say this is the key. The key to peace and the key to being free from anxiety.

I read this quote somewhere once which is inspired by Matthew 11:28-30:

 Rest is not the absence of labor, hardship or suffering...
 It is the absence of guilt, worry, anxiety and lack of meaning.

 Fortunately we are not just victims of our mental, physical and emotional states, being passively carried down a stream in which we don’t want to float. God dignifies us with an invitation to participate with Him in such way that we can, at least in some ways, influence the course and outcome of our journey.

Living in a world where there are so many things to worry and be anxious about, it is reassuring that God knows our human tendencies and rather than judge us for our ignorance, foolishness or sin, invites us to let Him take the heavy load and gives us in its place a light load, easy to carry, full of gratitude, peace and grace. 

Philippians 4:6-7
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joshua 1:5
I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Emotional Well-Being | Peace Found in Perspective

We were winding our way up and over the mountain and back down to the west side of the island, which we are currently calling home. My husband and I were engaging in a gratitude conversation, sharing how blessed we feel. Life could have easily taken a different turn at many points in our journeys, both together and as we were growing up. Why were we spared from a more tragic experience? Why did God guide us and bless us? Who are we to be so fortunate, with so much suffering in this world?

One answer is that we will never know and our goal is to follow God’s guidance so that He can use our journey in intentional ways that we may never understand.

Another answer is perspective. I’m sure there are many out there that would not look at our journey as incredibly fortunate. While you can’t deny the great privilege we have with access to clean water, loving friends and family and so much opportunity, we have had our fair share of struggle.

As we made our way back to a comfortable home where our three healthy and incredibly capable children waited, I realized my perspective could be different.

Now I was pondering this; why am I so blessed to be able to feel blessed in moments of struggle? Even through seasons of sadness, stress, frustration and desperation, somehow we continue to feel so incredibly blessed.

I know that depression has visited so many different walks of life and the specific situation we are in doesn’t always dictate how we feel about ourselves, our current state and the world around us. Sometimes when light is shining right on us, we feel darkness. Sometimes when friends are reaching out, we feel alone.

So all I can really share, in hopes that it will help those struggling emotionally, is what has helped me: Being grounded in faith, surrender and gratitude.

• Stay grounded in the Lord through prayer

• Surrender yourself, your world, your relationships and especially worldly things

• Rejoice that God has a plan and each step has a purpose

• Serve others and pray for them

• Take action - small and easy steps forward build momentum

• Find things to be grateful for - simple and small can build momentum here as well

“I continue to be grateful and always aware that I am in charge of my faith and my perspective,
but not my life.”

In today’s “you can have it all” culture, this belief may not be popular, but I believe in putting God’s plan before any worldly desires. In fact, I aim to cut out worldly desires and let go of dependency on my own dreams to embrace the journey set in front of me. This has filled me with gratitude and joy, even through hard times. Be careful not to just pretend, but to really dig deep and decide what desires can be released and what to pull into focus. In Ephesians chapter 4, starting at verse 17, Paul “insists” we no longer live as Gentiles “darkened in understanding and separated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18). Our hope and joy and gratitude comes from our connection to our God.

Ephesians 4:21-24
“Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in the true righteousness and holiness”

This isn’t at all to say we are sad because we’re not living for God. Rather, through sadness we can remain or at least regain our sense of gratitude and joy through a shift “in the attitude of your minds” and rejoice in the truth that we were “created to be like God in the true righteousness and holiness” and that God is in control of the this beautiful creation around us. I surrender my own worldly desires to an all powerful and loving God who created the incredible life that surrounds us, for which I am so grateful.

---

About the Author

Leona is a wife, mother and traveler who is intrigued by how different people live. Her latest project is exploring ways that different walks of life can simplify, in order to live a fulfilling journey.

"Eternal Thanksgiving"

Devotional originally posted August 11, 2016

This human being (or is that “being human”) gig is not an easy one. We live in a crazy, complicated and contentious culture where terrorism, mass shootings and random violence are becoming so commonplace that the shock of these events threatens to give way to resignation. This year we have the added craziness of a political system gone haywire to make sense of. Too often I still find myself frustrated by people, events or circumstances that plague this fallen world. It would be easy to allow these feelings to take me down the all too familiar roads of anger and resentment or worry and depression.

Sometimes I wonder where God is amidst all of this turmoil? I must admit that there have been times when it feels as if God has abandoned us and left us here to get through this world on our own…  but then I realize that God is right where God has always been: Within. Within me, within you, within the sunset and the rainbow, whether we recognize it or not we are interconnected by His internal, eternal presence. God will always live within our hearts and souls and no terrorist or politician can change that.

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Some years ago, I entered a treatment program to overcome an addictive behavior.  One of the most important parts of my rehab was to write a page or two in a journal at the end of each day. The idea was to reflect on what went well and what did not go so well and to learn from the experience. I always ended my journal entries by listing three things for which I am grateful. The gratitude entries didn’t have to be anything major because remembering to be grateful for the little things can help keep us grounded. I remember one night being grateful for rose petals, bottle-caps, and opposable thumbs.

One of my best defenses still, against the world, is to keep adding to that gratitude list. The simple act of writing down those people, events, and circumstances that are blessings, helps me better appreciate the experience of the present moment.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.  ― Bill Keane

After all… How can I continue to operate in frustration when I am thinking about how others have contributed good to my life? How can I fail to understand the gift of each day as I experience life’s small pleasures? How can we not feel a sense of abundance when we take a few moments to think about the beauty and wonder that surrounds us?  Thank you Lord for the gift of this day, help me learn better how to walk with you in it.

"Perfection or Nothing" by John Rice

Many years ago someone said to me, “If you expect either perfection or nothing, you’ll get nothing.” I think I understood the meaning of this in a vague sort of way, thought it sounded wise, and then banked it somewhere in my subconscious.

This idea has been brought back to me recently with different words that have really caught my attention. Someone said, “If you’re always looking for the ideal in life, you can’t be really living in the moment. You will always be dissatisfied.”

Although I don’t think of myself as a perfectionist, I do know myself to be always looking for the ideal, the best, the greatest, the number one, the most beautiful, the first-class, the most famous, the smartest, the way things SHOULD be. I think this comes from somehow being taught never to settle, never to give up, to set my sights high, to strive, strive, strive. And I have expected this from others too.

There are certainly some good points to trying our best and setting good standards, but for myself I’ve realized that if I am extreme in this way, I am always unhappy with real life. I can’t fully enjoy life, I can’t experience the real moment I’m living in and I can’t fully appreciate the people around me. I even have a hard time with my relationship with God. This is because I’m wanting every connection with Him to be the best, better than the last, electric, dynamic, life-changing. So, in reality, how often does a human experience those moments with God? Probably only once in a great while. And that’s probably a good thing, because otherwise we’d find it extremely hard to live in this often mundane, everyday kind of world, with all its imperfections.

If I think about it, my way of thinking has been very covetous, to use a Biblical word. I always want something I don’t have, or want to be someone I’m not, or want others to be someone they’re not….and then I live with either a low-grade or high-grade sense of dissatisfaction and fail to see the goodness and grace of what IS.

So with God’s help, I’m trying to find the right balance in my life: not expecting too much and not expecting too little. No perfection, and no nothing. I’m open to starting to see the beauty of God’s goodness and grace in all the regular, day-to-day little happenings. This even reminds me of the many places in Scripture where God’s people were often drawn to their captors (Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians) because of the rich, beautiful and exciting things those cultures offered, but at the same time ignoring the quiet waters of the Promised Land which God had given them for their sustenance and pleasure. Like me, the Israelites wanted the exciting wealthy, cool and hip - the happening place and culture of the powerful. They got bored with the gentle, quiet waters of everyday Israel, though that’s where the Lord’s goodness and presence were strongest.

God’s goodness is everywhere. His glory is all over creation; His image is somewhere to be found in all humans, however buried it may be. How much better to allow ourselves to be amazed at His presence day-to-day in the mundane, rather than to be craning our necks for something more, always something more.

Is 8:6,  Ps 16:11,  Mt 7:9-1

"Eternal Thanksgiving" by Joseph Scheyer

This human being (or is that being human) gig is not an easy one. We live in a crazy, complicated and contentious culture where terrorism, mass shootings and random violence are becoming so commonplace that the shock of these events threatens to give way to resignation. This year we have the added craziness of a political system gone haywire to make sense of. Too often I still find myself frustrated by people, events or circumstances that plague this fallen world. It would be easy to allow these feelings to take me down the all too familiar roads of anger and resentment or worry and depression.

Sometimes I wonder where God is amidst all of this turmoil? I must admit that there have been times when it feels as if God has abandoned us and left us here to get through this world on our own…  but then I realize that God is right where God has always been: Within. Within me, within you, within the sunset and the rainbow, whether we recognize it or not we are interconnected by His internal eternal presence. God will always live within our hearts and souls and no terrorist or politician can change that.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
~James 1:17

Some years ago, I entered a treatment program to overcome an addictive behavior.  One of the most important parts of my rehab was to write a page or two in a journal at the end of each day. The idea was to reflect on what went well and what did not go so well and to learn from the experience. I always ended my journal entries by listing three things for which I am grateful. The gratitude entries didn’t have to be anything major because remembering to be grateful for the little things can help keep us grounded. I remember one night being grateful for rose petals, bottle-caps, and opposable thumbs.

One of my best defenses still, against the world, is to keep adding to that gratitude list. The simple act of writing down those people, events, and circumstances that are blessings, helps me better appreciate the experience of the present moment.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present. 
― Bil Keane

After all… How can I continue to operate in frustration when I am thinking about how others have contributed good to my life? How can I fail to understand the gift of each day as I experience life’s small pleasures? How can we not feel a sense of abundance when we take a few moments to think about the beauty and wonder that surrounds us?  Thank you Lord for the gift of this day, help me learn better how to walk with you in it.

"Guarding Your Soul" by John Rice

From time to time over the course of the last 15 years I’ve dealt with low back issues. When I’ve done too much of the wrong thing my back will “go out”. To me that means I’ll feel spasms like electric shocks whenever I move just slightly the wrong way. It means I can’t stay in one position for very long, I can’t do my normal work routine, I can barely get in and out of a car, I have to be very careful when sitting down, laying down or getting up from either of those positions. I can’t go out and play. I get grumpy and self-focused and depressed. I absolutely hate it. In so many ways and for so many reasons, I hate it. Did I say “I hate it”? Well, I really do hate it. 

I have learned over the years that with the help of good chiropractors, physical therapists and exercise trainers, there are a number of things I can do to help myself out of this bad place. I can ice, I can stretch, I can do certain exercises, I can get laser treatments, I can walk and walk and walk. I can learn to guard my low back by better engaging my transverse abdominals (muscles that wrap around your body below the navel which act like a belt supporting your back). I can also protect my back by keeping good posture, holding my head in line with my back, and using my glutes instead of my low back muscles for stability. I have to be very aware of how I’m moving, but if I’m careful, I can still function fairly well until my back muscles finally relax and get back to normal. I am so thankful for what I’ve learned over the years and especially for the knowledgable people who have helped me so much. 

So I was reading in Philippians this morningand I was reminded of how God, as a good and perfect Father (and as The Great Physician, as well) gives us such wonderful instruction and advice for living well. In Philippians He tells us not how we can guard our backs, but how we can guard our souls:

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Wow! He tells us that His peace is what guards our hearts and minds, our souls, and He even tells us what part we have to play in getting that peace. He gives us strategies for guarding and protecting our souls. I love that! There is something we can do. We need to realize first and foremost that He is near us. He has promised never to leave us. Then, rather than worrying and being anxious about things, which we are all inclined to do, He tells us to talk to Him instead.

Bring to Him our concerns and troubles, pray about them, ask Him for what we need and above all, bathe all of these prayers and requests in a pool of gratitude. To me it’s interesting and significant that the little phrase “with thanksgiving” sits right in the middle of this whole section, set off by commas, as if to say this is the key. The key to peace and the key to being free from anxiety.

I read this quote somewhere once which is inspired by Matthew 11:28-30:

 Rest is not the absence of labor, hardship or suffering...                                                                                                                      It is the absence of guilt, worry, anxiety and lack of meaning.

 Fortunately we are not just victims of our mental, physical and emotional states, being passively carried down a stream in which we don’t want to float. God dignifies us with an invitation to participate with Him in such way that we can, at least in some ways, influence the course and outcome of our journey.

Living in a world where there are so many things to worry and be anxious about, it is reassuring that God knows our human tendencies and rather than judge us for our ignorance, foolishness or sin, invites us to let Him take the heavy load and gives us in its place a light load, easy to carry, full of gratitude, peace and grace. 

Phil 4:6-7

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joshua 1:5

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Mat 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”