60 days ago, life forever changed for you and for me.
Today, we find ourselves in a sea of confusing messages and days filled with disappointments. Questions like, "Should we listen to our leaders and stay home to stay healthy", or "Is it time to get the economy up and running so let’s not stay home and stay healthy?" are everywhere. Disappointments affect our family and friendship structures. When will your senior graduate? When can your adult kids and grandkids come visit?
Then there’s daily life and important relationships: Do we stay safe by not hugging or getting within six feet of one another or is our need for touch and closeness more important? How wide should be our relationship “circle” be? When can we open up our “circle” and how big should our “circle” become once we can widen it? What if I come down with COVID-19, will I die? Or, is it all fake news?
Who would have thought 60 days ago our mental wellness would be challenged and bombarded with so many questions and messages? Quite honestly, at times, it’s too much. My mind cries out for rest and peace from the crazy COVID-19 mindset. So, where do we go to find rest and peace of mind? I go to the One, my Heavenly Father, who never changes and to the steadfast, never changing promises given to me through scripture.
Richard Foster in his book, Celebration of the Disciplines, states that through meditation we can “sink down into the light and life of Christ.” Aren’t these beautiful words?! “Sinking down” reminds me of jumping onto my grandmother’s feather bed and having the blankets, pillows, and mattress envelope me; thus, “sinking down into the light and life of Christ” paints a picture of ever so gently being swaddled in the safety and security of the Father’s love. Furthermore, it is within this ever-deepening friendship with Jesus, through the Spirit, the light of Truth directs my decision making and the life-giving force of renewal penetrates my mind.
The practical way of living out the “sinking down into the light and life of Christ,” for me, is to find a scripture passage such as Psalm 103 and meditate on it for a few minutes. Write parts of this passage in my notes on my phone and carry it with me. Then, when I need to bring peace to my restless mind for my mental wellness, I punctuate my day with a portion of this passage. Punctuation clarifies meaning to sentences. Using parts of scripture to meditate on throughout my day clarifies, punctuates, meaning and purpose to this crazy COVID-19 season.
If you find yourself craving rest and peace of mind for your mental wellness, I encourage you to try punctuating your day with scripture.
Psalm 103; Romans 12:2; John 14:27; Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 46:10