“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5
It’s the last Sunday of the year. Sunday #52. And I’m going full transparency (come on, that’s what you guys love about me) and telling you today’s entry almost didn’t happen. See I haven’t been feeling great these past couple days and sitting up at the computer was more trouble than it was worth and I layed in my bed and cried. I was devastated. You see, when I started this blog journey at the beginning of the year I was determined to make it different from many of my other writing projects. I was determined to finish it. In 2019 I said a prayer, sat down, and created a plan. A plan for 52 blog entries over the course of 2020. 52 deep and personal dives into feelings and faith, with each week’s writing being impacted by what had happened days and sometimes minutes before I sat to write. And as I laid in my bed in pain and frustration, I was overcome with Sadness at the thought of not finishing what I had set out to do.
Now some of you will say “But Charna, it’s not that serious! You could write it late or what’s one entry missing? We understand! You’ll write better when you feel better!” And I wonder if you say that to yourself? The way I feel all of the good, positive vibes you’re all sending me, I wonder do you send those same good vibes to yourself when you’re feeling down. Do you sit and fester in the Sadness and Pain, or do you remind yourself that tomorrow will take care of itself and grant yourself some grace? I hope it’s option 2. I hope that as good as you can find yourself being to me (and for some of you I’m a perfect stranger) you can be the same guiding light for your own journey out of Sadness.
Now that I’ve called you out, you might be wondering yourself now. Maybe you’re wondering how you can accomplish that. I mean sure, it’s easy to tell someone else it’s ok but how do you tell that to yourself when you’re feeling all the things that come with the Sadness? Disappointment, Fear, Shame, Guilt. How do you talk yourself out of Sadness and into success? Back to my transparency moment. I’ve been dealing with a lot with my body these past couple of years and today’s debilitating moment was the result of that. So when I cried, overcome with Sadness about not being able to write, it was coupled with a lot of other Sadnesses. A lot of the time when we feel somethings so strongly, it’s never just surface level. So when I reached for my affirmations, they weren’t doing the trick. I couldn’t just bounce back because each pain I felt was a reminder of a deeper emotional pain. Whatever act and secondary emotions are causing you to cry and shut down, words aren’t always enough. But sometimes they’re all you have and I promise you they are so powerful.
Affirmations can pull you right out of whatever you’re feeling and empower you to move forward. And if you can’t come up with any of your own, the bible is full of them! Here’s the one that helped me get to my computer: “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) Usually when I have a good cry, it’s followed by a good sleep. Today was no different. And when I woke up, I felt better. Better enough to put some food in the crockpot, boil water for a cup of tea, and snuggle up to my keyboard for a few strokes just for all of my loyal readers. See, the kick to making an affirmation work, is putting it to work. I had options. I could have decided that I was done trying for the day and just went back to sleep. No. I needed to believe what I told myself, what God had told me, and act on it. Granted it wasn’t really morning, but it was a time after a weep and a rest and if I believed my joy was coming I had to go out and get it. So I did. And I’m so glad I did! Because now my record is untarnished and what I was equipped to do, even though it was muddled by physical and emotional pain, it was not destroyed. And neither was I.
So I encourage you all, as you prepare for the coming new year, to remember that trouble doesn’t last always. Give Sadness a moment, have that good cry, take that nap and move forward! Move forward to the next great thing in your life. 2020 was ROUGH, ok? It was a beast like no other, but God says He wants you here, and so do I. Blessings to you, and I can’t wait to catch you next year!
EMBRACING EMOTION: THE BLOG 