‘I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.’ Job 7:30 Do you feel weary and worn out from all that 2020 presented? Did you enter into 2021 with hope but also exhaustion? Are the present-day turmoils and tribulations weighing you down? You aren’t alone. I think we were all eagerly waiting for the clock to strike midnight on January 1st. There is something freeing about a new day, a new month, and especially a new year. For many of us, we were thrilled to usher in the new year and shed the baggage of 2020, but we also felt too tired to celebrate.
This new year’s eve was a quiet one for me. There weren’t any 911 calls coming in. The cold weather that had swept through Texas earlier in the day kept most people inside. The holiday energy that usually fills the air on this night seemed absent. I felt full of hope but I also felt hollow inside. I was anticipating this new year with the excitement of new possibilities, but my heart still stung with unresolved grief.
How do we move into 2021 with hope and anticipation when we are so battered, bruised, and tired from the loss and suffering we endured in 2020?
Be Kind to Yourself
First and foremost, you need to give yourself a hefty dose of grace and mercy. 2020 was a battlefield where an intense war was taking place. There were many days when the assault from the enemy of COVID-19 and disaster was relentless. You were a soldier on that battlefield whether you wanted to be or not. You didn’t have a choice. Now, you need to take some time to tend to yourself and address the mental, spiritual, and even physical wounds that you received while fighting the battles.
Take time to carefully review each area of your being to assess what needs tended to first. This is called triage. You need to triage and then care for the areas of your life that feel the most damaged. That may mean you need to schedule a wellness checkup with your physician, a counseling session with a therapist, a workout hour at the gym, or a weekend of sleep and slumber. It’s crucial for your wellbeing as you move forward into this new year with high hopes, that you enter it as holistically healthy as possible.
In 1st Kings 15, the prophet Elijah was brought to his knees by the intense turmoil that he faced. It got so bad at one point that he wanted to die and yet God knew that all he need was sleep and food. Elijah just needed the human provisions that we all need, and often take for granted, to be able to get back up on his feet again. Elijah slept. God’s angel tended to him and kept him fed. And once he was rejuvenated he was able to continue the work for forty days. Rest and self-care is spoken about many times throughout the Bible. In fact, the second verse of the second chapter of the Bible, God rested after creating the universe and all that it contains. If it was important enough for God to rest, then it’s even more so important that we rest.
Choose…
Most of the time, we don’t have a choice about the circumstances that happen around us or to us, especially when it comes to forces of nature. However, we do have the choice on how we respond.
Making an intentional choice about how to feel, how to respond, or how to react to a difficult circumstance can feel impossible, especially if you have been subjected to chronic suffering. Each time you choose joy, optimism, love, peace, or courage, your mind (and your body) will be quicker at making that choice the next time your faced with adversity. It takes grit, determination, and a lot of prayer to actively choose to do the opposite of what your normal response would be to such a situation. While it seems like joy and optimism should be something that comes easily, human nature is to immediately respond to harsh or unfair circumstances with negativity, anger, and hate. Practice making choices that goes against the grain of what your normal response or reaction would be to any given experience. Grit your teeth, take a deep breath, count to 20 if you have to, and choose….(you fill in the blank) and you will soon find yourself feeling less burdened and weary.
A beautiful scenery of a path with bright sun rays falling through a range of trees
Connect
‘When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.’ Job 2:11
The pandemic has created havoc on the physical relationships we have with others. The days of mass gatherings at homes for celebrations, at church for worship, or at entertainment events to have a good time seem lost in a time-warp. Depending on where you live, the rules and regulations that have been imposed by government officials may be severely restricting your ability to meet with your friends and loved ones.
The political discord and divisiveness that appears to be a plague of its own has also ripped apart relationships and flattened friendships. Gone are the days when we could have peaceful conversations about opposing viewpoints and leave the table still friends. We have left grace and compassion at the door and our listening ears have gone deaf.
Despite contending with both physical and emotional maladies we need connection more than ever in order to heal. Deep, close relationship with others is key to the overall wellness of our being. We were not created to move through this world in isolation, especially when faced with loss, grief, and despair. When humans band together during times of suffering, we are able to disperse the heaviness of the burdens we carry across the shoulders of others. The load is lightened. We are no longer alone. And, we can accept encouragement from another when we can’t find it in ourselves.
Connecting with others in the safest way possible will allow you to move through this new year with renewed strength and vitality. Choosing what that looks like for you is important and needs to be considered carefully. How can you connect to those relationships that are part of the foundation of your support system? What are some unique ways that you can invest quality time into those people that you love and adore. How can you open the door to new friendships that might stretch and grow you? Can you choose to listen more than you speak in order to deepen the connection you have with another?
This year, choose to work on ways you can connect with others both inside your circle and outside of your comfort zone. Connect by serving. Connect by stepping out into new and uncomfortable opportunities that will force you to grow. Connect by listening more. Connect by hosting a discussion group, a Bible study, or a game night. Connect by teaching. Connect by learning.
You may be floating through these first few days of January in a dazed fog. You can see the sunlight starting to peek through but the skies still appear stormy. Know that you are surrounded by others who are walking a similar path. Know that you are not alone. Know that you deserve rest, and compassion, and relationship. Know that when you actively pursue these things, you will start to see more and more of the sunshine of hope and promise appear. You will be reenergized. You will be able to continue to move on the. The weariness won’t last forever. It’s a promise!
‘But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’ Isaiah 40:31
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