Take Heart

 
  I went to bed last night with the song "Take Heart" from Seeds Family Worship in my head. It's from John 1 16:33, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

  And don't we find ourselves in troubles right now? Our lives have been affected in various ways. Some of you have canceled plans to go visit relatives or get away for awhile on spring break. You may now be working remotely or your job may be gone. Maybe you're out of toilet paper or eggs or milk. Your gym classes or your prom has been canceled.

  What will next week look like? What will tomorrow look like? We don't know. But we know that in this life, we who are believers have been promised troubles. Not the same troubles, not to the same degree troubles, but troubles.

  Some of you may be bitter about your troubles. And your troubles look bigger and more overwhelming than your neighbors' troubles, your sisters' troubles. You find yourself spiraling into a world of self-pity and just a plain ol' bad attitude. I have some things to help you.

  -Take heart. Christ had his fair share of troubles on this earth. To be honest, we were his troubles. Our sin required a payment to a completely holy God. We are unable to pay that with any amount of good deeds or good vibes. And so He left his heavenly home so come as a vulnerable, helpless baby to be raised for the slaughter that came upon His sinless head. He defeated sin and death for us, forever. So take heart. If nothing else is going right in your life right now, hang on to that for dear life. I've been in seasons of life where that is my ONLY hope.

  - Do not compare. For me, this is a struggle! I compare houses, bodies, lifestyles, kids - my list could go on and on. How do I compare? Sometimes I come out on top, other times on the bottom but no one wins in this game. Perhaps you don't think graduation being canceled is a big thing when your loved on in California/Washington/Colorado/Italy/wherever is under true threat of life or you're immunocompromised yourself and terribly frightened or ill. Perhaps you're struggling to find childcare when you don't have a flexible job option while someone complains about not having enough toilet paper stock piled.
  I am no stranger to this type of comparison. When my son was going through epilepsy seizures and surgeries, sometimes I was angry at the things people complained about. They seemed so trivial. But Katherine Wolf, in her book Hope Heals, gave some great advice to not compare. Because their trials are their trials and they are trying to them. It's a big deal for prom to be canceled. It's a big deal when your isolation is causing your depression. It's a big deal to be out of toilet paper. It's a big deal to be cut off from your students. Have compassion for other people. We are all going through a time. In a year, some of these things will have shifted perspective but in the here and now, they are big deals.

  - Do not sit in your sorrow. I mentioned this the other day, but I believe it's worth mentioning again. If we meditate on our disappointments, we will be continually disappointed. So be sad but then find a way to be grateful. I'll mention my author bestie (I wish) Jennie Allen again. In Get Out of Your Head, she says that "we can observe our suffering without being overtaken by our suffering. We can see it without becoming its slave." (Side note: this is not talking about abuse and things like that, but more like being a victim to loneliness or the cancelation of things, etc) Later in the chapter, she says "But to see God's good purposes, we have to focus our gaze beyond our immediate situations. We have to remember that, even now, we have a choice: we can choose to praise and honor God right where we are, trusting that we serve a God who is both transcendent and immanent - fancy words for saying that His ways are beyond human understanding - yet He chooses to be near us, to be with us, even in the hardest times when we cannot yet see how He could possibly bring anything good from our circumstances." (Isn't she a good author? Find GOOYH here.)

  And know that I'm not lecturing! This is material that has come up from reading this book and the Scriptures. This is me preaching the gospel to myself.

  If you find yourself without something to read or watch or listen to, let me help:

Books:
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen
Risen Motherhood by Laura Wifler and Emily Jensen
Parenting by Paul David Tripp

Podcasts:
Today by the Way with Indiana Adams
Made for This with Jennie Allen
The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman

Watch:
The Riot and the Dance: Earth
Harriet (this is PG-13)
Wonder

*This list has no real rhyme or reason except what has been good in my life lately*

I'm cheering you on, friends!