Tag: peaceful

Burning The Midnight Oil (of Worry)

My friend Melinda owns a store in my hometown and like any business, she and her husband spend many hours at the store. It’s a huge responsibility and often requires them to “burn the midnight oil” restocking the shelves so they will be ready to open the next morning. This is particularly true when the seasons shift. They sell home decor items that tend to follow the seasons and holidays, so every time there is a changing of seasons, their store must change its stock.

If you have ever worked retail, or even food service, then you understand what I mean by this change of decor. It is a team effort and often done through extended hours, either before or after your usual shift. When you own the business, like my friend, there are no shift hours, its get the job done regardless of the hour- even if it is literally past midnight. She is the owner so it falls upon her to make sure it all happens on time. It is her responsibility.

I was reminded of this as I checked my Facebook this morning and Melinda had posted late last night, while restocking the store, and while I was apparently blissfully sleeping. But, actually, I admit I wasn’t. I too was burning the midnight oil, waking up in the middle of the night and thinking. And thinking. Have you ever been there, done that? When your thoughts are keeping you awake way past midnight?

I would like to say that once my head hits the pillow I drift off into sleep without a care in the world. And most of the time I do. But, when there is so much happening in my life I either find that I am having trouble falling asleep as I play the events of the day that has just passed over and over again. Trying to decide if I handled it all correctly. Or previewing all the events that will take place the next day, or next week, or even next year. Pondering it all. Working my mind out, while it should be resting.

It is too easy to let this happen isn’t it? To be fair, I do believe it is a good idea to think back on the day that has just passed. But, instead of a critique,why not a gratitude check? Instead of focusing on whether or not we did everything right, why not focus on what God did. Did you see the work God was doing?

Reflecting at night with a thankful and grateful heart forces me to stop and think productively. Not focus on whether I did everything right- which I’m pretty sure I didn’t, but looking at the little things that worked out beyond my expectations and realize God was in it. In the smallest detail. The ones we might overlook because of our busyness and hurried lifestyle of 2022.

And what about tomorrow’s worries? Instead of thinking and overthinking about events that usually do not happen like we think they will, let’s try really giving them to God. We can make our plans, and be organized, but, we really are not in control of everything. We are not the owners of this world, just the caretakers. We can give all the worries of tomorrow and all of our plans to God.

Jesus knows that we would worry when he said; “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25, NIV). He points out that God knows what we need and since God takes care of the birds and the flowers, surely He can take care of our needs. So why should we be worrying?

And if we are still unclear about what Jesus says about worry, He adds in the last verse of chapter 6 of Matthew; “Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt. 6:34, CSB).

Ouch. I am definitely guilty of worrying too much about tomorrow. I need God to remind me often, that I just need to stop and be still. Stop my over thinking and over analyzing, long enough to relax, let it go and let Him work it all out. It takes the Holy Spirit to nudge me and remind me to give it to God. To stop focusing on what has passed already and what may or may not happen tomorrow. To be reminded that I do not need to burn the midnight oil worrying.

I hope this will be a reminder to you too. Stop focusing on your problems and start focusing on God. – God Bless You – Nancy

Weary

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

I don’t know about you, but I am weary. And I suspect many of you are also. We all get weary at times, trying to keep it all going. And keep it together. To keep ourselves together. We carry these burdens for ourselves and even for others. We must maintain our work selves, our church selves, our family selves and society selves- All these roles we find ourselves in. Trying to keep all the roles connected, balanced and producing good results. And if that isn’t enough, there’s this burden we carry around with us as a constant reminder of the problems in the world. We are of course not responsible for the world or its events, yet we find ourselves burdened and troubled by the global crisis’ . Too much bad news, horrible news, incomprehensible news. Earthquakes, bombings, hurricanes, uprisings, Covid. We are all just a little weary right now. And the constant contact through our mobile devices in our pockets, keeps all these problems and global crisis’s on our minds and always within reach, inescapable, it seems.

We might tell everyone around us that we are”fine” when the reality is, we are not “fine”, but far from it. We are weary. We need rest. We need help in dealing with all of this. We need each other and we need Jesus’ peace and comfort.

I admit I am not an expert in dealing with it all, but there are a few steps we all can take to help each other. First, talk with each other openly. If you are not doing well, let someone know. Talk to a friend. Tell them what is going on and what is wearing you down. If you are having serious, suicidal thoughts, tell someone or call a professional hotline. Help is close and people who are trained to listen are waiting for you to reach out to them. You are not a bother. Your friends and family do love and care about you, they need you here. The pain you feel is temporary, it will get better and there are people who can help with your pain.Let them help you.

Second, if you are just tired and weary from too much of the world taking your joy, step away from social media, or block or snooze individuals or pages that are upsetting you and causing you undue stress. Do not keep your phone where you sleep and don’t let it be the first or last thing you check in the day. Instead read, listen to music or take a gratitude inventory.

Third, a gratitude inventory is something I have recently begun. Before your day begins or as it ends, meditate on what you have to be thankful for. At the end of the day, recount the positive events of your day and offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Just breathing and living another day is reason enough to be thankful. If it is the beginning of the day, offer thanks for the opportunity for a new day, a new beginning. Even the little things matter. So be grateful for a bed and a pillow, for a meal to wake up to. For your family and friends. God has provided it all. We forget sometimes that not everyone is enjoying these at the moment. Some are homeless, others have lost a loved one or a friend. Some do not have the hope of Jesus. They are trying to do life all on their own,in their own strength.

Fourth, don’t dwell on the negative. Look for the good during your day. Focus on what has gone right, instead of what is going wrong. Focus on positive Bible verses like the one above. Write down these verses and place them on sticky notes everywhere to be reminded of them. Or subscribe to a daily word app that will send you a text or email.

Fifth, to know these verses, you must pick up your Bible and read it. Or get an app for your phone with a daily verse. Remember the Bible is not just a book written by a bunch of dudes in the past. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It has power to change minds, challenge you and give you peace and comfort. Don’t believe me? Just try it for a week. It doesn’t mean that suddenly all your problems will disappear, but it will change your perspective. It will change you. Bad circumstances, like those of the world right now, are not going to go away immediately, we cannot change these, but we can change our attitudes and perspectives. And surprisingly, by doing so we change our brains. Our thoughts affect our physical brain chemistry as well as our physical shape. Someone has said that we are what we eat, but scientifically speaking, we are what we think about.

The last step is to take time to pray. God does hear us. It might be we have been neglecting our prayer lives, because we feel like there is a wall between us and God. Or we think He is mad or unhappy with us, but here’s the thing, He knows who you are. He made you. He’s okay with your doubts. He’s okay with you for not being perfect. He loves you. He knows you have messed up, so that’s not a surprise to Him. Just talk to Him, like a friend. He promises rest for the weary and help with your burdens, you don’t have to do this alone.