4 Ways to Thrive (not just survive)
It’s time to binge watch Netflix. Eat anything you want. Hide in your room. And ignore all other living creatures, including your children.
Did I say that out loud? Has anyone else had the same thoughts as I?
Yet a little voice inside my soul says if I give in, when this storm moves thru, I won’t be able to get up.
The other morning as I was journaling a prayer, I felt the silent voice of the Holy Spirit prod me to thrive and not just survive. And as if directed by the Hollywood greats, a scene entered my mind from a recent baby shower I attended.
As I walked into the serene, pinterest-perfect, every-thing-in-its-place nursery, my eyes caught a saying on the wall.
“Let her sleep for when she wakes she will move mountains.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as my soul felt the need to awaken. Awaken more to God. Awaken to the people around me. Awaken to move mountains.
This is definitely a time mountains need moving. And in the words of my dear friend’s mama, “To move a mountain, you start by moving one boulder at a time.”
So let’s do just that. Start moving one boulder at a time.
My last blog was on the power to choose faith over fear. That we must choose our focus and our posture. That we must choose courage, even in the face of fear.
This blog will address the boulders aka areas, we should focus on to thrive and not just survive.
First, we must focus on caring for ourselves.
We are physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual creatures. In a season of great stress, we can’t neglect ourselves and expect our minds to be resilient. Rather we could anticipate our bodies to get weighed down and take our emotions with it.
We need to focus on putting good things in, getting some fresh air, and moving to give ourselves a fighting chance.
Confession, the first week of having my kids at home was a total miss for me. After months of very little sugar and starches, guess what happened. You got it. I gave in.
This week, I am making a commitment to myself to not allow the phrase “shelter in place” to be translated as sit on your bottom, stuff your face, and suck your thumb!
Jesus didn’t just heal people spiritually. He healed them physically and emotionally as well.
One of my favorite scenes in Scripture is this. Two women. One young. One old. Both healed. The first reaches for Jesus’ robe in a crowd as he is on his way to help a young girl. But he stops and says “Daughter – be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And she was healed.
Next scene, he walks into the home where a little girl lay dead. He commands everyone to get out and says, “The girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” The crowd laughs. But Jesus extends his hand and she has to get up. When she arose, she was awakened to life again.
We too can follow her example. We can get up and get out. We can reach for his hand and receive his help to care for our-selves and our souls.
Let’s move the boulder of self-care.
Second, we must focus on communing with our families.
Everyone is always telling me how fast it goes. How quickly kids grow up and leave the nest. “Treasure these days,” they say.
In this new “normal” we have been given the gift of our schedules slowing and our families coming together.
We could choose to ignore the faces right in front of us or we can ignite memories we will treasure for all time.
One of my friends has an Oscar's night with her girls. Another a pajama party devotional on top of the bed. Another hiking in the snow while social distancing. Another charades. Another crafts and creations. Another guys night starring the Star Wars Trilogy. Me? I am making them all clean their closets and mop the floors. Just kidding! But you get the drift.
And more than just making some great memories, the strength of our family will determine the strength of our resilience.
A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart (Mark 3:24-25).
Ouch. That one hurts a bit as moments ago, I was threatening my children to engage in the online church service as tensions were running high. But candy rewards to the rescue. (It’s not below me.)
Simply put, when we strengthen our families, we strengthen our ability to endure the good times and the bad. Our family life is critical to moving the mountains in our home and around our world.
Third, we must focus on checking in on our neighbors.
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others (Philippians 2:4).
Thinking that Home Depot was closing, I rushed out before the sun rose to get enough materials for projects around our house before the official "shelter in place" began.
As I walked in, I saw carts of flowers brimming with life and color.
Now I am not your pastor’s wife that enjoys bringing meals. I’ll do it but it stresses me out. However, flowers are another story. I’ll bring you flowers any day of the week, multiple times of the day.
The plum colored geraniums with painted white edges shouted, “Jill Tilley (my mama).” The teal containers I envisioned filled with perky pansy petals screamed, “Plant me and pass me out.”
Flowers make me happy. And some of my neighbors whom I refer to as seasoned, not elderly, love to garden. So I thought why not make some pansy pots, pass them out, and cheer us all up. (Of course with latex gloves on, standing 10-feet back from their door after ringing doorbell.)
So Ella and I had a blast digging in some dirt. As I visited my neighbors' homes, my heart felt connected and reassured after checking in on how they were doing. I was reminded there are others with greater risk than I, to the coronavirus. My perspective shifted.
When we focus on others, we gain perspective that in turn reminds us there is someone always worse off. That perspective helps us to practice gratitude. Gratitude helps us thrive and not just survive. It starts to move the mountain of self-focus, one boulder at a time.
Fourth, we focus on centering our minds on God’s truth.
My son [and daughter], pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to one's whole body (Proverbs 4:20-22).
Did you hear that? His words are life to those who find them. Health to one's whole body.
We have been asking what does it look like to thrive and not just survive in this season of pandemic proportions. We need health, wellness, positivity, goodness, faith, hope, and love, in our mind, body, and spirit. Paying attention to God’s truth and tucking it down in our hearts is key to that end.
One reason I love to write is that it focuses me on God’s word and forces me to look for him in my life. It challenges me to look to his word for answers. For hope. For sustenance. For guidance. For a pathway through this. For encouragement for my soul.
And you better believe that is what got, when I read…
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youth will become weak and tired and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 4029-31).
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise and he saved me from my enemies (Psalm 18:2-3).
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs (Zephaniah 3:17).
And those are just six verses of a book over a thousand pages.
God’s Word is active and alive. It is living and breathing. Through it God gives hope to the hopeless, joy to those mourning, freedom to the captive, peace to the anxious, beauty to those heaped in ashes, and life to the lifeless.
It holds the power to move the mountains of our hearts in alignment with his will and in accordance with his ways.
It is time we arise. It is time we awake and move mountains. God desires to move through his people. If we choose our focus to be set on him and his ways, all we need to do is step back and say, “Mountain move.”
That is my hope. That is my prayer. That I. That we would awake and arise to whatever God has for us.
My prayers are with you. For the financial-strain, job-loss, fearful times we find ourselves in.
But our God is bigger. Our God is stronger. And what the enemy intends for evil, God will turn it for good.
Trusting God as we imperfectly pursue him,
Erin