Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
~Matthew 11:28-30
Racing thoughts. Irrational thoughts. Relentless thoughts. When will they end?
I lay awake at night, sleep eluding me, and wonder why my mind won’t just “shut down.”
I had a fairly good day: accomplished several chores, worked on my blog, shared some time with my husband, caught up with my mom over the phone, and took our dog for a walk in the crisp late afternoon air. But for some reason, it seems like there are things left unfinished.
Either that, or I’m concerned about tomorrow.
I must wake up early to go to the Behavioral Health Center that I was discharged from a month and a half ago, in order to sign for and pick up my records. This should be the first step in (hopefully) attaining continued temporary disability benefits.
Then I need to travel to the DVR (Division of Vocational Rehabilitation) Center in order to take a Career Scope test. The goal of the test is to find occupations that would be compatible with my likes, abilities, and skill set, while taking into account my mental health issues. I’m hoping that ultimately they will be able to provide free training for me in a new, suitable career. Prayers are appreciated! 🙂
Later in the evening, I have hand bell rehearsal at my church. It should be fun, albeit challenging. My husband and I are actually attempting to arrive early in order to go over our parts individually.
Maybe by putting these thoughts on “paper” I will be able to let them go. To turn the “worry switch” off in my brain and be able to rest in God and His loving and competent control of my life.
These are the type of thoughts that I want to fall asleep thinking about. 🙂
The past several days I have been feeling emotional, frazzled, and just plain overwhelmed. I hate feeling like this! Everything becomes a “big deal,” and each situation I encounter becomes a cause for worry.
I’m thankful for my husband, who pointed me back in the right direction. “What are some of the coping skills you learned for handling feelings like this, Honey?” he asked me. I told him that one coping skill I had learned was to do something that I enjoy and/or that relaxes me. He talked me through a list of possible activities, until we came to spending some time in God’s Word. He was right! That was just what I needed to do.
After some quiet lingering in a Bible devotional/workbook that I have been going through, You Are Loved: Embracing the Everlasting Love that God has for You, I felt much better. The devotional was guiding me through several Scripture passages that related to our capacity to be loved and used by God despite our imperfections. It prompted me to meditate on these truths as I answered the workbook’s questions. It was definitely an uplifting and rejuvenating experience!
I wanted to share some of the Scriptures that really spoke to my heart. Maybe they will touch you where you are at in your life’s journey, as well! 🙂
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” ~Romans 5:8
“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” ~ Ephesians 3:17-19
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'” ~Matthew 11:28-30
“This High Priest of ours [Jesus Christ] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” ~Hebrews 4:15-16
All of us as human beings are imperfect. However, God loves us in spite of this! He sent His Son to die for us while we were completely incapable of reaching Him on our own. Although we had nothing to offer Him, the Creator of the universe infused us with worth and loved us enough to look ahead to the person He is molding us to be. He has a purpose and a plan for each of His children, and He is waiting for us to take His hand and follow.
Will you walk with your loving heavenly Father today?
Knees to the Earth 