Slow down, anxious heart

Halfway through quarantine and it has been so hard. I think we feel pretty much the same.

I mean, have you ever thought that you would experience a pandemic like this in your lifetime?

Neither do I.

So I want to let this out right here. You are not alone — in the fear, in the anxiety, in the uncertainty, you are not alone. That was also me for the first week at its peak, perhaps. But last Saturday, after tiring myself thinking about what would happen tomorrow, and the next, this was enough to make me stop:

Isn’t this so beautiful? The lavender sky, the moon that smiles back, and the winking Venus beside the moon — they were enough to make me stop my tracks back home from the grocery. That was also the first time again that I went for a long walk. I felt that unexplainable comfort like how a tight hug and a pat on the back would feel. I felt like I was cheered on; at the same time, I had this thought in my head, “When will I ever make time to stop and just stare at the sky again when everything comes back to normal?”

So yeah, the anxiety came from RUSHING right back when the situation tells me to SLOW DOWN. While the pressure from the situation is so real and is so felt by the whole country — ordinary men and businessmen alike — what can we do right now but to be still and stand our ground? Forcing your way would make you face serious disciplinary action from the government, so obedience through staying at home and serving through the roles that we have, would be better. And there is this beauty to stare at. The sunset, the quietness in the long walk, being mindful of the sound of your breathing, the humbling truth that we are under the care of the Almighty Father who gives us the life and the creation we often take for granted…this kind of beauty could only be found while slowing down.

And I am not saying that you should not care about what is happening. I do, and I worry; but then I catch myself time and time again and remind my heart that He is still in control. It requires a daily reminder. Let me get you start reminding yourself through the Word:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8:3-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

He has set the moon and the stars in place, and so He did to you. You are right where you should be. Stop rushing. He cares for you, He crowned you with glory and honor. Don’t marvel too much why; it comes natural for a Father to His child. So stop, marvel at what He has given you — right here, right now. 

Slow down, anxious heart. 

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