Tidings of Comfort & Joy, No. 1

Tidings of Comfort & Joy, No. 1

We are often told to not be afraid, but know that it's okay to experience fear. If you are experiencing anxiety, know that that is normal. 

Being human means feeling all of the emotions we feel. In fact @pastormelissa of #pastorbesties actually says this: "Jesus teaches us what it means to be more human - and being more human means feeling all that we feel."

Believe it or not, this is actually part of what it means to be created in the image of God, for "God is affected by events and human actions and suffering in history," writes German theologian Jurgen Moltmann, drawing on the work of rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel on the pathos of God.

In other words, we feel because the God in whose image we are made feels.

And it's important that we not resist or repress those feelings. 

Allow yourself to feel the feels. Give yourself permission.

But don't let it control you. Don't let it consume you. Schedule "anxiety time," say, twice per day, the same way you might limit your news and social media consumption. You will of course experience anxiety at other times. Use techniques like square breathing to help you cope with and control your anxiety.

I would direct you, too, towards the great cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, who has started a series on Facebook called #songsofcomfort. So far he's done Dvořák's "Going Home" to ease anxiety and, specifically for healthcare workers, the sarabande from Bach's Cello Suite No. 3. Follow the hashtag to hear songs from others who are contributing. Check it out. Let yourself be comforted. It's good for your soul.

Also find joy. Look for joy. Make joy.

And Ingrid Fetell Lee is the expert on joy. She has written about joy as an act of resistance, by creating unity, by letting us reclaim our humanity, by disrupting expectations, by promoting resilience, by giving rise to hope. "If we relinquish our joy," she cautions, "we lose the point of it all." And so, she argues, quoting a poem by Jack Gilbert, "we must risk delight."

I would also encourage you to check out Lee's TED Talk, Where Joy Hides and How to Find It. She talks about how to find rose-colored glasses that literally give us eyes to see the joy - and to create joy - in the world around us, which is essential because "the drive towards joy is a drive towards life."

Speaking of joy, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is bringing a lot of it right now. Yesterday and then again today, they took the penguins around to visit other animals before nesting season begins. I dare you not to smile, especially the video from today.

Continue to be in prayer for our doctors and nurses and other healthcare workers, for the elderly, for those with weakened immune systems. Be in prayer, too, for those who work in grocery stores and big box retail stores.

Live. Love. Laugh. Pray.