We are overloaded, emotionally, that is. Last week New Yok times columnists Gail Collins and Bret Stephens discussed this idea of emotional overload and our feelings of emotional overload. There’s the terrible war in Ukraine with photos of destruction and refugee children; add to that inflation, Supreme Court nominee hearings, and fears of possible use of biological or chemical weapons, and – well, you’ve got the idea.
How do we deal with emotional overload? How can we stay calm, not to mention rational, in the face of all the things we need to consider at this time? It certainly is difficult, to say the least. And the weather is almost as volatile as our personal ups and downs, one day in the fifties and the next a low in the twenties.
I often wonder whether Jesus stayed calm as he walked towards Jerusalem. He must have certainly known what would happen as he continued to challenge the religious and political authorities of the day. Maybe a generation or two afterwards his followers remembered his determination, not his fears, for he must have had some. Jesus gave us a clue on emotional overload: centering ourselves on God, the source of strength.
Prayer for the Day
Overwhelmed by the news of the day, O God, we come to you,
For more than comfort, you are our source of strength;
Inundated by stories of pandemic, destruction, and terror,
We want to shut ourselves off from what we see around us.
But, you, O God, tell us to look at the world as it is presented,
And to be your servants to heal the hurts and damage we see.
In the name of the One who is the healer,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I could no longer discern what was real and what was fake. Everything, including the present, seemed to be both too much and nothing at all.
- Clementine Wamariya, from The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Rwandan writer
The saying "Life is just one damn thing after another," is a gross overstatement. The damn things overlap.
- From a quote in The Cincinnati Enquirer
To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
For If you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication as I cry to you for help.
As I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
Psalm 28: 1-2