Don’t Rush To The Silver Lining

Stop.

Place your hands over your heart. Sit quietly for a few minutes. Let yourself feel and name any pain, regret, anxiety, or fear you have with you today. You don’t need to solve it – it’s enough to recognize it and entrust it to God.

Listen.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18

Reflect.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you see family and now feel anxious about potential exposure? Did you stay home and feel bitter that you appeared to be the only one being safe? Did you try to create something new and special and ended up just missing the way it’s always been? Of course, many beautiful things may have come in this quarantine Thanksgiving, but it’s possible it wasn’t always great. 

That’s okay. God doesn’t come just to make us feel happy, or chastise us when we feel cheated, or give up on us when we despair. You don’t have to find a bright side to a hard time. It’s alright for things not to have gone well or to be disappointed. People of faith are still humans, after all. 

Don’t rush to the silver lining. Instead, sit with your hard feelings. This beautiful psalm of thanksgiving reminds us that God stays by your side even when your heart aches and your spirit crashes. How beautiful to be reminded that even in our praise there is room for grief!

Pray.

My Creator, you have made me beautifully and well, with a full range of emotions and experiences. In my joy, I praise you. In my sorrow, help me to do the same. Amen.

Carry On.

Without trying to talk yourself out of any hard feelings, what were some of the blessings that came from this Thanksgiving? How did you see God at work even when things seemed disordered and hard?