Two of my least favorite activities in life are practicing stillness and exercising patience. Yet, for some reason, God feels the need to expand my capacity in these areas right now. While I understand the necessity and benefit of both, it doesn’t change the feeling I have when I’m forced to apply them. Nonetheless, I can’t argue with the blessings that come when I do less and allow God to do more. Here’s what I’m learning in this season.
1. Acknowledge everything that’s happening.
Since Thanksgiving, my life has been a whirlwind. In particular, my kitchen has been an ongoing stressor after my oven, refrigerator, and kitchen floor stopped working or got ruined within a week of one another. Moreover, it was recommended that everything (cabinets and all) be removed from the kitchen to properly install the new floor. That alone is enough to cause me and my entrepreneurial budget to be anxious, but there were several other personal and business transitions happening simultaneously. On top of everything, the more I grounded myself in devotions and prayers, the more curveballs God gave me to navigate until I finally had enough.
Acknowledging everything means admitting when you cannot handle all life is throwing at you. For me, that means journaling about what is weighing on me and bringing all of it to God for help and relief. It’s a moment of surrender. My practice is to say, “God, this is what’s on my mind. It’s too much for me, so I’m giving it to you.” Sometimes we know things are happening and we feel the weight and anxiety of them, but we don’t pause long enough to invite in our Supreme Being to help us navigate life’s issues. Take your moment. Pause and acknowledge.
2. Assess the energy you’re feeding.
I’ll be completely honest and admit that when I applied lesson one, I left my kitchen issue off the list. I talked to God about my personal and business concerns but took the kitchen matters into my own hands because I had a timeline, and I assumed God would provide the funds to make it happen. I quickly learned that’s not how it works. God can’t help in an area we don’t invite Him into, and He surely won’t bless plans He didn’t approve.
After spending too much money on appliances and many late hours looking at kitchen designs and cabinets, I realized I was operating with self-reliant, anxious energy. I was moving quickly and tirelessly because I wanted my kitchen fixed by a certain date. This is not the place I want to operate from, and it’s certainly not a space in which I feel grounded. I needed to reassess. When you find yourself in this space, feeling pressured and anxious, it’s time to evaluate what’s happening. For me, that means engaging in activities that ground me. I play relaxing instrumentals, find a Christian yoga video on YouTube, and take a warm, candle-lit bath with CBD epsom salt or essential oils. When I finish, I’m clear-headed and grounded, and I make decisions and movements from that place. When you engage in activities that ground you, you can assess whether or not you are moving through life from a place of grounding or worry.
3. Trust that God got you.
When I finally grounded myself, I knew it was time to stop trying in my own strength. I had to release my timeline and let God do things His way. I didn’t like it, but I also didn’t like operating anxiously, so after a night of surrender, I decided to start the next day meditating on a scripture that kept me in a place of grounding (Psalm 62:1-2). I accepted that I couldn’t control the outcome, so I would trust God’s provision and timeline. Within hours of my morning meditation, I got an email about unexpected compensation that would be coming my way in the next week. They were sending me extra money for a contract I completed earlier in the year. What are the chances? When I stopped trying to control everything and decided to give it to God, He gave me a little reminder that He hears me and He got me.
I don’t know what obstacles have you anxious right now, but I do know that God is waiting to help. It’s not easy to trust what you can’t see, especially when life’s burdens are piling up, but when you find the strength to surrender and release your plans, you invite God in to show you His awesomeness. Practicing stillness took me from knowing what God could do to experiencing it in a new way. Get grounded and invite Him into the situation.
God is undefeated. He got you.
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