Anchored
May 2021
We have been going through a new series at church; it’s called Anchored. A few people have talked on the subject and I have to say it has been very well timed especially for me.
One thing that was said is that when we are going through a storm we need to keep our anchor firmly embedded in the ground which would mean the boat is close to shore. The boat will go up and down and side to side and move with the waves that the storm creates. The anchor, however, will stop the boat from hitting the rocks, running aground or even from ending up being a wreck at the bottom of the ocean.
During this season I do feel like that boat. I feel like I am being pushed and pulled every which way. I feel like I am going up and down with my emotions. One minute I am doing fine, the next I am not doing quite so well.
During this pandemic and with all the personal issues I have had to face through this time, I am sometimes amazed I have managed to stay mentally healthy. I have stayed strong and worked really hard to continue on the path I was going down before the pandemic hit.
Over the last eighteen months, we have had hit after hit after hit of challenges to the stage where it was getting ridiculous!!
There was one time when Matt, Jake and I had climbed the coastal cliffs of Devon on a bright sunny day and we were 100 yards from the top. We received a phone call with really hard news to take and Matt and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing !!
There’s a saying, ‘when everything feels like an uphill struggle, think of the view from the top.’ There we were now at the top, looking over at this amazing view and laughing, however we were in the middle of yet another storm.
What we were going through was bad but what we were experiencing around us was good. It’s all about perspective. We can’t control what happens to us but we can choose how we respond to it. And the feel-good chemicals released through laughing has shown to be really good for our mental health – well I think so anyway!
It’s hard to stay at the top of the cliff when you are in the boat. When you are waiting out the storm it can be mentally exhausting and after a time it takes it’s toll and I would say I have reached that point of exhaustion. Which actually makes you less willing to fight or laugh your way out of it.
I do feel like that boat in the storm but fortunately I do have my anchor firmly embedded in the ground. Well for now at least I just need to hold on a little longer and wait it out and do a lot more laughing!