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May 2021

Episode 3: Waiting Well

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2Y59SaViacs67rBjBU44KQ

Show Notes and Resources

We want to wait well, even in the craziest of seasons!

How am I waiting?  Am I waiting anxiously or am I waiting expectantly?

So many circumstances or perspectives can lead to or increase anxiety:

  • Covid-related decisions
  • Children’s education
  • Employment changes
  • Others’ responses to or judgment of our decisions
  • Perfectionism

Waiting for a situation to pass or waiting for a new season to begin are different types of waiting.

Waiting of any type is hard!  Sometimes, we wait avoidantly and lack being present in our current situation.  Other times, we wait anxiously with a hyper-focus on our changing situation and lose our joy.  Anxiety is a joy-stealer!

Anxiety can serve a purpose.  It shows us what we care about, and can help point us in the direction we need to move.  Anxiety is not helpful when it overtakes our lives.  It can direct us to plan, prepare, move forward and finish well.

Anxiety can serve as a checkpoint.  Anxiety can be our “alert system.” 

  • How am I feeling?  
  • What is going on?  
  • What do I need to trust God about?  
  • What promises of God are relevant to this situation?  
  • What is the next step God is directing me to take?

Avoidance of any of these steps often points to a lack or trust or a place of insecurity. 

What gets in the way of waiting expectantly and trusting?

  • Overwhelming anxiety
  • Our own expectations of how things will turn out
  • The length of time we spend in challenging situations

We have to hold our expectations loosely!  As we loosen our grip, God can give or take away in His timing.

Parenting gives us a unique perspective on waiting!  As parents, we withhold from our children to give them what they need at the right time.  Similarly, God will take care of us in His way and in His timing.  Often, the ways He works is an opportunity to build our trust.

God reserves and preserves what is for us until we are ready to receive it.  We cannot miss out on or mess up what God is keeping for us.

We wait well by:

  • Trusting God’s promises.
  • Reviewing God’s character.
  • Reflecting on God’s past faithfulness.
  • Identifying lies we may be believing.
  • Talking openly with our community.
  • Seeking peace and balance.
  • Praying.

Psalm 62:5-6 (The Message)

“God, the one and only—  I’ll wait as long as he says.

Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not?

He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul,

An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.”

There is always worth in the wait!  A season of waiting is a gift.

Waiting is a training ground for trust.  It trains us to trust God for the next thing.

We will not come out of a season of waiting empty-handed!

Look for opportunities to practice waiting by slowing down.  Drive more slowly, wait in a longer line, take more steps.  As we slow down, we see what we might have otherwise missed!

Questions for reflection:

  • What am I waiting for?
  • How am I waiting?  Am I waiting anxiously or am I waiting expectantly?
  • Where and how does anxiety show up in my life?
  • What gets in the way of me waiting expectantly?
  • What does waiting expectantly look and sound like?
  • What does waiting well look and sound like?

Resources:

  • Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster
  • The Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard
  • The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen

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Finding Peace in a Time of Chaos

 

 

Show Notes and Resources


What does chaos look like to you? Every day we are faced with emotions, thoughts and waves in our body that can leave us feeling numb or out of control. Join Candy, Ella and Jennifer as they discuss how to find peace in a time of chaos.

Fear can paralyze our ability to trust ourselves and our confidence in decision-making.

Fear often includes a bodily response, particularly to a specific place, activity or circumstance where we have had a traumatic experience.  When we create new, positive experiences for ourselves in those places, we can overcome the avoidance of those places or activities and begin to enjoy them again.  This rewires the pathways in our brain for positive experiences.

We may not be able to change the external circumstances, but we can reprocess and reprogram the ways that we respond to challenges.

We can be affected by others’ fearful responses to us.  We long for others to respond to our fears with care and compassion, but sometimes it triggers their own fears.  How can we be present for others in their fears?

Fear can be debilitating.  It can keep us “locked up,” both mentally and physically, if we are too afraid to even leave our homes.  

Despite the challenging climate right now, with the pandemic and social unrest, we can dig deep in our thoughts and commit to processing our feelings.  It is possible that we can emerge from this challenging time being stronger, healthier and more present!  We have to be present to extend care to others.

Fear can masquerade as other emotions and we aren’t as swift to notice it.  It’s important to identify our emotions and stop the cycle of fear.

We need safe places to release stress and rest our minds and bodies.

One of the greatest ways to combat fear is vulnerability.  Reach out to others; voice the fear; ask for encouragement, prayer and support.

Fear is stifling.  The enemy wants us to be silent, keep everything to ourselves and be alone in our fear.  But God created us for community!

We don’t have to live with fear.  God is present with us!

Reaction vs. Response to Fear:

  • Reaction is our gut response and emotions.
  • Response is intentional, bringing truth to our situation.
  • How can we respond instead of react?

What are your top fear dispellers?

  • Stop and breathe.
  • Remind myself “I am not alone.”  God is with me and is working for the best possible outcome.
  • Rely on my community.  Reach out and ask for help, encouragement and words of truth. 
  • Reflect on God’s faithfulness in the past.  Reflect on my testimony!
  • Playlist of songs to bring myself into a place of worship and centering.
  • Prayer.
  • Name the fear and identify my emotions.
  • Look for the best-case scenario.

Resources:

Social Justice Mindfulness

Become a Bridge Builder- LaTasha Morrison

Posturing Prayer by Tlk.Therapy

6 Tips To Help You Start Meditating, Courtesy of Black Girl in Om’s Lauren Ash

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