Contract
Four years ago I said yes to the unknown. I agreed to be with my husband through better and worse, through riches and poverty and sickness and health. We have no idea what these extremes look like when we are mouthing the words at the altar of our choosing. We have no idea how the stressors of life will affect our lives and our marriage. We don’t know what caregiving and unstable job markets will do to our union. We don’t know how kids will utterly disrupt our norm. We don’t know what life looks like after “I do.” Each year, we say “yes” again to the unknown. Each year we sign our names at the bottom of a contract not knowing what the following year may bring. That’s marriage….it’s jumping in the deep end holding hands. It’s saying, "I might not like you, but I love you, and we are going to get through this together.” Marriage is saying it might be our last, but we will spend it together. Marriage is signing a contract you never intend to break.
Meditate
Phillipians 4:8 NKJV Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
I based my whole book series on this verse. I recognized that our minds can easily drift to negative places. We naturally focus on what’s going wrong instead of what’s going right. We allow ourselves to panic. We think the worst and even prepare for it, but what if we allowed ourselves to meditate on the word of God? What if we meditated on his promises? What if we meditated on our God-given victories? What if we cleared our minds and thought about what brings us joy? What if we thought about what makes us smile? What if we thought about all our blessings? If you find yourself struggling with anxiety, maybe you should meditate.
Lament
noun
a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
verb-
1: to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively :
2: to regret strongly
We all express regret or sorrow in different ways. We all have been touched by this pandemic in ways we couldn’t imagine. Solitude has a way of exacerbating our emotions. Lack of human connection and social distancing can negatively affect our psyche. Find ways to allow yourself to feel without going down the rabbit hole. Breathe. Cry. Scream. Write. Get it out. Lament!
Purge
verb
rid (someone or something) of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling.
remove (a group of people considered undesirable) from an organization or place in an abrupt or violent way.
noun
an abrupt or violent removal of a group of people.
People purge in different ways. There is a series of movies dedicated to the notion that to eradicate violent behavior one must be allowed to commit violent acts without consequence for a day. You can fast. You can pray. You can do a cleanse. You can remove yourself from toxic situations and relationships. Purging is necessary to cleanse yourself of both physical and emotional toxins. Do whatever you need to do to get healthy both spiritually and physically. Let go. Purge.
Detach
"The root of suffering is attachment." -Buddha
There is a meme of a bloody hand holding a rope and the words, "sometimes holding on does more damage than letting go." How many of us are damaged because we would not detach? We held on to toxic relationships. We stayed too long because we thought things would change, and we ended up damaged. We ended up bitter. We ended up insecure. We ended up suffering. We have parasitic connections to people, places, and things. Let Go! Detach before its too late.
Speak Up!
Our voices are a gift. We have the ability to speak our desires into existence. We also have the abilities to speak our fears into existence. We can change our reality. We can change our thoughts. We can change our lives when we speak. We have become complacent and comfortable. We are muted. If you are not content with your life its time to speak up!
Beyond Expectation
Fear plays a big part in our expectation. Past experience also plays a part in our expectation. If we have been disappointed, then we typically expect disappointment. If we have experienced failure, then we expect failure. If we have been hurt, then we expect pain. We have experienced the worst and now that is our expectation. God wants us to think beyond our past, beyond our hurt, beyond our failure, and beyond our disappointment. God wants us to cast our nets into the deep. He wants us to walk on water. He wants us to experience the miraculous. God’s ability and resources are limitless. God wants us to think BIG. God wants us to think beyond our reality, beyond our limits, beyond expectation.