How to Surrender Worries and Busy Thoughts to Find Mental Rest
From the Monday Mission, November 2, 2020
Last Monday, I had just dropped my kids off at their co-op. As the doors slammed shut the silence was immediately filled by all of the things I needed to get done. A conglomeration of kid-related tasks and appointments, writing assignments and housework. My brain was bulging. Not with brains (LOL) just that overwhelming feeling.
The pandemic and its challenges have strained us. Mental fatigue is a real, rampant thing, even in the days we are forced to sit around. (That doesn't seem fair).
I knew in that moment I had a choice. I could rush into the day trying desperately to check off every task. But I also knew that the desperate feeling was not only about the tasks. It was about the need to feel in control of my life again, to use busyness as a tactic to gain a semblance of order and peace. Peace that would never come that way.
Or I could stop the maddening thoughts and surrender the day.
I got to choose.
So I took a deep, shaky breath.
I asked God to speak into my day, slow me down, and help me to do only the needful things. He gave me a glimpse of my day represented by a thread on a loom. It was being woven in, interacting with other colors, creating a symbiotic pattern that would one day be beautiful and complete.
Today I can only see this moment, this small part I play in the universe. Today feels like being stretched thin and pulled tight. It feels small. It feels uncertain.
God is asking us to trust in the BIG plans that we can't see yet. The ones that are beyond us.
We can trust God, the master weaver, to hold all of the pieces together. His plan includes us and considers us. Isn't that reassuring? He won’t burden us with all of the future things we will have to do. He gives us work and vision for today. So we can put our hands to it without worry or fear of the outcomes of each step.
Can we believe that 2020 was considered by Him eons ago? That the inconveniences were factored in? That even in our smallness, and the little pieces of our days and our lives that we manage, we are still significant to the whole?
I think He is saying — Do the little thing in front of you today. And rest. It all matters to me.
Your Monday Mission is to take a mental step back from your plans for the week, your worries and busy thoughts, and ask God to speak into the week.
Take a few moments to do a brain dump. Write down all of the things that are top of mind for you. And then pray over each one.
Ask these questions:
What do you want me to do? What things can I let go of practically?
Where do I need to trust you more deeply with the outcomes?
Give me wisdom and peace for each task and circumstance.
This is my prayer for us: “God, this year is too heavy for us. Will you carry all of the pieces, all of the thoughts and concerns? Will you bring peace to our minds over the problems we can't solve? We are trusting in you. Draw us into a deeper trust. Amen.”