Help for High Anxiety

 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love.

I went for my annual medical exam yesterday.  It was only the 4th time I have left the house since March 16th.  My anxiety level was very high and so was my blood pressure.  My doctor wanted to know how I was doing emotionally and mentally in the pandemic.  We talked a little about the support group I have surrounded myself with, predominantly other women pastors, and how we continue to encourage one another through our exhaustion and our fears.  She urged me to continue with those connections. 

I have noticed that, although everyplace else seems mired in discord and disagreement, the groups of clergy women I belong to tend to be filled with encouragement, long-distance hugs, prayers and love.  We share the weird stuff (like considering night time a series of naps between snacks!) and the funny stuff (mostly cats) and the soul-killing stuff (funerals, congregational drama, fears for ourselves and our loved ones.). Many of us live alone, or alone with pets, so sharing those things helps us know that we are not alone, that other people are going through what we are going through, and especially that we are loved.  

Maybe we have all been reading and writing on the Love Commandments lately, as I have.  Or maybe we all just recognize that everyone needs a safe place, where they can cry and laugh and whine and complain and be heard.  The being heard part is important.  We’re not looking for answers or advice most of the time. We just need a place where we can let down our hair and our guard.  Then we can return to our lives as they are today, encouraged and strengthened.

Christians are not intended to live and worship alone.  Without a community of faith it can be more difficult to keep alert and stand firm in faith.  That community need not meet in person to be a real, authentic community.  It might be a congregation or simply a group of Christians with a common cause or purpose meeting on Facebook or Zoom, like the Young Adult Group at the church I serve and my women clergy groups.  I am grateful to be one with my sisters in Christ, holding one another in a loving embrace.

Loving God, I am so grateful that you have given me a loving community of faith to help me through this time of uncertainty, fears, and frustration.  May we all continue to hold each other accountable to each other, to ourselves, and to you, through our faith in Jesus Christ, your son and our Lord.  Amen