A Word in the Midst of So Many Words

In just the last 10 days the world as we know it has shifted. I’ve written here before about those kinds of times. Mostly our life changing moments are more individual or family related, we got that job, we had a baby, we got engaged, a diagnosis came, an accident happened, a family member died.

Sometimes things that happen are more collective, 9-11 was one of those kind of shared, life changing days in our country. Obviously people who were the closest to the World Trade Center towers were impacted the most but the threat to all of us was real. Travel changed then as did our sense of overall security.

Now it seems this Worldwide Pandemic is going to touch us all. Many will get sick. Loved ones will be lost. Things we assumed were just our rights are now gone. We aren’t free to pursue all our plans and dreams, to go to concerts, to work or to travel or to gather with those we love without consequences. The economy is shaky. We are shaky. Everyone is scrambling not just with change but entire new ideas about everything from how to worship or educate children to our smallest actions that can affect others.

It is a time of change, anxiety and fear. No one can predict what will really happen or for how long life will be different. It plays on all our fears as humans.

And with all that, has come this intense outpouring of words...so many news reports, so many articles, so many words to read or hear about what is good to do or bad to do or what is an overreaction or a minimizing. People have tried to be funny about it and we need to laugh but I’m finding that most of the humor hits me wrong, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

At some points, I’ve had to stop ingesting words because there are just too many of them. This all has caused my husband (a school superintendent) and many others to necessarily to go into crisis mode in order to help lead in our community.

Meanwhile at the very same time we had our son’s wedding, the Coronavirus and a family milestone converging. In the end, we had the wedding as planned but it was on the same day the U.S. was declared in an Emergency Status. It ended up being a beautiful day, maybe even more so, because everyone there could feel life shifting as we paused. I worry that future brides and grooms will not be able to go forward with their plans but that is the truth will almost every plan any one of us had in place for the months ahead.

When life shifts, words matter. Too many words can be overwhelming. At some point, we have to focus on only a few. Today I’m focusing on these:

Fear Not

Trust Me

All Will Be Well

Be Grateful

Be Humble

Breathe

And this, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was with God in the beginning. Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not extinguish the light. (John 1:1-5 CEB).

Shifting times call for fewer words. What words are you allowing into your heart and mind right now?

Dr. Cindy Ryan is a pastor, wife, mother of three grown children, Mosa to Keller and Pace and breast cancer survivor. To become a member of Cindy’s Inner Circle sign up today at http://www.drcindyryanblog.com/circle. The April 1 Top Ten List will be on Ways to Curb Your Anxiety in a Crisis.