Our Faith, a Reason for Joy or Guilt?

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Does our faith make us so joyful we want to dance in the streets, or does it load us down with dos and don’ts? When we share our faith, do we make others happy, or do we make them fearful of a vengeful God?

The Pharisees did the latter, and Jesus chastised them for it. He brought the Gospel, the Good News, to a desperate people. Many heard and rejoiced. Do we?

For myself, I bounce between a heart singing with joy and one crushed with guilt. This season of Advent is an excellent opportunity to anticipate good things, celebrating not only Jesus’ birth but also family, friendship, and community. Christmas Carols and scripture readings are filled with joy and hope. Each dawn brings just as much chance of good things as bad. Shouldn’t we greet each day with a joyful expectation of the wonders and miracles God can do?

Even in bad times, there is always hope of a better tomorrow.

The night after my third husband passed away, my son and I went to the theater to see the movie, Castaway. I needed a distraction, some time away from the grief. One line stood out and has stayed with me for years.

After the main character lost the love of his life for the second time, he told his friend, “So now I know what I have to do. I have to keep breathing. And tomorrow the sun will rise, and who knows what the tide will bring in.”

Our faith is the tide that God uses to bring us hope for a better tomorrow, and after this life, an eternity in heaven with Him.

This Christmas season I challenge you (and myself) to see our faith not a list of dos and don’ts that crush our souls under their weight, but something so joyful we want to jump to our feet and dance.

 

Mind Chatter

Dr. Emmett Miller coined the phrase to describe the constant twittering that often plagues us in the night. That endless chatter dredging up things from the distant past or reciting a litany of things we need to accomplish the next day.

Some say it is a sign of creativity or intelligence. A sweet thought, but guilt and regret seem to play a big role, at least for me.

Is the self-incrimination a means to keep me humble and not puffed up? It works, but is it healthy? According to Dr. Emmett Miller, M.D. there should be a balance between admitting mistakes and misjudgments, asking for forgiveness, and feeling good about right choices and accomplishments.

There are many ways of finding that balance: prayer, meditation, spiritual retreats, and guided imagery to mention a few. I’ve used them all at one time or another. They are effective if used regularly, something I am not good about doing when I’m busy. 

I have been good about my prayers and devotions in the mornings since discovering how effective they are to setting a peaceful tone to my day and keeping my blood pressure down, but after I go to bed I have more difficulty. Time to dig out Dr. Miller’s recording, Easing into Sleep, and find the off button to all that late night chatter. 

How about you? Does your mind whirl from ancient memories to your to-do-list? What methods have you used to turn those thoughts off?

The Merry Go Round

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Regardless of my good intentions I seem to stay on the merry go round of the same routine, the same issues and the same responses. The rude driver still elicits irritation and a sense of self righteous affliction. How dare he/she insinuate I am a slow, incompetent driver. And let’s not forget the Slow Sally going ten miles or more under the speed limit. I am ashamed to admit I become the rude driver and barrel around them, just to prove my point. Why?

Add an issue at work and the merry go round gains speed and I find myself locked in place by centrifugal force.

I tried using mediation CD's during my commute, soothing music or nature sounds. It sort of worked. What would work is a change of attitude, a change in my thought patterns. Nothing new there, yet why is it so hard to implement and then stick to it? I found the answer in my devotions. No surprise there.