By Pastor Jen Collins
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)
What’s your word right now? Mine is OVERWHELMED.
As I spend time with people in various communities, the number one word that I’ve heard over these last couple of weeks is “OVERWHELMED.” A close second was the word, “TIRED.” Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines Overwhelmed (Adj.) as “completely overcome or overpowered by thought or feeling.” I imagine people everywhere are striving to navigate all the ways we want transformation from the current place we are in and move beyond it. We’ve wanted to endure a world that feels more connected, safer, and not as hostile or lonely. I don’t know if we have found it, yet.
We are coming to a close on Advent – a season that is intended for us to find solace and calm. A time for awaiting the celebration of Jesus’ birth. However, in my experience, it has been anything but silent nights.
As I listen to seminary students, pastoral and organizational leaders, and everyday folks in grocery stores, mechanic shops, assembly lines, and postal services – people are feeling overwhelmed.
I can recount those moments when it truly feels like we are drowning – like we are trying to get out of the pits we are in only to have more heaped upon us. I can just feel the tension in the space between my shoulder blades pulling tighter, the aches in my temples, and the desire to crawl under the sheets into darkness. I also have experienced the nauseated feeling, reminding me that I haven’t eaten or slept enough.
Why do we do it? How do we escape the grind? Why do we afflict one another and ourselves? This is certainly not good. Not for me and not for those I am to care for.
Through practice in therapy, spiritual direction, and a cohort of women leaders, I have been able to understand that “self-care is community care.” I often cling to this wisdom, especially during times where things feel so overwhelming. I use this guiding wisdom that brings me comfort amidst anxiety, busyness, and overwhelming moments.
One technique that I learned from the book, “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies,” by Resmaa Menakem (Central Recovery Press) involves releasing trauma from the body. This body-based meditation exercise called “the body scan” helps to lessen feelings of overwhelm in the body. The practice involves sitting down and focusing on what your body reveals about emotions and interactions with others – it’s about paying attention and listening to your body. We have millions of interactions daily, and our bodies speak to us – we just might not be listening. We must remember that we are embodied beings who live not just with our spirit and mind, but with our bodies as well.
I have found that this “Body Scan” practice helps build my capacity for awareness, understanding, and compassion for others. Over time, I believe we can learn to tell when we are open or closed off from ourselves and each other. This can be a healing tool as we encounter overwhelming things. It takes time to learn how to lean into the world of being human together – of being beloved together.
The writer of Isaiah begins with this word: COMFORT. The comfort the Prophet shares is the reassurance that God does not leave God’s people. God is with us. God affirms that we are not garbage, we all are worthy. God with us, Emmanuel, Christ reminds us that we serve a God who brings COMFORT, a God who desires for us to care for ourselves and one another. Redemption began with a baby, love came to be with us, now and always.
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A Christmas Devotional
Prayer:
God hear our prayer, when we are overwhelmed, help us pause, breathe, and reflect. When it feels too much to carry, may we lean more on you. When darkness seems to have blurred our path, may your light guide our next step. God, we are so grateful to know you never leave and we are not alone. May we be reminded of your love for us all. Bring us peace. Bring us hope. Amen.
Discussion questions to journal or talk through with family or friends:
- Can you think of a time someone extended care for you? What did they do and how did it make you feel?
- Think about a time you needed help but didn’t ask for it. What do you wish you could have changed about that experience?
- How do you care for yourself? Do you reach out for help and support to heal (mentally, physically, or spiritually)?
- What type of practices help you find comfort and peace? (i.e. The Body Scan meditation)