From Guest Blog Writer, Anni Magnusson
It becomes increasingly difficult to sit alone with our thoughts as our lives get busier and our schedules become more demanding; there is the constant distraction of current events, technology, and others around us that keep us from introspection and searching ourselves. It is hard to make time to understand how our minds operate.
As a young adult, I am still trying to figure out who I am and what my role will be in this world and within the communities of which I am a member. This summer, I was hired to be the “photographer/social media director” at Covenant Point Bible Camp: a job I felt excited about at a place I consider to be my second home.
Unfortunately, this summer’s programming at Covenant Point had to be canceled to keep staff, campers, and the community safe. Without the expected structure of the summer I would have spent at camp, I have been given an extensive amount of free time and a limited number of activities to keep me occupied.
As a result of this gift/curse of extra time, I have found that I am much more in tune with my feelings and, strangely enough, am getting to know myself more now than ever before! I am learning to sit with my thoughts and allow myself to embrace my feelings, especially the ones of disappointment and grief as well as joy and peace. It can be challenging to willingly accept sadness and confront it head on rather than finding an easy distraction. However, giving ourselves the space to reflect and feel upset, particularly in this time of the pandemic and of civil unrest, can be an opportunity for real personal growth in all of us.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” and Ecclesiastes 3:4 specifies, “…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” Giving ourselves time to acknowledge and react to the emotions we have can be so beneficial; there needs to be time for all of the feelings we have.
Throughout all of our lives, we will have seasons of contentment and sorrow, bliss and heartache. Through all of these times, God is with us all the way. It is vital to be able to admit and face our emotions, if only with ourselves, to better understand how we grow through those seasons with God.
Commentaires