Tag: silence

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

It has been not the best of years so far for our family. We said goodbye to my mother-in-law in April after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. When we found out October 2024 that my mother-in-law had pancreatic cancer and her time was limited, we were devastated. She was a rock to our family. She was always there for us, especially when we started our own family. I couldn’t have gotten through much of it without her love and support. There is definitely a hole in our family that will never be completely filled.

The month of August wasn’t much better. My mother was hospitalized for dehydration and low potassium, among other things. She’s been home and has made a miraculous turnaround, thank the Lord. That same weekend my mom went to the hospital, my husband’s good friend was in a freak accident. The whole thing could have gone very badly. Thankfully, he has been recovering and healing well. Despite that, the incident was extremely stressful for my husband.

Just the other day, my father was hospitalized for a head injury after a fall. He seems ok, though he did sustain a concussion and needs to rest and recover. And if all this bad news isn’t enough, our cat has gone missing and most likely is gone for good.

How much emotional stress can a person handle? It seems I’ve been on a perpetual road race with no pit stops. We didn’t take a vacation this year. In fact it’s been 3 years since our last week-long vacation. It’s just been go, go, go. Even Lightning McQueen learned that it was ok to refuel. (I hope you all can remember the famous racing car from Disney/Pixar’s Cars movie.)

I am reminded this is a perfect time to lean into my faith and God more than ever. We are not capable of handling all this stress alone. Just as Lightning McQueen had his pit crew to help him, I have my own pit crew with God. With prayer, I can ask for what I need. I can listen to what I need to hear. But how do I start?

I need to go back to basics: Breathe. Meditate. Be. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? To purposely take slow and deep breaths. To sit in silence and just be. With summer coming to an end, it seems to be the perfect time to embrace a slower, quieter time. It is during those quiet moments that God is present. We are more apt to hear His whispers. We can feel His comfort and trust in Him. It is during this quiet time, the healing can begin.