What to do When Your Mind is ‘Filled with Care’

What do you do when you have no words? Not for another person, but for yourself?

Not about something tragic, but about the normal course of life. Not about a specific event, but about what was, what is and what might be to come?

What do you tell yourself when the emotions and thoughts and scenarios crowding your mind render you unable to articulate how you feel about any number of things, at any given moment?

What do you think when the road ahead—one that is worn from the footsteps of others but has yet to bear the brunt of your own weight—is enveloped in fog? When your desire for step-by-step instructions and satisfaction guarantees goes unmet, replaced by the need to walk by faith and not by sight?

What then?

What do you do?

You go outside and walk slowly around the flower borders, reveling in each new bud and each unexpected sprout.

You pray for God’s will to be done, not yours.

You turn up the corners of your mouth, knowing that the very act of smiling will lighten your heart and remind you of all the many blessings your life holds.

You crawl under the fluffy red blanket on the couch and take a short nap.

You talk to people who have walked where you are walking, or where you might be walking at some point in the future.

You hug someone close—maybe even for a full and therapeutic 20 seconds.

You remind yourself that clarity will come again—possibly after a solid night’s sleep, a couple of hours in the garden, 30 minutes on the treadmill or a good cry.

You open your Bible to the verse you noticed yesterday, and you jot it down on a lime green index card: “When I am filled with care, Your comfort brings me joy.” (Psalm 94:19)

You push aside all the partially-finished, half-thought-out blog posts you can’t seem to focus on and write something fresh—something that flows straight out of the moment you’re in right then.

And you hit publish because you know if you need to write this, someone else might need to read it.

P.S. Linking up this week with Kelly Balarie at Purposeful Faith, Crystal Storms at Intentional Tuesday, Jennifer Dukes Lee at #TellHisStory, Holley Gerth at Coffee for Your Heart, Lyli Dunbar at #ThoughtProvokingThursday and Dawn Klinge at Grace & Truth.