Opening the Blinds

There is something about opening the blinds in the morning. It's the start of the day and I'm letting the world in. Even though we are now in the beautiful, cooler months, the summer heat seemed brutal this year, and like those who are in cooler climates have to stay indoors during the winter, we have  to remain inside most of the summer. This also means that some days, it's too hot to even open the blinds. The hot scorching sun is more than the AC unit can handle and it quickly overwhelms the system. So you leave the blinds shut and close the world and the bright sun out.

This hibernation, while better for our electric bill, becomes mentally tough for me. It can feel a bit like living in a cave. If you shut the world out for too long, and concentrate on what's inside your house, then you forget the world is out there.

It's a metaphor for life. There are moments in life that it is good to tune out all of the noise that is going on around us and focus on what is inside our house, on our families and ourselves. This, like leaving the blinds closed, should be for a very short season. Staying inward focused for too long can lead us into self-centeredness, bitterness and eventually depression. Life has to be about more than our those who live in our house and about more than ourselves.

There have been many times when I have closed the blinds to my heart and hibernated. Like most people, I have been hurt by others, surrounded by negativity or sick. I have been burned by relationships and felt overwhelmed by my circumstances. In those moments, I have crawled into my shell in order to protect and heal my heart.

But I can't stay there. I have to seek out others around me and learn to love and trust again. I have to reconcile with those who I have offended or have offended me. If I don't, then frustration leads to anger, anger leads to bitterness and bitterness leads to depression and misery.

The hardest of these moments have come when I have felt burned while serving others. Of all the wounds that will make you retract from others and hide your heart, this one is the hardest. You are already exhausted and burned out. You feel unappreciated and everything hurts. It is hard to extend yourself again.

So how do you open the blinds again, after a long season of hibernation?

1. Simple acts of kindness

         

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

Hebrews 6:10

  It may be too much at the start to serve those who you feel hurt you. Just like our eyes adjusting to the morning light, our hearts have to make the adjustment slowly. Give your self grace in the moment. Bring yourself to a simple act of kindness to a stranger. Pay for the car behind you in the drive through, help someone load a heavy item into their car in the parking lot or hold the door with a smile. Slowly, the joy will come back and you may become able to serve again.

2. Remember what God has already done

 Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,  to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’  tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

Joshua 4:5-7

I love that God tells the people of Israel to leave behind physical signs of the work he has done in their lives. Just like the Israelites, it is necessary for me to have daily reminders of what God has done. I have actual Stones of Remembrance in our home. When the Lord moves, in big ways and small, we add to the bucket as a family so that when things get tough, we have a physical reminder of his goodness. More personally and recently, I have jewelry that I wear daily that reminds me of where I have been and what he has carried me through. 

3. Talk to God about it

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Phillipians 4:6

In EVERY situation, present your requests to God. God can handle our anger and frustrations. He can carry us through and hear our hurts. He gave us emotions and wants us to talk to him through every situation in life.

4. Be careful of venting

Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. 

Psalm 141:3

Everyone needs a precious few that hear us out when times get tough. God has placed others who are following him in our lives at the right times to help us and guide us through paths that they have perhaps already walked. It is so easy to share the details of our hurts and frustrations with the world. It is so easy to put those who have hurt us or who we have perceived to hurt us on blast either in person, in conversations with others or on social media. This generally doesn't ever help the situation get better. If there is really something that needs to be resolved and prevents a precious relationship from moving forward, then lean on your precious few and then go to the person themselves if you feel like you can't let it go. This is easier said than done, I'm preaching to myself here too, but it doesn't reflect well on us to air our dirty laundry to the world.

5. Keep taking steps

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which 

God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 3:14

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving toward Jesus. He will guide your steps and help you confront the day to day issues as you navigate through the darkness. There is light at the end!