When Your Soul Needs to Feel its Worth

When I was younger, some of the things my parents did sent me into full-out headache mode with all the eye rolling I did.

Why did they drive without turning the radio on in the car?

Why did they take rides together without any place to go?

Why did they continue to make jokes in front of my friends when clearly, they are not funny?

But the things I rolled my eyes at when I was younger are the very things I’m embracing as I’ve grown up. Give me a quiet car, a ride with my husband with no place to go, a hilarious joke that my kids won’t laugh at.

So when I learned just a few years ago what my dad does as he walks the dog every the morning, I was a little more open and a lot less eye rolly. What does he do? He sets the clock.

Sets the clock?

Sets the clock.

Not the literal clock, but his internal clock. He walks outside, breathes in deep, and considers the day in which he stands. It helps him, he says, to pause and consider where he is, what season and time of day it is, and his place in it.

Maybe it’s time for a sacred pause, a breathing in of the day and your place in it.

Have you forgotten who you are?

Do you remember where you stand and who stands beside you?

Do you remember Immanuel came, not just way back then, but right this minute?

Do you remember that he said It is better for me to go away – I will send a Comforter to be with you.

Do you remember that means He is not merely with us, but within us?

Do you remember why a weary world rejoices?

Do you remember why your soul has worth?

Maybe it’s time to set the clock. Today is Friday, December 21, 2012.

The world has not ended after all, though for some it might seem so.

We have great hope in Christ, but we may not always feel hopeful. It’s important to acknowledge where you are right now no matter what that may look like.

It’s important to remember that allowing grief to do its deepest work does not invalidate your faith.

Whether your eyes are filled with love and hope or if your soul sits desperate in the midst of a dark night – might you at least remember that you have been placed on earth, fashioned with care, stunning and valuable? Might you be willing to allow the anxieties to rise to the surface and offer them up to God?

Take a moment to set the clock where your feet now stand. What do you see there?

by Emily Freeman, Chatting at the Sky