Heaviness

by Rollie J.

As the woods awaken around me, it is quiet and serene. There is a feel of moisture to the air and my leather gloves are damp from climbing the ladder into my stand in the darkness. The mid-October storm that has swept over us in recent days has covered the landscape with a heavy wet snow. As I look around me in the dull slate-gray of this cloudy morning, many of the trees and bushes are bent over with the heavy weight of this added burden. The damp snow and dreary clouds have added a heaviness to the feel of this day.

Last Monday I met for lunch with my three head leaders for our four-day Maah Daah Hey hiking trip in Western North Dakota. We were due to depart Wednesday. I presented them each with a printed forecast for the rest of the week when we were supposed to be on trail. The grim faces of resignation came as no surprise. They had been watching diligently as had I. Heavy snows, temps that never made it over the freezing mark, and evening temps in the single digits. It was blatantly obvious. It was a no brainer. And that was a good thing, in that there was no debate, no in between, no what if, no well maybe if we… It was just plain dangerous to take people hiking into the badlands in these predicted conditions. The four of us nodded in regretful resignation we would have to cancel our trip yet again. “It is what it is.”

For the twenty-one folks who had been packing and preparing for our trip with great enthusiasm and positive expectations, this decision and subsequent email came as one more disappointment. One more cancelation, one more event that wouldn’t happen. In a time when Covid and all that surrounds it has taken its toll on so many of our hopes and plans this was just one more disappointment. I could feel the heaviness on those who were so very much looking forward to this trip.

I have sensed a heaviness in the air of late. We witness it on people's faces in our offices, our homes, at the grocery store, in the gym, at school, on Facebook and even on the streets. People are cranky, moody, nervous, uptight, cautious, frustrated, afraid and down. You can feel and see that the burdens of our precarious and stressful times have people stooped over with a heaviness on their shoulders and an invisible weight upon their chests.

Political ads and party side taking, arguments over wearing a mask, disagreements over whether we should keep schools or churches open or closed, news stories filled with climbing Covid cases, conspiracy theorists, racial tensions, hurricanes, wild fires and now a winter that has arrived way too soon for most of us. For many who already dislike or dread our northern winters, the negative sense of anxiety of a long winter added to Covid restrictions can be overwhelming. 2020 has been filled with heaviness.

And on a more humous yet still sad note… our beloved Vikings. We that have committed ourselves to the Purple and Gold Love Covenant for years know well the trials, tribulations, and emotional rollercoaster of following this team, but it has been even more painful of late. Sunday afternoons and Monday mornings have become heavy.

So maybe we can have a couple take-aways from all this. So much of what happens in our world is out of our control. We have no control over the weather, the larger scene of politics, nor how far, wide, or deep this Covid crisis will go. Maybe that’s what’s so scary. So the only real card we can play is how we react, how we cope, how we handle, and how we process all of this heaviness that is going on all around us. And this does involve choice and action on our part.

Take a look at Mr. Davinci’s drawing on our right. Perfect balance, symmetry, and wholeness. I added the four categories. That is how our God, our Creator designed us. We are an interconnected whole. When one of these areas is hurting, misfiring, underfed, or not maintained, the entire person suffers. It’s like the stool at the bottom of the page that is missing a leg. It’s just not stable. All four legs of our being are needed for wholeness. If you doubt this wholeness read Luke 2:52: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.(Mind, body, Spirit, Social)

What we do with our bodies, what we eat or don’t eat, and how we exercise and take care of our physical being has an impact on all the other categories. For most who get depressed or anxious, the first thing we do is quit exercising. Yet that’s exactly what our whole being is craving to be in balance. We need to physically burn off that stress, and create those endorphins that lift us up, eat right and feed ourselves the good stuff! This is under our control. This is our choice. Do your yoga or Pilates online, get to the gym, bundle up and go for that run, walk with your spouse or kids around the neighborhood, get on your exercise bike that has long substituted for a clothes rack. Move your body and do it regularly.

Maybe what is lacking for so many of us right now is relationships due to all the restrictions and isolation. Working at home, schooling at home, church at home make us all craving the relational connectivity that we’re missing. Especially for our kids in school who’ve been forced online. We have to think of creative ways to really connect in significant ways with friends and family. Phones, Face Time, WhatsApp, Zoom, hand-written cards and letters to express our love and friendship are needed more than ever. We are created to be in relationship with one another. We still have a choice, and we can still have a say in this.

Our mind, our attitude and our thought process are so key and important during these stressful times. What do you feed your mind with these days? Do you consume a steady diet of depressing news casts, politically slanted programs or garbage TV? That will affect your mood and your body and your relationships. It’s all connected. The great thing is we have a choice about what we feed our minds. We can choose a good novel instead, a relevant self-help or personal growth book or simply listen to some soothing music. And in the same vein, watch what comes out of your mouth, for that which we speak over and over becomes our reality. Our words can become self-fulfilling prophesies.

So, take back control of what enters you mind, and just as importantly watch carefully what comes out of your mouth in conversation with others. These are still under your control and your choice and can impact all other areas of your life. Your attitude determines so much of your existence and reality.

And finally, we who are followers of Jesus, have a spiritual strength, perseverance, and wisdom beyond ourselves that can pervade all aspects of our life. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For I did not give you a spirit of timidity/anxiety/fear/worry, but a Spirit of Power, Love and Self-Discipline!” 2 Timothy 1:7

We are not helpless, we are not just floating around on our own. We are connected to the most powerful being in the universe. We have purpose, significance, meaning, and work and ministry to do even in the midst of Covid. This spirituality ties everything else in our lives together. And we who love Jesus must be continually reminded over and over again; We must choose faith over fear. And this is under our control. We do have a choice. We can lean on and into our relationship with God… or just try to get through all of this heaviness on our own.

May you ask God to show you and reveal where you are lacking in wholeness. Then chose to do something positive about it!

-- Rollie J.