Three Keys to Holding On When You Want to Let Go Sheila Walsh
We ’ ve all been there , and in a world ravaged by a second wave of a global pandemic , natural disasters , and a lack of civil discourse , I ’ d venture to say that there ’ s a fair amount who find themselves there right now .
Leadership . Ministry . Parenthood . Careers . Friendship . Marriage .
Any combination of the above brings its own set of challenges and stress , but pair those with everything else going on in the world , and you have a whole lot of people who are barely holding on .
When the bottom fell out of the world , everything familiar and comforting changed . People lost their lives , lost family businesses , lost jobs , school doors were closed , and parents suddenly had to become fifth grade math teachers . Our churches were locked and we sat at home binge watching television shows and gaining 15 pounds . The questions piled on .
God , what ’ s happening ? Do you see us ? Why are you letting this happen ? Will life ever be normal again ? Will we survive this ? When will this be over ? Why is everything so out of control ?
What do you do when life feels out of control ? What do you do when there ’ s nothing you can do ? What do you do when you believe that God is good , that God is in control , but nothing makes sense to you anymore ?
Those feelings can be overwhelming . One of the things I ’ ve learned through my depression journey is that when I ’ m really struggling , it helps me to pray for others . So one evening , I went onto my Facebook page and simply asked the question , “ How are you doing ? How can I pray for you ?” There were hundreds of responses and most of them were heartbreaking .
My husband has lost his job . I don ’ t know how we ’ re going to pay our bills next month .
My dad ’ s in the hospital . He ’ s dying and they won ’ t let me come and say goodbye .
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