breath
Have you ever felt the convergence of multiple hammers behind your eyes? Have you felt caged and weighed down by the roles that you ascribed to yourself or have been assigned to you. Have you felt helpless, cold, hungry and alone?
You have felt. And that in itself is good.
Have you not felt anything at all? Are you resigned? Have you sat in solitude without being in-tune with what is going on around or within you? This happens too. Do you dither between feeling and numbness?
This week has started cold where I am. Depending on where you are the weather may be mild, severe, or average. The weather may have affected your mood. The just concluded elections in the US or Uganda may also have affected you, or not. What has definitely taken a toll universally has been the situation of the world and the uncertainty of 2021. No one has any idea how the year will unfold. I think we may be afraid to hope.
But without hope we have nothing.
Hebrews 10:23; Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
We may need to evaluate what the focus of our hope is. Here are some things to put our hope in:
There are and will be reasons to laugh and feel happiness: we cannot hope for international travel, concrete planning, or a reduction in Covid cases and deaths. We may not find happiness in things we expect. I am learning to find happiness in the little things. Like the fact that my face is not exposed to harsh weather, since I work from home.
You have people around you that are blessed by your presence: there are a few people (my family included) that I think have fulfilled a major part of their purpose by knowing me and having a relationship with me. Don’t downplay how important you are to your people. Let your hope in your increasing value to those around you and to more individuals be unwavering.
You contribute to the world even in your isolation: even in isolation and with technology, you are contributing to the world. For instance, when you read my Medium posts, clap, and re-share, you are helping others see my posts too. You are contributing positively to me and to them simultaneously.
There are parts of yourself that you are discovering: even in this time, have hope in the fact that you are discovering how human interaction or a lack thereof affects you. You may have wondered how you would have lived during the World Wars, amid the Civil Rights movement, or Apartheid. This is different, yet similar. It’s a time of uncertainty where you are showing strength as you take each day at a time. Find hope in the fact that you can lifretain the essence of who you are and develop new positive habits and characters as well at this time.
God cares and will give you the strength you need: I know I can hope in God to be with me, listen to me, and speak to me during this season. I know I wouldn’t be able to accomplish what I have and leave behind moments of melancholy without God and the church. I haven’t lost hope.
Thank you for reading this. I hope at several points this week, you take the time to dwell in silence; take deep breathes along with Vitamin D supplements. Keep your hope alive.
WRITTEN BY ~ Tomi Oyegoke ~