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I recently came across a post that said: "This year's haunted houses will just be empty rooms playing the news."

I felt that. The world is hurting and we can't help but hurt along with our neighbors.

Such empathy is part of what it is to be people of faith who care about God's entire creation, all of God's beloveds. It can also be exhausting. It can wear away at us over time.

When things are heavy and the world's concerns significant, I find it helpful to remember:

  • It is healthy and good to step away and take a break from the influx of news. We live in an attention economy that leverages our fear and concern to keep us buried in our phones and feeds until we are beyond exhaustion and beyond ourselves. Just as it is faithful to bring concerns to God on behalf of our neighbors, it is also faithful to take a breather. God loves us and desires our well-being. We can't be God's hands and feet in the world when we're too tired to use them. 
  • It can be good to bracket a break with life-giving action and prayer. It can be easier to leave the news in God's hands when we've lifted prayers for those in need and offered tangible help as we are able to give.
  • It is also healthy and good to be with beloved community, in places where we know true belonging. It can be tempting to close in on ourselves when the world's pain is acute and near. Yet, God gives the gift of companionship to divide the weight so we carry hurt together. God gives the gift of friendship and community to draw us into spaces of joy and healing, places where we can be truly seen and where the blessings of life are magnified in the sharing. 
  • We are embodied beings. We not only carry concern for the world and our neighbors in our spirits but in our bodies too. When can forget the blessing of our bodies. We can forget that sometimes a bowl of vegetable soup or a piece of fresh fruit is more nourishing to our deepest selves than the tastiest cookie or donut. We can forget that 20 minutes walking in the sunshine, doing yoga, or taking a nap are life-giving ways we can express gratitude to God and care for ourselves. 

We are people of compassion. We can't help but be affected by the cries of a hurting world. It is faithful that we are.

We also know in our deepest selves that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things came into being through him, without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [cannot] overtake it" John 1:1-5.

Our faith, trust, and hope are in Christ.

I share all this in hopes that it speaks to any weariness you may be feeling.

Offer prayer and then leave the news in God's hands for a while. Bring items for for our tangible offerings or make a gift to the Lutheran Disaster Response if you feel so called. Then, get outside, Dear Ones.

It's a beautiful day! Get off the grid and move your body. Nourish your system and taste buds, reach out to loved ones, come to church. Balance all that is heavy with gratitude for the blessings that abound and for the Light that cannot be overtaken.