Intentionality: Coping with the Heavy Stuff

Heavy.

That's how I feel, right now, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. Weighed down by so much emotion, so much loss in our community.

Topical Storm Fred came through the mountains of Western NC and left in its wake a level of destruction I've never seen in my lifetime. Homes, businesses and schools either destroyed or left in ruin. Lives lost and impacted in ways never imagined.

I've seen the beauty of community coming together, mucking out the mud, clearing roads, rebuilding bridges, and coming together to feed and shelter rescue workers and those displaced from their homes. And this beautiful community will work together to rebuild.

Yet this heaviness sits upon me. 

Heaviness from this catastrophe, and a pre-existing heaviness from this season of life and all it carries.

And that is where I sit in this moment. Recognizing that which I cannot control, and that which I can. I can control my response. I can volunteer. I can help coordinate volunteers. I can grab something extra at the store to add to a donation bin.

I can also choose to rest and refuel. In times like these, when there's so much to be done, we feel an internal pressure to keep doing, to keep going, thinking how else is it going to get done?

We must listen to the cries of our minds, bodies, and souls when they say, "enough is enough, it's time to rest." 

It's time to rest.

It's time to refuel for the next round.

And it's time to let go of any guilt we may feel in doing so. Without taking care of ourselves in the process of taking care of others, we do others a disservice by not being at our best. 

So I'm sitting here, but I'm not camping out here. I will rest, I will refuel, and then I will do what I can.

We serve others best when we serve from a place where we're rested and refueled.

Friends who are helping in the recovery and clean up efforts, please give yourself permission to rest and refuel. Give yourself the grace and space you need to process the heavy stuff. Grab your journal and write it out, or talk to a friend, counselor or pastor. Pray. Be still for a time. We aren't meant to bear the burden alone. 

I'm here for you as well.

Together we will get through this, and together we will rebuild.