As I read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 the other day, I realized a little more about myself and why I love to sit down and share my story. It brings comfort. There is something about feeling understood that just soothes our tired soul. So, it should have been no surprise to me that when I shared about my anxiety in my last post, you responded. Anxious thoughts plague so many of us these days. It is unreal how many of us battle the fear of not being enough or of being stuck where we are. Listen to these words that I read and then I want to tell you my new idea. 🙂
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
Now catch this last part…this is how I feel when I think about all of you out there who share my same feelings about our struggles and where our victory comes from…I am going to personalize the pronouns here:
7 [My] hope for you is unshaken, for [I] know that as you share in [my] sufferings, you will also share in [my] comfort.
If there is one thing I want to convey through my words, it is that we have hope in Christ and you are not alone. Friendship is so powerful. God created us to need Him but also to need each other. As we go to each other for support and love, a great healing takes place in our hearts. I don’t know what I would do without my “coffee” friends. (I don’t actually drink coffee but I wish I did, so I just get my Vanilla Chai Latte and pretend.) Those times together are precious and I wish I could do it more, but I sorta feel that as we start a conversation here it can be like our “coffee time” with friends. The more we realize we are not alone, the less afraid we will be.
So, my new idea involves Instagram. It’s ok if you are not an “Instagrammer.” You can still see my feed if you click “Instafluence” (my new made up word that I googled and found out that I didn’t actually make it up but it still works for now. 🙂 )in the menu on the side of my page. What I want to start doing is pay attention to the little things in life and capture them. I am calling them my #anxietyhack moments. Anything that feels the complete opposite of anxiety, even for a moment, I want to pay attention to it and share it with you in the form of a picture. The fun part is, if you do the same and use the hashtag #anxietyhack, we can search that hashtag through out the weeks to come and share our moments with each other! Like I said, if you don’t Instagram, you can still see my feed throughout the weeks to come, so check back often and see what kind of moments I discover. I need the accountability!! 🙂
If picture taking is not your thing then you can also comment below with your #anxietyhack moments of the week. Together, we will shift our focus, create more peace-filled moments and life less afraid.