The Messy Middle

As a general rule the majority of us don’t like “messy”. Some of us can tolerate it better than others, but overall even those in that category eventually need some clarity. This is difficult because much of normal life is lived in what I call the “messy middle”. That is, In many situations, we simply do not have clear cut, black white, yes-no types of options. We are all in some sort of messy combination. We do some things well and some things not so well. Some things we do are healthy and some aren’t. Some of our behaviors and thoughts are Godly and some aren’t. Paul talked about this on a very personal level in Romans 7 when he said something to the effect that he found himself doing some things he didn’t want to do and not doing some things he wanted to do. It was “messy”, not clear cut. He found it very distressing and described it by saying “what a wretched man I am”.

stress and anxietyJoe ScruggsApril 22, 2020stress, anxiety, messy

This Is A Marathon

We are now in week 4 of the Quarantine of 2020 and it looks like it’s going to be an emotional, physical, and spiritual marathon. Marathons are long and grueling races. This one is particularly difficult because there is so much uncertainty. We don’t even know where the finish line is. Some of us (especially if we don’t have kids in school) can even become a bit uncertain about what day it is. Margie received a text from a friend that pointed out that traditional names for days of the week have been exchanged for “this day, that day, the other day, someday, yesterday, today, and next day”. Obviously a bit of an overstatement, but there is some truth in it.

Margie and I participated in a marathon many years ago (it wasn’t pretty but we made it). One of the things I learned during that whole process was that you have to monitor how are doing all during the race. Are you going the right pace, how is your body holding up, etc.? With that in mind, it seemed a good time to check in with ourselves. How am I doing in this COVID-19 marathon?

covid-19, stress and anxietyJoe ScruggsApril 15, 2020marathon, anxiety

Thoughts for a Difficult Season

One of the great understatements of the day is that we are living in a very troublesome time. There are dilemmas everywhere—medical dilemmas, financial dilemmas, social struggles, political polarization, etc. For many of us, it is a season of significant emotional stress and worry. Also, some of us may be struggling with anxiety related issues. I describe anxiety as “worry on steroids”. It’s tough. With that in mind, here are some thoughts about dealing with anxiety. This is not an exhaustive list (we will be communicating more about this as we go through this season). Hopefully, it can serve as a starter kit for those of us who are struggling.