What do you feel when you hear about what’s going on around the world? The evil, pain, and unbelievable circumstances some people find themselves in are hard to comprehend. Sometimes you might feel numb to it, like it’s another sad event in our world and sometimes it will hit you deeper. Something about that specific story connects with you. You are drawn to every detail and every first person account, so you watch the news non stop and read every article at your disposal. We turn to social media to watch real time videos of what’s happening to innocent lives. The problem with our access to every news outlet, opinion, and first person account is we feel pressure to over educate ourselves. To have our<\/i> stance on what’s going on in the world, and while there is wisdom to educate yourself over educating yourself can be harmful. That’s what we\u2019re all facing as the war and violence is taking place in Israel and Gaza. We are pressed to take a side, have a strong opinion on what we\u2019re thinking and feeling.<\/p>\n
When I first heard of what was going on in Israel I felt sad. My spirit was heavy for God\u2019s people, but it didn\u2019t make me anxious until the idea of the end times came up. It caused me great anxiety because my first thought was, \u201cI\u2019m not ready to die. I have so much life I want to live. I\u2019m bringing a little girl into the world and I want to be able to watch her grow up and live a full life.\u201d I was anxious because I wasn\u2019t educated enough <\/i>in the right areas. Bits and pieces from friends, preachers, news outlets, and my own education that were incomplete made me feel unaware of the truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The first thing I did was pray about my anxiety. I prayed about how I was feeling, not because it’s more important than what’s going on in Israel, but because I know that God cares about me as His daughter. He cares that I am anxious because of what’s going on with his people. I confided in my husband about how I was feeling and let him in on my unfiltered thoughts and feelings. He helped me see that my anxiety had clouded my ability to see that my hope is in God, not what’s happening in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes we have to ask ourselves the hard questions to get to a place of peace, we need to explore with trusted people what’s actually going on in the depths of our hearts. Sometimes we have to understand we need more education in the right areas to have peace. Sometimes we need to take a break from the searching, reading, and watching to allow ourselves to be regulated and present to where we are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For most of you reading this; you\u2019re not in Israel. You\u2019re reading this from your couch, desk, bed, or kitchen table. You are most likely safe. You are not in immediate danger or worried about a terrorist group taking over your neighborhood. But your emotions might tell you otherwise. You might have deep anguish over what’s happening in Israel. Your heart might feel heavy, confused, shocked or anxious. Maybe you don\u2019t feel any of those ways but you\u2019re convinced you are supposed to because everyone else is. I don\u2019t think there is one right way to feel or process what’s happening in Israel, but I do think there is a harmful way. Allowing it to overtake your peace, ability to be present, and create unnecessary stress and anxiety is not creating anything good within you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t