March 30
DebDay 16: cold, really windy, and the struggle is real
A friend of mine who lives in Walla Walla - so maybe she's my friend friend (?) - posted the following this morning (with my adaptations)...
"You’ve heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? My husband and I have come up with a new diagnosis - Quarantine Affective Disorder (QUAD).
Based on our personal experience, we have found that symptoms may include, but are not limited to: Irritability, crying spells, hopelessness, anxiety, over eating of comfort foods, compulsive watching of HGTV and/or Netflix, compulsive scrolling on social media, loneliness, confusion regarding objectives, frequent use of the words 'pandemic' and 'quarantine.' (And I would add, inability to complete self-assigned tasks, rising blood pressure, and every request to me feels like an attack.)
QUAD seems to be exacerbated when canceling vacation plans, a bad day of home schooling, finding your jeans don’t fit, seeing the weather forecast, and tiring of the faces that you see 24/7 in the same small space.
Treatment to date for QUAD:
funny memes, zoom calls/support groups, personal dance parties, lots of prayer, and cheese...lots of cheese."
I totally get the cheese part. I'm the guy who bought a 5 pound block of our favorite onion cheese last week. The lady behind the Safeway deli counter responded with shock and awe. Sorry. Not sorry.
We're all beginning to acknowledge our inadequacies and inabilities to deal with with all this change. We're not as strong, objective and put together as perhaps we thought.
1 Corinthians 1:25-29 speaks to this: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers and sisters; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."
This describes our Lord Jesus. And, it's describing us today. (Thanks for the diagnosis, Mike. Now what...?)
We pray. We cry out to our God. Maybe that desperate Monday morning prayer can sound something like this...
Psalm 61:1-4, "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!"
And there we find our place, and our hope. Psalm 62:6-7 says, "He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God."
I'm praying that Jesus gives me the faith capacity today to believe the Psalm 62 bit as much as I acknowledge the Psalm 61 bit.
I'm praying the very same for you!
-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau
