Nobody ever called us to live a Pollyanna life

on handling disappointments, diagnoses, and disasters

I’ve been musing on life’s hard stuff. Yes, yes, I’m all about dwelling on things that are pure and lovely, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Because that’s where our strength and our joy come from. As followers of Christ, that’s what we’re all about.

But last time I checked, nobody ever called us to live a Pollyanna life, head in the sand, ignoring the raw realities, unspeakable tragedies, and blatant injustice all around us.

We can pull deep into ourselves and pretend that the pain and the awful sorrows other people bear don’t impact us. But that makes us delusional, incredibly insensitive, or not at all keyed into the Spirit’s whisperings.

If you have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a tender heart you won’t have to look far to see that life can be overwhelmingly messy. Sometimes incredibly unexplainable. Distant cousin Doubting Thomas drops in repeatedly, shaking his head and wanting to see and touch and grasp hold of answers that make sense of the senseless or that somehow wrap the inconceivable up into some sort of manageable package.

We are called to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). A burden in this case is a heavy load, like one of those big ol’ steamer trunks that great-grandma took on the boat a century ago.

If she tried to haul her luggage on her own, she’d still be sitting dockside.

At the risk of looking like I’m leaving you with a set of ridiculous 1-2-3 solutions, here’s a bunch of bullet points I’m tapping out this morning as they come to mind:

• Pay attention. We don’t have to look far to see brokenness, sorrow, out-of-control circumstances.

• Name what you see. Call it what it is. Speak what is true about it.

• Acknowledge how this impacts you - your emotions, your body, your life in community with others, and your inner life with God.

• Do something that’s within your power. Don’t overstep but don’t make lame excuses. Reach out in ways that are appropriate.

Listen well and avoid giving any kind of advice, sharing your own sad stories, or lobbing out of context Bible verses at the wounded. Sometimes love means keeping our hearts wide open, our lips gently sealed, and our eyes looking heavenward. And sometimes love looks like a tender hug or a pot of hot chicken soup.

• Avoid things that overstimulate you, that cause you anxiety. Caffeine, endless doom-scrolling, 24/7 political reporting, unnecessary commotion, people who gossip, too much sugar, your ever-present phone.

• Get outside, get creative, get connected. Isolation is highly overrated, tunnel vision does us no favors.

• Deepen your spiritual life. Because when all is said in done, God is our only hope. As we lean into His faithfulness, His character, His Word, and His Spirit there is a peace that passes understanding. It makes no sense. But it is there for those who believe, even with a weak and wavering faith.

It’s been years since I wrote and published a piece without wielding a red pen, endlessly editing, massaging, and fine-tuning words and phrases. The Spirit whispered write and so I did. Thank you for grace.

Now I want to hear your heart on all this.

For Jesus’ Sake,
Linda

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