Happy New Year! Praying God’s abundance over your life, which includes your mental acuity no matter what you find yourself navigating. I know this is the time where folx are declaring and speaking into existence. I stand in agreement with you for your petitions unto God and I desire for your wellness and well-being to remain centered as you move through your center stage experience during this new year.
I have a habit (unbeknownst to me) that I picked up from my Mommy. Whenever someone says, “Have a nice day,” or “Be well,” she responds, “Same to you.” So as I receive a text or post or message in another electronic form, I’ve found myself typing “same” but for whatever reason, “sane” pops up instead. The number of times I’ve typed, “sane to you,” is countless. I would experience deep disappointment in my spelling error, however recently, I paused and reflected that “sane to you,” is perhaps not such a terrible thing. For in a world that doesn’t honor or value our mental wellness, we should regularly and repeatedly evoke a “sane to you,” because we simply do not know how close to the edge another person is.
In 3 John 2:2, the Word of the Lord declares, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” The world focuses on the initial portion of the scripture and quite frankly, the prosperity saints affirm it regularly. Surely I am not out here to diminish your desire for prospering, but if not done with a sound mind, it will be short lived. That “be in health” portion is the truth and the connective tissue between prospering in all things and our soul prospering. That “be in health” includes our mental health.
Last year was one for the books. I found myself navigating grief of an insurmountable magnitude. It required Jesus and therapy. There were moments that extended mental anguish and having space to unpack and make sense with a licensed and trained practitioner who was also a believer contributed to my mental wellness in undeniable ways. Additionally I was affirmed in understanding that I cannot pour from an empty cup and that my filling station is in Christ. The enemy would have for my mind to be cluttered, impacting my ability to hear from God and process what I need – to know what to give to Him and to know what He will allow me to do through Him. Through the utility of the Word of God, therapy, worship, writing and dancing, I began to develop my neuroplasticity – which is simply the brain’s ability to modify, change, and adapt both structure and function throughout life and in response to experience. It’s a good thing but it takes time, patience and of course learning the skill set to employ – one being that of gratitude.
Emily Fletcher, the founder of Ziva, a well-known meditation training site, mentioned in one of her publications that gratitude is a ‘natural antidepressant’. The effects of gratitude, when practiced daily can be almost the same as medications. As we are purposing about our 2022, may we be compelled to practice gratitude unto the Father, unto each other, unto strangers to combat the anxiety that attempts to assume residence in our brain.
I want to be clear. Simply practicing gratitude will not cure the issues of your mind that are troubling you. Assume te steps to get the help you need, through therapy, medication, creating routine, consciousness, whatever is necessary for you to be here. We need you here. But creating space for gratitude will combat anxiety and uncertainty and release endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers. Our bodies were designed so that we may engage internally, what we need. Beloved, I pray that you prosper in all things and be in good mental health. For everything you encounter, “Sane to You!” Happy New Year!
Photo by Jay Mullings on Unsplash
