patient endurance & faithfulness

hey, it’s been a while.

i haven’t felt really compelled to write about anything for a while… partially because i’ve been so busy focused on other things, but mostly because i’ve just felt so incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of things my brain has been thinking about.

there is a lot going on right now. and i don’t need to even say that because i know we all feel it. we are going through big big changes, globally, and most likely personally, too. as a gal in her early twenties trying to figure out what to do with her life, i am really feeling it personally. and it all feels like it’s way too much to handle. and it is.

just this past weekend, i was at home for thanksgiving with my family. i listened to and participated in quite a few conversations about what’s going on; corona virus, the upcoming U.S. election, social media & the increase in censorship… the list goes on. and if i’m honest, it was a lot to take in. i was left feeling exhausted and overwhelmed and even frustrated.

i wish these conversations weren’t so heavy. i just want a break from it all. to really enjoy each other’s company and have fun and be reminded of the lovely and beautiful life we have because of what we share with each other.

i felt drawn to writing about it this morning because i got some encouragement while doing my morning devos, and i figured it was worth sharing. whoever you are, i don’t know how you feel about spirituality or God or the Bible… you don’t have to believe in any of it, but perhaps you can still find some hope in this too.

i’ve been working through Revelation, which is the last chapter of the Bible, and is essentially an apocalyptic prophecy (apocalypse meaning the revelation of divine mysteries). i don’t know enough theology to really properly explain it, but it’s kind of a wild read. the imagery is super vivid and a bit freaky, but God’s been giving me some good stuff in reading it.

this morning, i began Revelation 13, the section titled “The Beast out of the Sea”. essentially, this beast is given power and authority over the world, slandering God’s name, waging war against and conquering His people, and he woo’s the world… all people are filled with wonder about the beast and go follow and worship him.

in reading this, i couldn’t help but feel the relevancy of this to what’s happening around the world. it really feels like evil is taking control; there is so much division and ignorance and conspiracy and distrust and deceit and it feels like it’s all going to crumble at any minute if we don’t do anything to change the direction we’re going in right now. that’s a huge load to carry.

but the last part of this section reads this:

“this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.”

and wow. what a word to receive.

and how f*cking hard is that!

i am called to be patient for God’s promise of Life.

i am called to endure all this mess, in all of its pain and suffering.

i am called to have faith that there is more going on than what i see right in front of me.

and we are all called to these things. it’s not easy, in the least. but what a hopeful reminder it is to receive that all of this heavy weight is not on us. not even a little bit. not any one person has control over it. and i have faith that the One who does have control is looking out for us. He’s taking care of us.

that being said, this is also not a passive call. we are not meant to ignore this mess and go on our merry way. one, it’s literally impossible to ignore it at this point. and two, these are active calls. patient endurance is a verb. faith is a verb. these are active practices and they are work. and as “God’s people”, we are still called to participate in His will and do the work that He calls us to do.

the change i want, the change you want, and the change we all want will not happen right away. and maybe even the change that we want is not the change that we need. i know that there is Something bigger at work here. so i will endure patiently through the suffering, and i will have faith that i’ll end up just fine in the end.

i guess, what i’m taking away from this, and what i hope you can take away too, is that there is still Life beyond all of this mess. and in this immediate mess that we are bombarded in daily, it’s important that we recognize the even-more-immediate good. i mean, we just had a chance to really intentionally practice gratitude over the weekend, and that stuff works wonders.

after feeling so exhausted and overwhelmed and frustrated from conversations with my family this weekend, i took a step back to recognize what there is to be grateful for from that time. i’m so grateful that i have a family who is thoughtful and wants to discuss these things and navigate this crazy world together. i’m so grateful that i even got to see them at all.

so if you haven’t really had a chance to reflect on what you’re grateful for, i recommend you do. i certainly want to commit to doing it more often.

anyway, i hope this made some sense to you reading this. it’s kind of all over the place but that’s how it goes over here! i hope that there is something positive you can take away, whether it’s encouragement, hope, gratitude, or even just feeling like you’re not alone.

we’re in this together.

take care,
skye